Proposify logo Proposify logo
  • Product
    • Product OverviewProposify is the all-in-one platform that makes every deal a closed deal.
    • IntegrationsChoose from hundreds of third-party tools to connect with
    • Document AutomationAccelerate your sales cycle by sending professional, on-brand documents.
    • Interactive QuotesCreate interactive and error-free quotes that will quickly seal the deal.
    • Contract ManagementMark up and sign on any type of contracts, quotes, and agreements.
    • E-Signatures & PaymentsGet all your sales documents legally locked down right within Proposify.
  • Solutions
    • Roles
      • Sales
      • Marketing
      • IT/Operations
    • Industries
      • Agencies and Consulting
      • IT and Software
      • Landscaping and Janitorial
      • Construction and Restoration

    Want help from the experts?

    We offer bespoke training and custom template design to get you up and running faster.

    Learn more
  • Templates
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • LEARN
    • Case Studies
    • Demo Center
    • Webinars
    • Blog
    • Newsletter
    • SUPPORT
    • Help Center
    • Getting Started
    • Product updates
    • API Docs
    • Refer a Friend

    State of Proposals 2025 Report

    We’ve dug deep into our data and extracted the information that sales and marketing leaders can use to make their proposals better and boost their business.

    Read the Report
  • Log in
  • Book a demo
  • Sign Up Free
  • Product
    • Product OverviewProposify is the all-in-one platform that makes every deal a closed deal.
    • IntegrationsChoose from hundreds of third-party tools to connect with
    • Document AutomationAccelerate your sales cycle by sending professional, on-brand documents.
    • Interactive QuotesCreate interactive and error-free quotes that will quickly seal the deal.
    • Contract ManagementMark up and sign on any type of contracts, quotes, and agreements.
    • E-Signatures & PaymentsGet all your sales documents legally locked down right within Proposify.
  • Solutions
    • Roles
      • Sales
      • Marketing
      • IT/Operations
    • Industries
      • Agencies and Consulting
      • IT and Software
      • Landscaping and Janitorial
      • Construction and Restoration
  • Templates
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • LEARN
    • Case Studies
    • Demo Center
    • Webinars
    • Blog
    • Newsletter
    • SUPPORT
    • Help Center
    • Getting Started
    • Product updates
    • API Docs
    • Refer a Friend
  • Log in
  • Book a demo
  • Sign Up Free
Proposify Blog
    • Sales
    • Proposals
    • Business
    • Tools
    • Product
    • Marketing
  • Proposals
6 min read

Buying Proposal Software? 4 Sure-Fire Things to Help You Start Strong

June 23, 2020
Lauren d'Entremont Lauren d'Entremont
  • Share
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Copy

    How many times have you bought a piece of sales software and it ended up sitting unused gathering digital dust? Or you never quite found the best way to get set-up and running smoothly? Well, never again with these foolproof tips for getting started the right way from our customer success pros.

    There are always a lot of sales-guru quotes floating around on Twitter and LinkedIn. But in this post, I’m going to paraphrase the immortal words of a marketing-savvy singer instead:

    I want it, I got it. I want it, I got it
    You like my software? Gee, thanks, just bought it.
         — Ariana Grande, "7 Rings" (sort of)

    How many times have you been in that situation? You’re about to purchase or the pixels are barely dry on your electronic signature on the annual subscription for a new software tool. The sales process built up excitement and anticipation. It seems like this proposal software is going to add automation and consistency to your sales docs. You and your team are ready to add to your sales tech stack and get started.

    But where to start? The implementation stage is so important and you don’t want to get it wrong.

    I get it. I’ve been on the other side, too, purchasing software tools that flopped early and failed hard. That ‘new toy’ excitement fizzled fast without proper set-up and optimization. We were flailing around trying to figure it all out ourselves. After a lot of effort, we gave up on it.

    Which is something I love about Proposify—that we're committed to helping our customers sustain that buzz when purchasing our software. And ensure that the initial enthusiasm eventually transitions into a feeling of, "We can't live without this."

    Let’s look closer at how that happens. What do Proposify power users have in common? There are many factors that influence software implementation and ROI but, in general, our most successful new users have:

    • An internal champion or point person.
    • Established sales docs and simplified workflows.
    • Thoughtful content management and template strategies.

    There’s one other thing that these teams have on their side. Their secret weapon for getting the most out of adding proposal software to their sales tech stack. And you can have one, too.

    It’s a Customer Success Manager (CSM).

    What is a Customer Success Manager?

    The CSM role has evolved out of traditional account management. Account managers are ubiquitous in B2B industries. They take over after the sales rep closes the deal, taking over the customer account management with a focus on renewing, upselling, and cross-selling.

    Most software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, including Proposify, have moved away from the account management set up to the customer success approach. This approach centres customer outcomes, like satisfaction and account health, which lead to higher customer retention and lifetime value (LTV).

    This means for you, as a new proposal software customer, that a CSM will help you implement, configure, and optimize your new tool. They can also advise on upgrades or add-on services you might need as you use the product and renew your subscription.

    So that’s what a CSM does throughout their relationship with you. Let’s focus on three ways they can help you as you start out with proposal software.

    Why do I need a proposal software CSM’s help?

    Your CSM helps you get it right, right from Day 1

    Why? Implementation is the most important part of adding software to your tech stack. Getting from that brand-new, where-do-I-start stage to the let’s-roll-this-out-to-the-whole-team point is a short jump but it’s a deep chasm to fall into if you don’t get it right.

    And you might think you have time to tinker with it, figure things out organically, and dive deep into the documentation. But (as much as our Technical Writer, Allan, would be delighted if you read our online knowledge base pixel by carefully-crafted pixel) you likely have other tasks to take care of.

