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Discover the simple technique that snowballed my client conversion rate

Improve sales conversions with a good sales proposal document

When I started out as a freelance copywriter I was excited about engaging with clients. I wanted to make use of my marketing experience, to bring real effectiveness into their promotion and make sure they got the most value possible.

I shone bright with my desire to get it right and while we talked it seemed to go so well. They didn’t balked at my rough price and I would send through a quote in writing. And then ….. nothing.

I couldn’t figure it out. But then I changed my quote document and boy, what a difference.

The sales process is far (far far) from over when you send through a quote, even when they seem like a “sure thing”. In fact, this moment is probably one of the most critical in the sales conversion process because when you put something on paper, it sticks around as a reminder. Long after your charming phone manner is forgotten.

What did I do that made my sales conversion rate do an about face? I changed my one-page quote into a six-page proposal for investment that sells me right from the opening paragraph.

This sales proposal checklist will help you make sure your sales proposal is everything it could be.

Be polite from your opening sentence. You will probably have some puff in the email that goes with the sales proposal but it pays to welcome the reader to the document as well.

Describe your understanding of the project objectives. Talk to your client (if you haven’t already) and make sure you understand what it is they are really after.

Describe your understanding of the project scope. If that means asking a few more questions and repeating yourself a little, don’t worry. It will save you the awkward conversation later on when they tell you they didn’t need a direct mail series … just one letter.

Introduce your business with a reasonably brief summary that helps to demonstrate your experience and credibility

Spell out what your service entails. Even if you think it’s all standard stuff. “Oh but everyone does that” you think. Remind them! And customise it for the project and client.

Then, put your price. Sure, the client might flick to the price first but your aim is to take them on a journey so that by the time they get to the price they actually see your service as an investment. A valuable investment.

Include testimonials or samples that will show off your other successful projects.

Spell out your terms and conditions. Terms and conditions not only make you look professional; they give clarity to your relationship from the get-go. Don’t make them too long though eh?

Tell them what the next step in the sales process is so there is no confusion. Do they pay a deposit or do they give you approval for the project?

And finally …. ask them to take that next step!

Sure, you will end up with a longer sales proposal. It will take longer to prepare but it will be worth the time you invest. The sales process doesn’t finish here either. Make sure you follow up!!

So now it’s your turn. What do you have in your sales proposal document that helps you convert prospects into clients?

The Copy Detective.

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  • http://copybreak.com.au Anna @ Copybreak

    What a great article Belinda… it’s certainly made me think about my own proposals. Sure, I include many of the elements you outlined (Terms & Conditions, my understanding of the project, what the next step is, etc.), but rather than one cohesive document, I include them as individual docs.

    Perhaps the simple act of collating them into one would make a difference, even if only to make it easier for the client to open and print off.

    Thanks for sharing your tips. I’ll look forward to seeing the results :)

    • http://www.website-design.com.au Chris Bates

      Yeah roll it into one! I hate getting multiple documents as part of a proposal/quote… It’s inconvenient to open 2+ documents that are only 1-2 pages themselves…

  • http://www.bridiestypingservices.com Bridie Jenner

    Wow, great post Belinda… definitely some things in there that I can incorporate into my own quotes. Thank you for sharing!

    • http://www.copywritematters.com.au Belinda (The Copy Detective)

      I’m so glad you found the post useful Bridie and Anna. Quite simple changes but they really help your client see the value of your service.

  • http://www.mihadali.com Mihad

    Agreed with Anna and Bridie, fantastic article. Has me thinking about this a lot deeper than what is in place :-) .

  • http://www.katetoon.com Kate Toon

    Hey Belinda

    You put me to shame. Often as I have limited time I just shoot off a quote, only if the project is over a $2kish do I spend the time on a proposal. I feel naffed off if I’ve spent a few hours on a proposal then don’t get the job!

    But when I get the time I’m going to go through this article in detail and make sure I’ve covered everything.
    Thanks really useful!
    Kate

    • http://www.copywritematters.com.au Belinda (The Copy Detective)

      It is a balance between your investment (of time) and the return but there are a number of sections that stay the same for me, which helps to speed things up. I think customising the content as much as possible brings more rewards so I usually leave an hour for each proposal. Let me know how you go with a new proposal format!

  • http://www.theadminwizard.com Amanda Fagan

    A good read will definately be looking at re-doing my written proposals to clients.
    Thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.website-design.com.au Chris Bates

    Awesome post Belinda, and all very very accurate… We too noticed a very significant increase in conversions when we redid the way we ‘quoted’ jobs.

    Two rules we put in place:
    - They’re proposals, not quotes
    - It’s an investment, not a cost

    You should seriously sell hand-crafted proposals as a service, I would credit our proposal to thousands of dollars of sales we may have otherwise missed out on.

    • http://www.copywritematters.com.au Belinda (The Copy Detective)

      Great idea Chris! And I credit the Frontbox Interactive proposal and your conversion report to helping me “see the light” about communicating my value (over the mere price of my service).

  • http://www.clickwinningcontent.com.au Melinda

    Some good things to think about here, thanks Belinda. I also like Chris’s point about it being a proposal – there is a big difference between simply putting a price in writing and submitting a proposal that will really sell your services.

  • http://synergymediamarketing.com Elle Billias

    Belinda,

    This is great advice – I was just contemplating whether or not a 2 page proposal was too long! Now I might even turn it in to 3 pages, I definitely use a template to start with and customise bits and pieces to make it unique to each client/job.

    Thanks, Elle

    • http://www.copywritematters.com.au Belinda (The Copy Detective)

      Thanks Elle. I’m glad you found it useful. Let us know if you notice a change from your proposal update!

  • http://www.getbusymedia.com Steve Murphy

    Wow, so true. Sales really is a science, and comes down to motivating the client to take action on their own. I’m going to adopt this template for my own proposals, lets hope it helps me the same way it helped you!

    • http://www.copywritematters.com.au Belinda (The Copy Detective)

      Thanks for your comment Steve. It makes perfect sense now but I was amazed at the difference in conversions once I explained the value of my service. Let me know how you go!

  • http://www.fairendel.com Irina Rachow

    You might be ‘loosing prospects and/or clients’ or most likely ‘losing’ them, because just when they seem ‘sown up’ (are we talking agriculture here?) or you must mean ‘sewn up’, they see these glaring grammatical errors (from a copywriter, no less) and run screaming for the door. No one is perfect, but 3 errors in one paragraph is a bit scary – I know I wouldn’t think too highly of a company, especially one in the field of writing/editing where they didn’t edit their own work. Sorry to be so harsh, but it’s important to represent yourself well out there, especially to potential clients.

    • http://www.copywritematters.com.au Belinda (The Copy Detective)

      Hi Irina and thanks for taking the time to comment. I absolutely agree with you. As you pointed out, spelling and grammar are essential for a copywriter to get right. The comment you replied to (and the ones that follow) are actually trackbacks to this post rather than excerpts from the post. The original post doesn’t contain this text (at all) so it also doesn’t contain the errors you noticed. I hope you get a chance to read the original post and leave your thoughts.

  • http://lutrov.com/ Ivan Lutrov

    All good points, with the whole “proposal” instead of “quote” mindset being especially helpful. Of course, it doesn’t pay to go overboard either. You probably don’t want to send a 6 pager on a $500 job either.

    The comments in this post are a good illustration of what’s wrong with comments on a lot (a real lot) of blogs. The crappy “stop loosing [as opposed to tightening] prospects” trackbacks don’t add any value and just get in the way of readability and overall usefulness.

    P.S. It pretty well known out there just much I hate captchas. Yours is significantly more legible than most I’ve encountered.

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