Your business proposal can be one of the most valuable assets to help you get deals over the line. But even at this late stage in the sales cycle, you’re probably not the only one competing for your prospect’s business. If you want to stand out in a crowded business deal, your proposal needs to shine. These data-backed proposal best practices will help take yours from average to ace.
“We’re not closing. We’re falling short of quotas. We’re missing sales targets.”
Let’s face it—every sales team hits roadblocks. Whether they’re most prevalent when you’re generating leads, doing outreach, or sending proposals, they can slow your sales cycle to a halt. While it takes time to find and implement a solution, the good news is that you already have the tools you need to get back on track.
Think about it. Thanks to your CRM and other tools, you generate a massive amount of sales data every single day. By digging into that data, you can uncover insights into the issues standing in your way. And with the right approach, you can leverage sales analytics to help your entire organization shine.
Your CRM is one of the most powerful sales tools in your tech stack. Whether you use HubSpot, Salesforce, or any other platform, popular or niche, it’s your sales team's single source of truth and numero uno for managing customer information and deal stages. With so many potential applications, it’s no wonder over 91% of companies with 10+ employees now use a CRM. But as powerful as it may be, it becomes even more impactful when you bring other tools, like proposal software, into the mix.
In the world of sales, there are few things more scary than the word “burnout.” We've all seen it. Reps struggling to get through each day, showing up exhausted, and unmotivated -- or not showing up at all. Whatever the underlying cause may be, it’s your job as a leader to help them get back on their feet.
But what about you?
On top of the pressure you receive from above, the constant focus on hitting metrics, and your ongoing drive to break sales records, you’re tasked with keeping your reps on track. It all adds up, and sometimes it can be too much. Sales burnout is a real problem, and it affects everyone on the sales team, including sales leaders.
As a salesperson, you need to be convincing in order to win prospects over. While this might sound like an opportunity to flaunt your knowledge and expertise, sales aren’t made by showing your prospect how smart you are. In fact, using too much jargon or technical language can actually have the opposite effect.
If this year has taught us anything, it’s that people are social. They need to be around other people. While Zoom happy hours and virtual coffee meetings were a start, there’s really no substitute for face-to-face interactions.
Remote selling has come a long way over the past year, but now that restrictions are being lifted, many people are excited by the opportunity to finally meet in person again. As travel for business becomes a reality, the demand for physical events is beginning to climb.
Proposify is excited to receive official recognition as a certified app through HubSpot's App Partner Program. This powerful integration removes friction from the closing process and allows sales teams to create, send, track, and close deals directly in their CRM.
“Always be closing.”
If you’re in sales (and even if you’re not), you’ve surely heard this mantra a hundred times before. The reality is, if you want to be a sales superstar, you’ve gotta be a closer. But some folks in sales are uncomfortable with the term 'closer,' as they feel it carries a negative connotation. Thankfully, the cliche of the callous, cutthroat closer is long gone. However, if you want to succeed, you need to learn how to close the right way.
Sales team motivation is not all self-help gurus and cheesy inspirational quotes. It isn't even about fame and fortune. No, really. To maintain effort, drive, and results, your sales reps need to find and optimize motivators beyond money that work for them, especially if they’re working from home. Here's how to find the non-cash incentives that will take your sales team to the next level.
If you’re in any way involved in the sales process, you already know how big of a deal proposals are. They’re your best—if not your only—shot at convincing prospects to choose your product over the competition. And yet, they’re still treated as an afterthought.
Like it or not, Microsoft Word isn’t meant for designing proposals, and combing through multiple versions of each sales document isn’t exactly efficient. Enough is enough. It’s 2021 and the world’s gone digital, so it’s about time you drop those archaic proposal practices and start using proposal management software to take back control of your sales process.
Get started with a free Proposify 14-day trial. No credit card required. Just more closed deals.
