Do you know what one of the secrets to corporate proposals is?

by Davina Schonle | Aug 2, 2021 | Business

A couple of weeks ago we covered one of the secrets of corporate proposals – uncovering the RIGHT need. If you don’t identify and clarify the right needs you will be wasting both yours and the company’s time and you may not get another

There is one thing I see businesses get wrong time and time again when it comes to proposals. And it is not what they have missed in the document.

Let us give you this scenario to show you the problem:

You are a burger manufacturer and have arranged a fantastic meeting with a decision-maker at a great restaurant chain.  You have a conversation and the decision-maker says they have a problem.  The decision-maker says he wants a burger – you get so excited – off you rush to write your proposal for the best juiciest burger with Scottish prime beef, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickle and a special sauce.  You submit the proposal and you wait in anticipation.  You follow up and you don’t hear anything back and ultimately you get ghosted.  

What was the reason for not hearing from them?

Because they wanted a vegetarian burger!

I have seen this countless times with solopreneurs, business owners, and corporate sales teams. They rush a sale and offer something that the client doesn’t need (or want). Or it isn’t urgent enough.

Have you ever had a situation where you get ghosted from an opportunity that seemed like a given? Yes it could be that things have changed, however it could also be that you hadn’t actually taken the time to really understand their needs in the first place and therefore you were trying to give them a solution that didn’t actually meet their needs? This happens more often than you realise. It is why it is so important in the lead up to submitting the proposal to clarify what they need help with, why they met with you. You don’t just jump on the first problem they are talking about. Sometimes the first thing they tell you is not the biggest, most urgent problem they need to deal with which means your proposal goes on the ‘someday’ pile.

Here are some questions you could ask to identify the need are:

• I have seen X trend in this industry, is this something you are also having challenges on?
• What impact is that having on you and the team?
• What is the value of (the problem) being solved?
• Why is it important?
• What other challenges are you having?
• Is this your main priority this quarter/year?
• What options are you considering?
• What have you tried?
• What timeline do you have in mind?

Once you have the answers to these questions you should have a deeper understanding of the clients needs and priorities and if any of your offerings are relevant.

Next week we will take a look at the next steps to a successful proposal – the questions you should be asking before submitting a proposal.