Effective Sales Proposals

Based on persuasion and buyer psychology research this 'hands-on' workshop helps salespeople to develop and present persuasive sales presentations whether in pursuit of a specific sale or to a wider market audience. We believe this programme is unique in that it focuses on all the elements needed to make a successful sales presentation not just the skills of the presenter. The level of feedback allows delegates to identify areas where they need to improve and to measure the degree of improvement over the programme.

Who Should Attend?

Senior management, director of sales, sales managers, sales coaches, sales trainers and general managers.

By the end of the programme each participant will:

·      Have analysed one of their own proposals, brought with them to the programme, and considered its strengths and weaknesses as a persuasive document be able to describe the process of persuasion and the phases of buyer psychology in complex sales

·       have analysed the client's decision criteria and the implications for their own competitive position

·      have a model for the sequencing of content in a proposal to achieve optimum persuasiveness

·      have analysed and considered how to handle client concerns which could block the sale

·      Have guidelines for the image and style of their proposals and have created a format appropriate to their corporate identity and their market positioning

·      Have guidelines for writing style and structure which will make their proposals readable and user-friendly.

Target audience

Relationship managers, business development consultants, technical specialists and any staff who contribute to the preparation of proposal or tender documents. The programme is especially valuable if 'bid teams' attend together, as this ensures that the technical content of the proposal is persuasively integrated with the client's needs.

Programme content

Persuasive content

·          Describing the client's present situation, problems and their implications.

·          Needs, as stated by the client.

·          Client's criteria for the ideal supplier.

·          Presenting yourself as the ideal supplier.

·          Your solutions to meet the client's needs.

·          Payoffs and value of your solutions.

·          Handling client concerns about risk, costs, implementation hassles.

Image and style

·          Physical presentation: how the document looks.

·          Customising the proposal; personalised copies for each decision-maker.

·          Titling and text style.

·          Using graphics and illustrations.

·          Value of client quotes and summaries.

Readability

·          Preparing an executive summary.

·          Contents and cross-referencing.

·          Sections and headings.

·          Appendices, presentation of price and technical data.

·          Writing style and the Fog Index.