Make Decisions Easier for Your Prospects (By Jill Konrath; excerpted from SNAP Selling)

Crazy-busy prospects can't handle complexity. They hate it when things are difficult to decode, decide or decipher. It grinds them to a screeching halt - which is the normal human reaction to being overwhelmed and stressed out.

Because of the chaotic business environments we work in, 

simplicity has recently emerged as a key factor in sales success.

As a seller, your job is to make things easier and minimize the effort for your frazzled prospects. This is especially true when you're dealing with people who seldom make decisions like the one you're proposing.

Here are some strategies you can use to make things easier for your frazzled prospects.

Augment, Don't Replace

Your prospects already use something or someone to address their needs. You can make it a whole lot easier for them to get buy-in for your product or service by positioning it as an "add on" to an existing program, process, or technology.

For example, when I talk to VPs of Sales, I always stress that my workshops on selling to crazy-busy buyers or cracking into new accounts compliment their existing sales training initiatives. I even assure them that I'll tie my strategies in with their current methodology.

By coexisting with the status quo, you can get your foot in the door without encountering a major battle. Once you're in, you can work to expand your relationship and win additional business.

Sometimes your "competitors" are internal staff whose number one concern is job loss. I knew this was going to be a major obstacle recently when I proposed a new idea to a prospect. So I dealt with it head on.

First I showed them how we could bring much-needed services to an underserved customer demographic. They loved it. Then, I talked about leveraging outside resources to "jump-start" the new program. And, I clearly stated that the ultimate goal was to turn it over to their IT as soon as possible.

Not only did I avoid an insurrection, but I quickly got their support because it provided them with more job security. Augmentation is good. It simplifies and speeds up the decision process.

Think and Act Small

If your prospects like what you've proposed, they'll want to get it approved as soon as possible. However, big ideas with big budgets are riskier and require more buy-in.

As a result, they're harder to get through the system. When you start losing momentum, your whole proposal is at risk.

So even if you have a big idea, be realistic with your prospects. Talk about starting small. Show them how you can get started, demonstrate your success, and build from there. For example, you could:

• Propose an initial assessment to understand the scope of the problem.


• Tackle a small problem where you could demonstrate immediate short-term results.


• Focus on bringing in just one of your products, services, or solutions.


• Suggest a change in only one of the departments or a single facility.

IT seller P. V. Bhaskar frequently proposes pilot projects to his clients. With a 90 percent conversion rate, they've become his secret weapon to simplify the decision-making process.

Prior to getting started, he allows the CIO and CFO to set the success parameters. As he says, "When a pilot exceeds the incumbent's performance, all I need to do is demonstrate that the success can be scaled to an actual project as well."

Going for the whole shebang at once makes things more difficult. And when you're working with frazzled customers, that's a setup for having your opportunity get derailed, delayed or dismissed forever.

But once you get your foot in the door, the hardest part is over. If you do a good job on your initial piece of business, it will be logical for your prospect to move to the next stage with your company. Your next proposal simply augments what they're already doing.

Root Out All Complexity

In many cases, your prospects don't know what to look for or how to decide. If things get complicated, they'll quit and you'll be gonzo.

That's why it's imperative for you and your company to ask these questions all the time:

• At which point do our prospects tip into overwhelm?


• What are the complexities that grind decisions to a halt?


• How can we reduce the ease and effort needed to make a decision?


• In what ways can we minimize decision-making risk?

Discuss these questions with your colleagues. Observe what happens in conversations with your prospects. Talk to your existing customers to get their feedback.

Then eliminate as much complexity as is humanly possible.

If you don't, it can easily become a major showstopper - which is not a desirable outcome. When you embrace the first SNAP Rule: Keep it Simple, you'll win more business with a whole lot less effort.

__________

Want to learn more about the new rules of selling to crazy-busy prospects? To get four FREE sales-accelerating tools and download two chapters of SNAP Selling, visit www.snapselling.com.

Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies, helps sellers crack into new accounts, speed up sales cycles and win big contracts. She's a frequent speaker at sales conferences. 

For more fresh sales strategies that work with crazy-busy prospects AND to get four free sales-accelerating tools, visit  www.snapselling.com.

Unconscious Selling Competence by Jim Meisenheimer

Unconscious Selling Competence has roots that date back to the
mid twentieth century.

Back in the 1940's psychologist Abraham Maslow created a conscious
competence theory and more commonly known as the "Four Stages Of
Learning."

If you're in sales you need to be learning if you want to be
earning. There's no way around it.

These four stages of learning describe how a person learns.

The first stage is Unconscious Incompetence. In essence, in this
stage you don't know that you don't know something.

This stage can be perilous for professional salespeople. When
you don't know, what you don't know it's easy to become over
confident in your abilities.

I guess there's only one way out of this stage and that's with
information and education. The worst thing anyone can do is to
turn off the learning faucet.

Ignorance is never bliss.

The best way out of the hole of ignorance is continuous improvement.
Keep reading books and listening to CDs and you'll soon realize
how much you don't know about the selling profession.

The second stage is Conscious Incompetence. Interestingly, in
this stage you are aware that you are incompetent at some things.

In this stage you recognize where your strengths and weaknesses
are in the work you do.

You have to be careful however because a weakness you have today,
if not strengthened, can be a weakness you carry around for a
lifetime.

For example, "I've always been lousy at handling the price objection."

Another example, "I don't like asking for the business - it makes
me feel too pushy!"

Imagine your weaknesses are shortcomings all contained inside a
block of granite. As a sales representative, your job is to keep
chipping away at all the things that don't add to your personal
professionalism.

Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a professional sales
person.

The third stage is Conscious Competence. In this stage you're
developing skills but you have to think about them.

This stage is for salespeople who want to keep growing. They aspire
to bigger and better things. They are hungry for the skills they
need but do not yet possess.

They are committed to self-development. The word quitting is not
in their personal dictionaries - the word perseverance is highlighted.

The fourth stage is Unconscious Competence. In this stage you are
good at a particular skill and it comes naturally to you.

The fourth stage is where you want to be if you're an entrepreneur
or a professional sales person.

Everything about selling comes naturally to you because you have
prepared and practiced a gazillion times. You make everything
look easy, after years of hard work.

You can pick up the phone and call someone, you've never spoken
to before, and ask for an appointment. You know exactly what to
say.

Your elevator speech is as smooth as ice because you know exactly
what to say - word for word.

Your priority is to identify and solve customer problems. You can
ask a dozen questions without thinking or blinking because you
have crafted each one. You're able to weave your questions in a
conversational way.

Your sales presentations are personalized and tailored to fit
sales prospects and customers and their specific needs. And you
know exactly what to say.

In fact, you're so good, you can go an entire day without doing
seal talk. You know, the "Ahs" and "Ums."

Dealing with the price objection is easy for you because you have
prepared and rehearsed how you'll do it, over and over again. You
could do it in your sleep.

Asking for the business is a piece of cake for you, because once
again you've created a short script that you memorized and
rehearsed over and over again.

When it's all said and done you can choose between Unconscious
Incompetence or Unconscious Competence.

The only thing separating the two of them are dedication,
discipline, focus and your sheer desire and determination to
become the best you are capable of becoming.

Three cheers for Unconscious Selling Competence!

About
The Author:

Make sure you check out Jim's Sales Trailblazer program: http://salestrailblazer.com

Jim is a
Sales Strategist and is the creator of No-Brainer Selling Skills.
He shows salespeople and entrepreneurs how to increase sales,
earn more money, have more fun, and how to do it all in less
time. His focus is on practical ideas that get immediate results.
He offers Advanced Sales Management Workshops, Sales Coaching,
Consulting, In-house Sales Training Programs, and a wide variety
of Learning Tools i.e. books, special reports, sales manuals,
and CDs.Jim Meisenheimer
is a member of The National Speakers Association, where he earned
the C.S.P. designation, Certified Speaking Professional. He
has authored five books including, "The 12 Best Questions
To Ask Customers," and the recently published “57
Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life”.

