5. Timing

Time is money and everyone is late. That means no one is worth what they are charging. You must show that you understand and can make target dates with ease. Your client may have many times cost of your product or service resting on this deal. They may be much less concerned about your price than your timing.

6. Value Statement

Here is tough one. How do you articulate your value to client in proposal? First, you ask loads of questions. Second, you work with them to build a success scenario early in discussions. Lastly, you use their numbers to make case. This section should be as numeric as possible and tied directly to client’s bottom line. Statements like, “Based on your assessment that improved information systems of this type will improve output by 10%, this system will pay back $1.9 Million in first year and $34.5 million over next 5 years.” Done correctly, value dwarfs fee and makes your price a non-issue.

The value case is one case that hidden buyers always jump on. They ask, “Is this worth it?” and “How are we going to pay for this?” If your value case is missing, you are at mercy of person standing there in room to make your sales presentation for you. If you weren’t scared before, you should be now. With a strong case in proposal, you have a prayer of winning day.

The Value Process is detailed in my book “The Team Selling Solution: Creating and Managing Teams That Win Complex Sales” (McGraw-Hill, 2004). It is now available on audio CD and hardcopy at: http://www.waterhousegroup.com/books/theteamsellingsolution.html

7. The Details

Ok, somewhere in here you must detail deliverables, price, terms and conditions. Once again, these should not be surprises since you worked them out long before you wrote proposal. I love clients who say, “Send me a proposal.” I say, “How about if we talk it through right now and then I’ll send you a summary of our agreement.” No one ever objects and I get benefit of hearing their reaction to my offerings.

So why did you lose that deal? Because you forgot that proposals need to be stand-along sale presentations, not simply pre-invoices. Think of it this way: If proposal I outlined above was sitting next to yours, and client had never talked with either company, who do you think has best chance of winning?

Make your proposal sell and you’ll be building an insurance policy behind every deal you close.

For a free copy of "How to Leave a Voice Mail That Gets Results", please email article19@waterhousegroup.com and ask for article #19.

Stephen Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse Group. They specialize in helping companies increase their sales and profits. He can be reached at 1-800-57-LEARN or steve@waterhousegroup.com.

Re-Print Permission This article may be reprinted in it's entirety if following conditions are met:

The complete tag with author's name and contact information is included immediately after article. A copy of printed article is mailed to author at 1467 Walnut Creek Drive, Orange Park, FL 32003 within 30 days of publication. The article is presented in a positive light as part of an appropriate business related publication.

c. Prove it - Assume that you'll be challenged on your assumptions and projections, so be prepared to defend them. Where possible, use number gathered from client's executives.

Step 2. Present it

Here is where you address fact that buying power moves up in a down market. The same person who authorized a $2M contract last year only has $200K in buying power this year. If you present your big deal to that person, they will be forced to either reject your plan or try to sell it internally themselves. You must identify real buyer and make your case directly to them. I recommend that you start as high in organization as you can. After all, if you are asking them to reallocate precious funds from one department to another, a department head will not have power you need.

Step 3. Close it!

Big, complicated sales sold to high-level executive can get tied up in delays and shuffled from one person to another. Always remember that you are there to help top dog win and you should never be afraid to let them know that this important project is stalled in middle management. Let CEO be your Roto-Rooter and help you clear clogs in their system.

Obviously, this was an abbreviated version of Value Selling process, but many of you should be able to get started on it today. Pick one account and make it your goal to make a big value presentation by a given date. Please share your successes with me. I love to hear good news.

For a free copy of "20 Questions That Uncover Your Value", please email article17@waterhousegroup.com and ask for article #17.

Stephen Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse Group. They specialize in helping companies increase their sales and profits. He can be reached at 1-800-57-LEARN or steve@waterhousegroup.com.

Re-Print Permission This article may be reprinted in it's entirety if following conditions are met:

The complete tag with author's name and contact information is included immediately after article. A copy of printed article is mailed to author at 1467 Walnut Creek Drive, Orange Park, FL 32003 within 30 days of publication. The article is presented in a positive light as part of an appropriate business related publication.