Proposals – and why your meeting with a client is more important

Recently I had somebody come to me looking for help, he was really frustrated. He’d spent 3 weeks negotiating with a client, his team spent numerous hours in preparing a proposal. In the end they didn’t get the job.

What a waste of time, right?

At the same time, putting in all that effort is a necessary evil one might say.

Well, not really.

Business owners invest a lot of time writing lengthy proposals as they are conventionally seen as a cornerstone in getting a project. Unfortunately, most time this does end up being time wasted.

The reason –not only has the proposal being structured in the wrong way, but you haven’t struck the right chord with a prospect.

How to do that?

Focus on your meeting with the client, instead of the proposal. This is where the real work lies. It’s your chance to:

• Build trust (show interest in their business)

• Understand what they struggle with /want to achieve (ask questions)

• Identify the underlying issues /challenge (ask more questions)

• Offer a customised solution (based on what you’ve learned) The proposal then should be just a quick summary of what you’ve identified together with your prospect, written in THEIR LANGUAGE –your prospect will go with whom they feel truly “gets” them.

What do you do with proposals to win business?