Websites: http://www.startsellingmore.com/

http://www.meisenheimer.com/

 

Why Salespeople Fail and What Managers Can Do About It by Keith Rosen

"Why do salespeople fail?" It's a question that managers, as well as their salespeople have asked for decades. And one contributing factor that keeps this question alive and in the forefront of our minds is the fact that there has not been one universally accepted answer. Whether the salesperson's failure is being blamed on the salesperson, on the manager or a collaborative effort, the reasons often remain subjective, even elusive and as such, history is then bound to repeat itself. The timeless struggle for a solution continues to plague our thinking, while the collateral damage due to this fallout dominates the manager's time.

Whether your team consists of one thousand salespeople or just one, the simple fact stands; avalanches roll downhill. It starts from the top. That's why the first of six principles managers need to incorporate in order to build a world class sales team is this:

Strategy # 1

Take Full Responsibility For Your Salespeople

Become 100% accountable for the success and failure of your sales team. While there are many symptoms as to why a salesperson fails, it is the reluctance on the manager's side to take on this full accountability which is the leading cause of a salesperson's failure. You can be burdened with excuses or empowered by the ability to make better choices. Either way, you're accountable for the excuses used as to why your salespeople fail, just like you are accountable for your sales team. Here are just a handful of excuses that managers have used to justify why their salespeople fail.

1. I inherited my sales team. I didn't hire these people.

2. We don’t have time for a sales training and coaching program.

3. That’s normal in my industry. Turnover is just something we just have to deal with.

4. We can’t offer competitive packages like other companies can. It’s straight commission. No salary or benefits. We do our best to play the hand we're dealt.

5. The salespeople are really independent contractors. So if they need help, they should get help on their own.

6. If they fail, then they really weren’t cut out for this position.

7. They needed help? Then they should have come to us. We would have helped them. That's their responsibility. How can I read their minds if they're having a problem?

8. It’s hard to find good sales talent out there now. Our market is super competitive and this is what I have to work with.

Since you are evaluated or compensated by how successful your team is, then tolerating these excuses will come at a heavy price. Ultimately, you will be the one responsible for breathing life into these excuses or pioneering innovative solutions in order to squash them from existence. Once you take full accountability for yourself as well as each person on your sales team, you are now able to empower others to be fully accountable for themselves.

What follows are five additional strategies that any manager can begin to implement in order to build a team of sales champions, These are strategies that any business owner or manager can incorporate into their management style, strategy and approach that are sure to reduce turnover and increase the retention of star players, prevent a new salesperson or a star veteran from becoming an underperformer and maximize the performance and production of your team.

For those salespeople who are reading this and feel these strategies only apply to management, consider this. The more awareness you have around the role you and your manager play in your overall success and failure, the more you can educate and help your manager best support and manage you around these areas which you may feel you have less control over.

Strategy # 2

Develop your Skills as a Coach

Without actually working with your own executive sales coach or participating in a coach training program to develop your coaching skills and competencies, then all you are doing is changing your title, rather than your essence, your thinking and your skills. The coaching model is based on the belief that the question is the answer. Coaching isn’t about giving information. The coach is responsible for people finding the answers themselves and developing their own problem solving skills. And being able to self generate solutions and solve problems on your own is the premise of coaching; a competency that; like learning any new discipline, sport or hobby needs to be learned and developed over time.

