Are you still looking for "sample proposal Word" when you start making a proposal? Or do you take your last Word proposal and adjust it for the next one? You make a PDF of it and email it to the customer together with an accompanying email and the general terms and conditions. You are always amazed at how much time you spend making proposals. That should be faster. You want to learn more about it, but where do you get the time?
Making proposals the old school way takes a lot of time
So, immediately the most common complaint about making proposals. Since Microsoft Word only has sample proposals that only consist of standard texts and design, you will lose tons of time fiddling with copy and paste from different documents. Moreover, you run the risk of leaving old, incorrect information (or even worse: a wrong salutation). And even if you were to adopt the standard and unconvincing texts, you would still spend hours on the layout and design. You save it as a PDF and send it together with the general terms and conditions as attachments in an accompanying email. A time consuming job. Could that be the reason why you are putting it off more and more? You better do something about that, because in the meantime the customer may have already seen two other proposals.
Microsoft Word proposals are not customer friendly
Come along for a moment: we follow the same proposal and are with the customer or prospect. He immediately opens your proposal and skips the accompanying email. Too bad, because you had done your best. It might just have given the customer that final push. In the most favorable case, the customer nevertheless approves the proposal. He must first print the proposal, sign it, then scan it and email it back to you. Not exactly 21st century and certainly not customer-friendly, right?
Old school versus state of the art
Let me be honest, who gets excited about a paper proposal? They often look a bit boring, don't you think? Especially when you compare it with the beautiful, state of the art, interactive version of the competitor. This proposal will undoubtedly attract attention! An online proposal is new to many customers. They are pleasantly surprised by this and are satisfied with what they see: a company that moves with the times. That creates trust and trust is crucial. A proposal is therefore an important link in this process. So don't discount your company and branding and throw those Word proposals overboard. You will have no regrets. On the contrary, read on and discover how you too can make a contemporary, customer-friendly, convincing proposal in much less time.
A contemporary and customer-friendly offer quickly
With an online proposal tool, you can quickly and easily create proposals in your own house style. You only have to set up the system once, so it couldn't be easier. Whatever you offer afterwards, no matter how long your texts or how large your images are, the tool ensures that every subsequent proposal automatically rolls out perfectly and completely within the corporate identity. So you only have to deal with the content. Count your time savings! And the customer? He receives everything in one clear proposal, with a convincing intro, a nice presentation and of course the general terms and conditions. The customer views your proposal online on his computer, tablet or mobile phone and can ask questions and agree digitally within the proposal. This will guarantee your success rate will skyrocket!
A complete, convincing proposal
We still see them: proposals that are actually no more than a proposal with a short standard text. This leaves the customer or prospect with no choice but to just look at your price. However, price is not the determining factor. In fact, the customer chooses the proposal that does not contain a mega discount. It's the value, not the price.
So make sure that you give sufficient value to your product or service in your proposal. What does the customer or prospect get when they work with you? Name solutions, show how you work and where this will lead, for example:
- …% Savings
- x number of more customers
- increase customer satisfaction by ..%
- x number of more website visitors
In this way you give a complete and powerful picture of what you have to offer the customer. An online proposal program has various tools with which you can easily and convincingly include all this in your proposal. This prevents your proposal from revolving around the euros only. And by the time the customer has read everything, nothing will stand in the way of approving your proposal. You can also see when your proposal is opened. This way you never ask for a response too early and your timing is always correct.
A distinctive offer
Jumping out is something that has become increasingly important. Customers no longer want the same, but opt for different, innovative and cost-effective. Presenting yourself in a distinctive way has a demonstrably positive influence on the choice of customers. Make it clear why they are better off with you. Show that you have listened to and understand them.
You make your proposal distinctive by:
- provide clarity and structure
- professional styling
- a tailor-made offer that matches the (help) demand
- a description of the added value of your product or service
- offer of cross selling possibilities
- relevant cases and convincing recommendations
- a video or photo gallery
- an "about us" page
In short:
In contrast to Word proposals, you can create the perfect proposal in an instant with an online proposal tool. You save a lot of time thanks to smart templates and the automatically arranged design and house style. With a proposal tool you automate parts of the proposal process, every proposal has the wow factor and you (together with your colleagues) can benefit from the insights that the system gives you. In short, with an online proposal tool you can make a convincing, distinctive and customer-friendly proposal in no time consistent with your own house style and… with a high success rate!
