Just like venture capitalists, customers these days also expect an elevator pitch from the salespersons they meet. If you aren’t familiar with the term, it refers to telling the customer what your offering is all about in the time it takes to ride an elevator. This approach is the first among the many rounds of elimination before you can get someone to pay for your product or service.

Elevator pitches get you a foot in the door, but, it’s business proposals that get you a seat at the table. By laying out your roadmap in its full glory, a business proposal serves as a single piece of document that will make or break your chances of closing the deal.

Thankfully, every entrepreneur is aware of the pivotal role of a business proposal and they pay a lot of attention developing one. In an effort to make it comprehensive and to give the illusion of being upfront, some might over do this and end up preparing a document that rivals a Harry Potter novel when it comes to page count.

Some on the other hand, try to be cool and downplay the details to an extent that nothing substantial is conveyed to the customer. Essentially, a business proposal should not look like a flyer or a paperback. Striking a balance and coming up with a proposal that stands somewhere in between, explaining all the key aspects in detail is an art. Here are ten tips for you to master that artform:

Do Extensive Research

The first rule of this game is not using generic, off the shelf business proposals and filling in the blanks with details of people who you are planning to pitch to. Dig deep to understand the prospective customer’s business, the problems that they face, their buying process, the decision making hierarchy and whatever that you need to make your business proposals wholesome.

It’s this research that’ll help you stand out from the rest of the dozen proposals that land on top of a customer’s table. Interestingly, this research not just lays the foundation for the other 9 steps that follow but also puts you in a better position to understand the customer’s psyche and in turn develop and fine tune customer personas. You’ll be doing yourself a favor by doing proper homework, which eventually leads to efficient lead management.

Make it Crisp and Precise

Your expertise in writing is not particularly an asset when it comes to writing business proposals. Just state the facts and stick to the point. It’s alright to be a bit a humorous, but the proposal shouldn’t be a bundle of one liners.

As a matter of fact, try to cut down on the number paragraphs in each page. Instead, go with bulleted and numbered lists to make it easier for the reader to understand the information.

Telling a story goes a great way when it comes to convincing customers. But, only if you could concoct an interesting read. When the story you have in mind is as thin as an Adam Sandler movie, it’s better to sticks to bullets, numbers and colorful charts!

State Your Business Clearly

Mention the line of business you are in and give a small background about the company. Customers often tend to forget what business you are doing and the solution you bring to the table. This happens even when you are sending solicited business proposals by responding to an advertisement or a RFP.

When you are sending unsolicited business proposals, it’s the equivalent of a cold call. In such cases, it helps to add some more details to show your business in better light. This is one area where your creative skills come to the forefront. Any piece of information about your business that’ll help gain the customer’s trust is welcome.

A brief about company culture and the list of clients you have done business with will help to push the customer read further.

Define the Problem with Clarity

If you are successful in conveying the problem statement in a simple and plain language that’s easy for the customer to understand, you’ve won half the battle! Clear, outright problem statements convince the customer of your ability to understand his business and that you are capable enough to deliver a solution for it. It’s a psychological win for you.

Avoid hyperboles like plague. Stating that “ The Acme Co. sales team has dropped the ball by not leveraging on their excellent customer support. Whereas, the competitors are making hay by using that as their USP” is perfectly alright. It’s a problem and it’s a fact. Don’t ever hesitate to sugar coat it!

Propose a Longstanding Solution

The main objective behind sending a business proposal to customers is to tell them with confidence that you have a solution to offer. You have a bit of leeway in this section of the proposal. You are allowed to go into great depths explaining how you are the best fit to get that problem fixed.

On top of stating that the solution that you offer fixes the problem, emphasise on how it fixes the problem for good. A lasting solution is the one that’ll clinch you the deal. Anything lesser than that might come off as a band aid.

Breaking down the problem statement into multiple parts and addressing each and every section of the problem logically will ensure that this section of the business proposals is bulletproof!

Go Visual

Numbers and charts are your best friends when preparing a business proposal. A wall of text stating a truck load of facts isn’t any better than a run of the mill off the shelf template. Both are snooze inducing and make no difference at all.

To engage the clients better, opt for creative visuals, reports and charts instead of text. These have a profound impact in helping people realize how much they are losing or stand to gain in a matter of minutes.

The good thing is that you can use this visual strategy almost anywhere in the proposal. For instance, in the problem statement section, charts depicting how much the customer is losing to the competition makes for a compelling addition.

And, in the section where you state solutions, a colorful chart depicting the sales and revenue projection that is in the horizon is killer!

State the Price Correctly

As always, stay transparent when it comes to pricing. No invisible strings and absolutely no fine print. The more forthcoming you are about the pricing structure and the reasoning behind it, more the customer starts to trust you.

There are a number of ways to convince a price sensitive customer. The price you quote is the amount a customer pays for the value you add to his business. That’s the point you have to stick to with conviction. 

Reinforce with Customer Success Stories

Include the instances when you have helped another business get out of rut with your product or service. Nothing beats the odds like a genuine customer success story. Establish yourself as a business that offers real solutions to real people.

Dedicate one page in your business proposals for a case study. Sprinkle customer testimonials and accolades all over the document. These serve as a positive reinforcement to the customer. It’s this section that’ll encourage the customer to read further and take their chances with your Call to Action (CTA).

Have a Well Defined Call to Action

CTAs are the bread and butter to the marketing and sales teams. Even if the customer isn’t ready to write that fat cheque yet, getting him to click on any of the other CTA buttons is definitely a win. This means that there is light at the end of tunnel. The customer needs a bit more convincing and cajoling, but it’s way better than getting nothing out of him.

Remember, a business proposal isn’t your homepage or a landing page. So, there isn’t room for multiple CTAs and real time A/B testing. Going with a singular call to action to keep things simple and logical. For example, if you are in a line of business that doesn’t warrant a protracted sales cycle, it’s the right thing to have a “Buy Now” option as your CTA.

On the other hand, if there is going to be quite a bit conversation before closing the deal, a link to filling a form is way better than a “Call Now” button. Always finalize the CTA before starting to work on a business proposal.

Automate and Add Some Eye Candy

Depending on the line of business you are in, the volume of business proposals you create can vary from a few to a dozen. Either way, try not to write a proposal from scratch every single time and make your life less stressful. It’s true that more than half of the sections need to customized for each and every client. But, there will always be parts that don’t need much change.

So, instead of sticking to a boring MS Word template, try using a desktop or cloud based business proposal creation app. Most of these apps allow you to drag and drop sections to a proposal. This way, you won’t have to retype the pricing structure or the business details section all over again.

Besides, these apps are your best bet to add some eye candy to the proposal. Add some colors, designs and even charts in a few clicks. If you have a compelling product or service and a convincing argument that you are the best, these apps should help you give a bit more competitive edge over the rest!