Strategy # 3

Consistent Weekly Coaching

While some managers tell me they don’t always have the time to meet with their team, think about the things that are taking you away from coaching and meeting with your team in the first place. I guarantee many of the issues and the problems you’re dealing with are actually a result of not coaching and connecting with your team on an individual and more frequent basis. If you have a team of five or ten salespeople, it’s much easier to manage your time and your schedule to accommodate weekly, one to one meetings. It’s when you have a larger team that makes it more of a challenge strictly due to time constraints. While group or team coaching is also an option to fill in some developmental gaps, there is still no substitute to providing individualized attention. I suggest a minimum of two individualized coaching session per month for each member of your team, understanding that weekly one to one coaching sessions would be ideal. Frequency and consistency is key, just like when going to the gym. The more time you spend at the gym and the better you eat, the healthier you become. The same rule applies to maintaining and building the health of your career, your leadership skills and your sales team.

Strategy #4

Develop a 30 Day New Hire Strong Start Orientation Program

Regardless of your product or sales cycle, every manager needs to be able to confidently assess whether or not someone is going to 'make it' within their first thirty days on the job. If you feel you're unable to do so, it's because you haven't taken the time to outline what the measurables and milestones are that you expect every new hire to hit within the first four weeks. What do you expect from a new hire within the first thirty days? What do you want them to learn or achieve each day? Whether or not they make it doesn't need to rest solely on whether or not they are selling. There are other factors you can use to gauge if you made the right hire, such as their commitment, their sales acumen, assimilation of product and industry knowledge, pre-selling activities and their overall attitude. Are they following through with any preliminary work that needs to be completed before they're ready to sell on their own? Do they have a routine and a selling system that's ready to be executed? Are they doing the basics, i.e. showing up to work on time, following through with any preliminary training, putting together their target list, going through role plays with you, etc. Finally, are they being evaluated to ensure they've assimilated the industry or product information and selling acumen that's needed to succeed?

Strategy #5

Develop More Diligent Hiring Procedures

I've always heard managers report, "With all the interviewing you can do, you really can't gauge someone's work ethic until they're on the job." While this may be true to some degree, I've seen many companies institute additional steps into their hiring process to help better gauge the person's work ethic before they're actually hired. For example, have the new candidate go out and ride with the manager for a half day or with a salesperson you trust to get a good sense of who they are, and for the candidate to get a feel for what their day to day responsibilities would look like. Another technique that helps reduce failure would be to conduct skill practice scenarios and role playing exercises throughout the interview process. This would give you a better sense of how they think, how creative and flexible they are and how effective they would be when in front of your customers and prospects. Finally, the number of interviews plays a huge role in reducing failure amongst salespeople. The more interviews you conduct, the more interviews the candidate has with various people within your organization, the less of a chance you will make the wrong hiring decision.

Strategy #6

Develop and Implement a Tactical Turnaround Strategy

Without having the awareness and discipline to develop and execute a turnaround strategy when needed, the costs to every company are great. Companies that lack a clearly defined strategy to handle underperformers tend to overcompensate in other areas for the weakness this void creates. They are more apt to accept turnover and a certain level of attrition as a natural course of doing business and building a team. There are a myriad of reasons why a salesperson fails and why a turnaround strategy is a vital component needed to ensure their long term success. Managers need to be acutely aware and sensitive to the fact that some turnaround situations will result in termination or the salesperson deciding to leave on his own accord. Regardless of the underlying reason why a salesperson isn't performing in relation to desired expectations, a four-week turnaround program will help you identify what’s really going on and provide you with the framework to quickly determine how you can turn around an underperformer in less than thirty days or whether you and your company are better off without them.

