Figure 10-1 presents a mindmap of a complete set of skills and steps to apply when engaged in a selling process.
FIGURE 10-1: Mindmap of Sales Skills and Steps
Good proposals to clients require preparation. Successful sales proposals are well planned, well written, cohesive, and competitive.
Some best practices when preparing large proposals include:
Develop a proposal strategy that ensures a high probability of winning the contract through the proposal.
Develop a detailed set of customer requirements and questions to be answered in the proposal.
Develop an outline of the proposal similar to the table of contents for a textbook. Make sure you use any customer-prescribed format when developing the outline.
Develop a writing task list for all components of the proposal.
Assign smaller tasks with shorter time frames to writers.
Conduct frequent reviews of the writer’s work and ensure the customer’s requirements and questions are being answered.
Using the detailed outline, prepare the framework and complete the general requirements of a proposal.
Start integrating writers’ contributions early and ensure the contributions are responsive to customer requirements.
Conduct frequent team reviews to show progress and to identify written work that needs revision or additional work to clarify the proposal.
Assemble all written work and conduct a comprehensive review with senior management to obtain approval for release.
Here are suggested steps to put into a schedule of proposal development activities:
Proposal Content
Proposals usually address three areas for the customer:
What are you, the performing organization, going to do?
How are you going to manage it?
How much will it cost?
The main components to be included are listed below. (Depending on the magnitude of the project, these components may be integrated into one document or appear in three separate documents.)
What To Do | How To Do It |
Executive summary | Highlight key aspects of the proposal, similar to a project objectives statement, that says what you are doing, why, how, and how much it will cost. |
Technical | Description of the work to be accomplished and the procedures used to do the work. |
Management | What is the proposed method to manage this project work and the necessary information required to establish credibility? |
Pricing | Proposed bid price and proposed terms and conditions. |
Every sales presentation must be customized to the client. These suggestions will help you do so.