Have you ever sent a proposal only to never hear from the prospect ever again? Crickets. Your prospect ghosts you.
If so, listen up.
Let me paint a common picture of what probably happened before this point.
You’ve had a great sales meeting. Your prospect has asked all the right questions. Leaned forward. Loved what you presented. And now asked you to send a proposal.
You metaphorically rub your hands with glee thinking the money’s in the bank.
You spend time and effort crafting a wonderful proposal and sending it off.
You’ve likely made two big mistakes.
The first is not getting conceptual agreement of value. That your prospect is happy with what you’re proposing and agreement to move forward for the next steps.
To ensure you have conceptual agreement there are 5 bridges your prospects must cross.
Number 1. They must have expressed to you a problem they want to fix. And a real motivation for doing so.
Number 2: Expressing a problem is only one side of the equation. They must have a goal or aspiration of what they want instead. And they must be able to describe it, both logically and emotionally.
Number 3: They must be able to articulate to themselves that the cost of doing nothing, maintaining the status quo is greater than the investment they need to make in your solution, be it in terms of money, time or effort.
Number 4: It should go without saying that they need to believe you can help them. That there’s a level of trust in you and your ability to fix their issue and help to them get what they want.
Finally, number 5: They must be prepared to spend the time, money, focus and energy required to fix the problem and get what they want.
Remember, we all have problems. But we’re not always willing to spend the requisite effort to fixing them. Same goes for goals and aspirations.
So unless you are absolutely clear that you have conceptual agreement first, don’t waste your time sending a proposal.
As for the second big mistake regarding proposals? I’ll cover that in a future video. So look out for it.
Till next time, this is Rashid Kotwal.