About The Author:

Keith Rosen is the Executive Sales Coach that top salespeople and managers call first to attract more prospects, close more sales and develop a team of top performing sales champions. Keith has successfully coached more salespeople and managers than any other coach on the planet to achieve positive, measurable change. He’s the winner of the 2009 Stevie Award for being The Sales Education Leader of the Year. An award winning columnist, speaker and best selling author, Keith has written several books including Time Management for Sales Professionals and the gold medal winner, Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions, which was named the Sales Leadership Book of the Year and one of the World’s Best Business Books of 2009. Inc. magazine and Fast Company named Keith one of the five most influential executive coaches. He's been featured in Entrepreneur, Inc., Fortune, The New York Times, Selling Power, The Wall Street Journal and Sales and Marketing Management. Keith sits on several editorial boards and advisory boards and is the expert sales advisor for Dun & Bradstreet, Hoover’s and AllBusiness.com. For sales training videos, podcasts, information on executive coaching and sales training, visit www.ProfitBuilders.com, call 516-771-1444 or email info@profitbuilders.com. Subscribe to his newsletter, The Winners Path, http://www.profitbuilders.com/winnerspath.htm.

The Product Doesn't Matter! by Dan Adams

This month's question is a great reminder of the the importance of your position as a sales rep.  As a true sales consultant, you make the difference -- your product is secondary.  As a superstar, you can derive satisfaction knowing that your customer is making a decision with your help as a trusted advisor.



Q:    Dan:  When I joined my company several years ago we had the luxury of having a new family of products that were superior compared to our competitors' solutions. Now that the competition has announced new products it is  harder to win deals. I'm having trouble convincing our marketing department to accelerate new product launches.  Any thoughts to help me to hold my market share until our new products arrive?

Lucy Watt

Phoenix, AZ

A:  Lucy, Thanks for your great question. Your situation is not uncommon. To solve the problem and help you on your path to superstardom let's try to see the world differently. Here is the key:

True or false: A sales rep's success is tied directly to the quality of the product or solution she is offering. As a buyer visiting car dealerships, you may have thought you were comparing car A with car B. But actually, what you were really comparing was sales rep A with sales rep B. That's what happens in customers' minds. The sales rep acts as the intermediary between the customer and the product or service, greatly influencing how people buy. The customer bases his decision, for the most part, on the actions of this intermediary (that is, if the sales rep is a superstar). After all, a car is a car is a car. Any of them will get you where you want to go. Yes, the sales rep does have to have a decent product. But in most cases the solutions are very similar, and it's the rep who makes the difference. The rep enjoys a position between the product and the customer's perception of that product. It is the sales rep who can make that product look worse than, equal to, or better than the competitor's product. Superstars know that the difference between the products is really the difference that the superstar brings to the table in the form of consultative selling skills. Superstars differentiate themselves not by what they sell but by how they sell.

If the sales rep is not a superstar, then the customer makes the decision based on price and features. With no superstar rep in the picture, the customer's decision is easy: Buy the one with the lowest price. One thing that drew me to sales training was realizing the difference a great rep can make to a company. We've all had a chance to observe this. Consider what happens to a company when one of its superstars leaves a territory - sales drop almost immediately. The converse is true when an experienced consultant is placed in a new territory - sales immediately increase. What changed? Has the company drastically reduced price, changed its marketing strategy, or announced a new product? No. After more than twenty years of witnessing this, I have seen time
and time again that the cause of the sales drop is the departure of that particular superstar. This proves that the sales rep is critical! 

Lucy, the bottom line is that you must stop looking to your company to provide extraordinary products and look to utilizing your own consultative selling skills as the key differentiator that will earn the business for you.

Good Luck, and Close 'Em!

About
the Author:

Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales,
and creator of Trust Triangle Selling™ helps corporations
improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales
teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales
meetings, workshops and association events. You can visit his
web site and read his other articles at www.trusttriangleselling.com.

The Tele-Prospecting Squeeze Play: The Secret to Getting More Of Your Calls Returned by Jim Domanski

If you struggle to reach decision makers, if your messages are rarely returned, and if you're frustrated with your prospecting results, then try using one of the best-kept secrets of prospecting: call as high up the organizational food chain as you can and work down. It's called the 'squeeze play.'

At first blush, this approach would seem to be just the opposite of what you would expect. Executives (VPs and C-Levels) are tough to reach and getting them to respond is even tougher.  Protected by personal administrators and voice mail, the odds of speaking to an exec are slim.

