Five Deadly Mistakes Of Proposal Development

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You’ve had three successful sales calls with your newest prospect. You gave winning presentations, asked the right questions, and listened carefully to the prospect’s concerns. Now it’s time to present a proposal … time to translate how your product or service will match the prospect’s objectives.

A proposal is your best shot at demonstrating that you are serious about helping your prospect achieve his or her goals. In addition, a proposal helps you present your case in the most compelling and attractive package possible. And yet, too often people fail to write proposals that compel their prospects to take positive action.

Since I find myself giving the same advice over and over again to many of the clients with whom I work, here they are, the five biggest mistakes I see in proposal development. Any one of them can mean the difference between sweet success and frustrating failure.

Mistake #1

Neglecting to base the content of your proposal on what you know about this prospect’s needs and preferences. For example, neglecting to articulate in sufficient detail your understanding of the prospect’s needs, what you intend to do for his or her organization, or what anticipated results and potential benefits are to be gained from utilizing your product or service.

Primary symptoms: Focusing on how you have served other clients in the past, rather than on how this prospect can be served now, in the present.

Mistake #2

Neglecting to have a unified theme in the proposal that makes it clear how your company’s strategies compare with your competitor’s. Your theme doesn’t have to be some grand, sweeping vision. It does, however, need to:

Be consistent with your organization’s overall mission.
Provide a compelling reason why this prospect should sign up immediately for your way of seeing things.

Primary symptoms: Not knowing what your position in the marketplace is, including what special qualities you bring to the party.

Mistake #3

Falling back on boilerplate. Prospects always prefer it when it appears that the entire proposal has been tailored specifically to them. This can involve such simple things as personalizing the proposal pages and binder.

Primary symptoms: Too many sections with general statements about your organizational capabilities and credentials which overshadow more prospect-specific or solution-specific material.

Mistake #4

Failing to ensure that the prospect is aware of the key points in the proposal before it is presented. For example, experienced proposal developers schedule a ‘‘yellow pad’’ meeting with influential prospect personnel in order to review the proposal’s key points before the proposal’s formal presentation. At this session they encourage the prospect to make last minute modifications and suggest additions. As a result, they not only discover much more about the prospect’s interests and situation, but also reinforce the prospect’s status as a working collaborator and business partner.

Primary symptoms: Neglecting to have early drafts of the proposal reviewed by both your key client contacts and additional objective observers, such as non-involved members of your staff or outside experts.

Mistake #5

Proposing unrealistic results. If clients have it in writing that they can expect incredible results, it leaves room for great dissatisfaction (and possibly lawsuits!) if only modest achievements occur.

Primary symptoms: Arrogance, usually fortified by a strong dose of greed.