"OK, send me a sales proposal!"

“OK, send me a sales proposal ….. email it to me and we’ll talk in a week”.You’ve cracked it!. You are the first person from your company ever to get in front of this hard to reach buyer, and he has asked you to give him a proposal!You jump on your bike and pedal back to the office, steam coming out of your ears with the excitement.You bounce into the sales office, throw a couple of cartwheels and a couple more “Yee-haws” around the place.The Boss asks you why you have the ants in your pants.“….”I’ve just been with Mr B. Allbreaker, and he has asked me to give him a sales proposal”, you modestly declaim.“Holy Sh……Moses!”, says the Boss, “Give this all the time it needs, and make sure you ask for any help you need around here. This could be the breakthrough we were looking for”.So you spend two days getting the proposal just right, you have the plebs running in all directions for precise technical info, you have a session with your Boss AND the Financial Controller to get the pricing right. You email the proposal to Mr Allbreaker……and three weeks later wonder why you can’t get him to talk to you to discuss the finer points.LEARN TO HATE SALES PROPOSALS, AND REASONS NOT TO DO THEM!When someone asks you for a sales proposal, what do you do?How do you react?How excited do you get because you've made it to the next stagein the sale?And then you put together a proposal that spells out in detail the solution you are proposing….very time consuming, very hard work, editing and revising. I detest it when I’m asked to “send in a sales proposal”. What is the buyer’s thinking behind this request? Why do they want it?Have a look ;1It’s away to get rid of a pesky seller in a hurry.2It’s a request from a monkey who is collecting information for an organ grinder.3It’s part of their ISO requirements that they get three quotations and you are number 3! 4They want to get you into a comparative price war with competitors.5They need information to sell your proposition to their colleagues, other influencers, and decision makers upstairs.6They know that if they ask, nine out of ten sellers will jump at the opportunity, seeing it as an “advance” in the sales process.7They need to cover their ass regarding “due diligence” when they nominate the vendor they are going to recommend or buy from anyway.Most proposals are requested as a means of eliminating suppliers….with one exception.They say that when you are playing poker, there is always a sucker at the table…and if you can’t spot him, it’s YOU!Of all the reasons outlined above, the only one I want to work with isnumber 5.MAKE THEM SELL YOU ON DOING A SALES PROPOSALHow do I suggest you handle it when asked for a proposal?- Ask them if they are going to purchase from you!Most of your prospects and customers will be as surprised (as you are right now) at this question.They are used to salespeople running back to their officesand doing what they are told, just a like a puppy who'sbeen thrown a stick.When you ask them if they are going to purchase from you,it is a code for, "I am only going to do this proposal if it isworth my time".The answers you get to this question will tell you a lotabout where you are in the pecking order against your competition.If you are told that you “have the same chance as other possible suppliers", you should know you are the cannon fodder, the cheese in the sandwich, the sucker at the poker table. Because if you were in the lead, someone would be tellingyou and helping you win!Use the "are you going to purchase from me?" question toflush out where you stand in the deals that you got intoafter your competition, or where there is a regular supplier already in place.Presume that your competition is in the lead, and make thebuyer sell you on why you should expend more effort tosell to them.A client of mine in a very tight margin commodity business recently had the experience of meeting a “hard to please “ buyer. “Never mind the waffle”, said the buyer, “just give me your bottom line price, and you won’t get a second shot at it”.My client, who obviously has learned a couple of things from me (!)(* G*) replied, “If I can give you a better price than you are getting at the moment, will you give me all your business?”“Aaaaaah No…….”, said the buyer, “there are a lot of other things that would have to be sorted”“Well, said my client “Why would I waste my time now give you price proposals?. What other factors should we be discussing?”(Incidentally, in further discussion, my client found an edge over his opposition and gained his first ever order from the buyer….small quantity, but at a rate about 2 higher than the competitor’s general price. My client says the buyer’s parting remark was, “You’re a cheeky little b***ix, but I like your style”.)Don't give a proposal until either you have an insidecoach helping you and showing you how to win, and ideallythe proposal should only be the final step before entering into any closing negotiations.HOW TO RESPOND TO THEIR SHOCK AND HORRORAs an alternative when asked for a proposal, you can replyby suggesting a discussion on what would be contained in aproposal verbally for budget or planning purposes. Youcan also suggest providing any marketing brochures, technical sheets, or company literature that you might have available.Watch the buyer’s surprise, and listen to them tell youthat you are supposed to give them a proposal because youare a salesperson. “That's your job”, they'll say.And you can reply as a businessperson by saying that yourjob is to wisely use your (and your company’s) time and resources tofind customers that are a good fit. And until you and thebuyer get closer to knowing that this is a good fit, anywritten proposal is premature and probably a waste of time.If you test everything with the question "Is this worth mytime?" then you can get your closing rate to between 50-90 ofyour submitted proposals. Otherwise you’ll waste a lot of time preparing proposals that are worthless, and lose the opportunity to sell to someone who will actually do business with you.Keep Selling with Integrity.Maitiu MacCabe

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