But that doesn't matter. You don't have to speak the executive for the squeeze play to work. All you need is a simple strategy.

The Executive Suite

When you call higher up, one of two things will happen. You will get lucky and reach the decision maker or, more likely, you will reach a personal assistant. Either way, you can leverage the moment.

The Executive Encounter

Unless you're selling a strategic product or service, the chances that the executive actually makes the decision to buy is negligible. An underling usually handles those buying decisions and that's what you are really looking for. Begin by identifying yourself, where you are calling from and the nature of your call.  They key here is to acknowledge that the executive may not be the right person and ask for guidance,

"Ms. Bigge, I know you probably don't handle this type of purchase but perhaps you could steer me in the right direction."

You'll find the vast majority of executives appreciate your candid nature and will give you the name of the person in charge, the 'underling.'  Now here's how you complete the call and set up the Squeeze Play,

"Thank you Ms. Bigge for your time. I'll call ____ today and then I'll let you know how it went by the end of the week. How does that sound?"

Either the executive will say yes to your suggestion or she'll explain you don't have to call back.  It doesn't matter. You've set the stage.

The Personal Admin Encounter

You can use the same tactic if you reach a personal secretary. They'll be glad to refer you to the proper underling. Be sure to thank secretary and let her know you'll give them an update by a specific date and time.

The Underling - Voice Mail Squeeze Play

Call the underling. If you encounter voice mail, leverage the call to the executive suite and induce the Squeeze Play. Leave the following message,

"Mr. Underling, I was just speaking to Ms. Bigge (or I was just speaking to Janet, Ms. Bigge's assistant) and she suggested I give you a call with an idea we discussed on how to ___________ (fill in your benefits statement)

Would you please give me a call at ______ as soon as possible as I told Ms. Bigge  I will get back to her on Friday at 2:00 p.m. regarding the results of our conversation."

By telling the underling that you will get back to the executive by a given date and time creates the "squeeze play." At this point, the underling doesn't know a thing about you except that you have had a chat with the executive (or the executive office).  So naturally enough, the underling feels compelled to respond and reply to you...just in case. Et voila!

The Underling - Live Squeeze Play

You can use the squeeze play live as well. In your opening statement, make reference to the discussion with the executive right off the bat,

"Mr. Underling, I spoke with Ms. Bigge regarding ______ (your benefit statement).  I am to get back to Ms. Bigge  by Friday with regard to our call so if I have caught you at a good time, I'd like to ask you a few questions to get a feel for your situation and to determine if there might be a fit."

As with the voice mail, the underling knows the executive is somehow involved and will likely feel obligated to answer your questions or set up a telephone appointment sometime before Friday. In this manner, you avoid the brush off objections that typically occur.

Keep Your Word

The beauty of the Squeeze Play is that it is legitimate.  You have positioned your executive contact so that it maximizes the opportunity.

Key point: ALWAYS follow through and keep your word. Call the executive or admin back as you promised.  This can work for you in two ways.

First, if the underling does not call back, you can call Ms. Bigge and explain you made a few attempts to reach Underling but that he has not gotten back to you. Explain further that you will continue to try and will continue to keep Ms. Bigge updated. In this manner, you are not really "tattling" but rather fulfilling a promise you made to the executive.

Second, if the underling does call you back you must STILL call Ms. Bigge.  Regardless of whether or not you get a sale or an appointment or whatever, be sure to give the executive (or secretary) an update. It's not so much they they really need to know but rather an issue of keeping your word and positioning yourself for future opportunities.

Summary

Try the Squeeze play.  It's easy, it's ethical and it's a little edgy. Certainly, it's different. Most of your competitors don't use it.  Above all, it works very well and that means more decision maker contacts. More opportunities typically mean more sales.  Give it a shot.

