No matter how experienced you are professionally, there are certain business-development practices that can be intimidating to the point of avoidance.  One of these is public speaking. Another is soliciting customer feedback.   These are all potential barriers to growth which PivotGuild will be addressing in the coming months.

A major pain point is converting a prospect into a customer.   This week, as we prepare for our newest workshop on 12/13,  How to Create a Killer Sales Proposal, we asked Trainer-Guide Sherry Law to share a couple of tips on how to replace fear with empowerment when it comes to pursuing sales opportunities.

GUEST BLOGGER:  Sherry Law, CEO, Evergreen Communication

Sherry Law

Sherry Law

 

Most businesses greet news of a sales opportunity with a mixed reaction: the excitement of possible sales and the dread of losing hours of precious time writing a proposal that may not win the business.  Is it worth the risk to put aside everything else to write this proposal?  Well, I can tell you that there’s a way you can enjoy the excitement and mitigate the risk by writing the most important parts of the proposal in advance, the parts that meet your two primary goals for writing every proposal:

 

 

  • Showing the value of your product or service; and
  • Setting yourself apart from the competition.

TIP #1:  Whether you are a sole proprietor or part of a company with a sales and marketing staff, you can save significant time and stress by writing all you can in advance. You’ll be creating a ready-to-use sales tool that expresses your strengths and solutions in compelling terms; protects your brand: and leaves no doubt that you are uniquely qualified to meet the buyer’s needs.

TIP #2:  By creating standard language when you’re not under deadline, your proposal language will certainly sound more confident and professional; you’ll have the time to edit for accuracy; and you’ll be able to use it again and again. Time saved. No Stress.

What’s your rate of conversion from proposal to sale and how much time and stress does it take you to get there? What do you hate most about the sales proposal process and what’s not a problem for you? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below.

 

Sherry Law is a communication professional with 20 years’ experience in marketing and internal communications. She is an advisor to CEOs and executives, working with them to create clear, compelling messages that help motivate employees and increase productivity, retention, and employee satisfaction, especially in managing change.

 

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