About The Author:

Teleconcepts Consulting works with companies and individuals who struggle to use the telephone more effectively to sell and market their products and services. For more information on consulting services and training programs, articles, and other resources visit  www.teleconceptsconsulting.com   or call 613 591 1998.

10 Secrets to Creating a Sales Proposal That Doesn't Suck by Kelley Robertson

Before I started my sales training business I worked in a corporate environment and during that time had the opportunity to review many sales proposals for a variety of products and services. Since then, I have had the good fortune (or misfortune in most cases) to read dozens more and I'm still under-whelmed by most of them. Most of the proposals I see make the same fundamental mistakes. Here are ten strategies you can use to ensure that your proposal stands out from your competitors.



1-Open effectively. The vast majority of sales proposals start with information about the seller's company. I have never figured out the rationale of this approach. Your prospect doesn't care about you or your company. They don't want to know how long you have been in business, what awards you have won, or what other companies you have worked with. Effective proposals always highlight the problem that the prospect is facing and the impact that problem has on their business. And they do this early. Not on page two, three or nine. On the first page. If you feel obligated to include this type of information place it near the end of the proposal.



2-Address their situation early. An approach that I have found very effective is to begin with a one paragraph summary of my prospect's situation followed by the key objectives they want to achieve. This demonstrates that you have a good understanding of your prospect's problems and concerns. I like to state the objectives in bullet-point form because it is easier to read and absorb.



3-Show the value. This does not mean expanding at great length about your solution. Instead, it requires that you identify exactly how your prospect will benefit by implementing your solution. A technique I learned many years ago is to include several bullet points with each point stating a separate value proposition.



4-Avoid corporate-speak or marketing mumbo-jumbo. The best proposals are written in plain, easy-to-understand language. Many sales people (and marketing departments) think that it is important to use ten dollar words when a simple word would suffice. Never, ever use terminology that might be difficult to understand. Although this is a simple concept, too many sales people include wording or technical information that just isn't necessary. I learned this lesson when I submitted my first proposal many years ago. After earning the business I asked my client why they chose me and she said, "Your proposal was easy to understand."



5-Keep it brief. I once read a proposal for a sales training program that spanned 24 pages. Decision makers are far too busy to read a long proposal. I understand that some proposals require a lot of information and detail, especially if you are recommending a complex solution. However, the longer your proposal the more likely it is that your prospect will skim through it and flip ahead to the investment. It is much more effective to write a short, concise proposal and provide back-up information if needed.



6-Avoid the word "I" or "we". The more times these two words show up in your proposal the more evident it appears that the proposal is about you, not about your prospect or their business or company. This also includes mentioning your company name. Keep your proposal focused on your prospect and use the word "you".



7-Use titles or headings. This is particularly important if your proposal is relatively long although it is an effective approach with short proposals too. Headings make it easy for your prospect to find key information. Heading also break up the page and make your proposal easier to read.



8-Include at least one testimonial. Testimonials remain one of the most effective sales weapons and you need to incorporate them into your proposals. I like to add these in my P.S. after my signature although I know people who include several testimonials throughout their proposals.



9-Include a summary. Many people will skip the details of your proposal and flip to the last page. Effective proposals include a bullet-point summary of the services you will provide to your prospect.



10-End with a call to action. I used to close my proposals with, "If you require any additional information please feel free to contact me." Boring! Tell the prospect what you want them to do next. By the way, the next steps should ALWAYS be discussed BEFORE you write your proposal.



The purpose of a proposal is to demonstrate that you and your company have the best solution for the prospect's problem. Apply the concepts that were mentioned in this article and stand out from your competition.



© MMX Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved. Get your FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing to Kelley's free newsletter, "59 Seconds to Sales Success" at www.Fearless-Selling.ca. Kelley Robertson, author of The Secrets of Power Selling helps sales professionals close more sales at higher profits. Kelley conducts workshops and speaks regularly at sales meetings and conferences. Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@Fearless-Selling.ca.