    Do you know who has a lot of that knowledge in their head? Your CSM. Or if they don’t have an immediate answer to your question, they know exactly how to find you one, fast.

    You get a built-in consultant

    Have you ever worked with a proposal workflow consultant before? Great, now you do!

    Some people hear Customer Success Manager and focus on the two less important parts of that phrase: customer and manager. They think, I just bought this and you’re going to try to upsell me? Or, I think I know my business. I don’t need to be managed, thanks.

    However, the key part of this job title is ‘success’. Your CSM is invested in your success. They’re working with you in collaboration, as a consultant that comes packaged with your proposal software purchase.

    Deciding between two template styles? Want to totally revamp how you organize your proposal content? Not sure which interactive proposal feature to implement first? Your CSM has insight that can help you figure all that out.

    Custom optimization

    No cookie-cutter approach here. The CSM will analyze your account to help you create an optimal set-up for streamlined document creation. They’ve seen tons of accounts and use cases. However you and your team like to work—maybe from home?—your CSM can help you optimize for that.

    How? Well, one important way is via an optimization call. It’s a candid discussion between you, the customer, and your CSM about what is going well, and what is not, as you navigate and use the software. You can give feedback, problem-solve, learn best practices, and more.

    How to get the most out of working with your CSM from Day 1

    Your relationship with your Customer Success Manager is key to your overall efficacy and efficiency with your new proposal software. So here are three things you can do to make sure that that connection is strong right from the start, straight from our Proposify CSMs.

    1. Establish a proposal process point person

    As CSM George points out, putting together a process around your new proposal software is easier when there’s someone on the customer side who understands what the entire team needs. Here’s George with more on this:

    2. Be open to collaboration

    The customers CSM Nick likes to work with the most are the ones who view Proposify as more than just a B2B tech tool. Here’s Nick on how that works:

    3. Treat your CSM like an extension of your own team

    Senior CSM Jasper says the client-CSM relationship is bigger than just customer and vendor. Jasper explains how to make this happen:

    No more ‘thank u, next’

    When you purchase proposal software, your first thought might not be, ‘How can I ensure I have a good working relationship with my vendor’s customer success manager?’ But it should be.

    Your CSM is your secret weapon for achieving long-term ROI and can’t-live-without-it success with new software.

    Lauren d'Entremont
    Lauren d'Entremont

    Subscribe via Email

    Related Posts

    3 Steps to a Winning Proposal Conversion Strategy
    Proposals 9 min read April 24, 2018
    3 Steps to a Winning Proposal Conversion Strategy Sending out proposals and then hoping for the best is a common approach, but it’s not the most effective. If the client says no (or worse, if they …
    Read Post
    New Feature Alert! Streamline Your Proposal Process With Streams
    Product 2 min read May 01, 2017
    New Feature Alert! Streamline Your Proposal Process With Streams In our never-ending quest to bring peace and order to the world of proposals, we’re excited to introduce our newest feature (and your newest secret …
    Read Post
    Proposify logo
    • Platform
      • Proposal Automation
      • Quoting
      • Contract Management
      • E-Signatures & Forms
      • Integrations
      • API
      • Security
      • Our Professional Services
    • Solutions
      • Sales
      • Marketing
      • IT/Operations
    • Resources
      • Blog
      • Templates
      • Webinars
      • Books & Guides
      • Knowledge Base
      • AI Proposal Generator
    • Company
      • About
      • Diversity
      • Careers
      • Customers
    ©2025 Proposify Inc. All rights reserved.
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Status
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram

    Basic

    Start free trial

    Team

    Start free trial

    Business

    Book a demo

    Brand customization

    Unlimited templates

    All accounts allow unlimited templates.

    Content library

    Create and share templates, sections, and images that can be pulled into documents.

    Embed images & videos

    Images can be uploaded directly, videos can be embedded from external sources like YouTube, Vidyard, and Wistia

    Custom domain

    You can map your domain so prospects visit something like proposals.yourdomain.com and don't see "proposify" in the URL

    Content authoring

    Basic Team Business
    Online signatures

    All plans allow you to get documents legally e-signed

    Interactive quoting

    Allow prospects to alter the quantity or optional add-ons

    Client input forms

    Capture information from prospects by adding form inputs to your documents.

    Document Sends

    You can create unlimited documents but some plans limit how many you can send per month.

    info

    5 sends / mo

    Unlimited

    Unlimited

    Collaborator seats

    Collaborators are users who only have access to specific proposals, and can edit or approve, but not create or send.

    info

    1 collab seat included

    3 collab seats included

    5 collab seats included

    Visibility

    Basic Team Business
    Notifications & metrics

    Get notified by email and see when prospects are viewing your document.

    PDF export

    Generate a PDF from any document that matches the digital version.

    Reports

    Get a full exportable table of all your documents with filtering.

    Integrations & API

    Basic Team Business
    Payments

    Connect your Stripe account and get paid in full or partially when your proposal gets signed.

    Integrations

    Integrate with popular CRMs, invoicing, and project management tools.

    Automations

    Set up automations using pre-built connectors or customize using the workflow builder

    Single sign-on (SSO)

    Our SSO works with identity providers like Salesforce, Okta, and Azure

    Salesforce integration

    Use our managed package and optionally SSO so reps work right within Salesforce

    $9/user/mo

    Aspire integration

    Import contacts and field data from Aspire into documents in Proposify

    $9/user/mo

    Process & control

    Basic Team Business
    Custom fields & variables

    Create your own fields you can use internally that get replaced in custom variables within a document.

    Auto reminders

    You can automatically remind prospects who haven't yet opened your document in daily intervals.

    Roles & permissions

    Lock down what users can and can't do by role. Pages and individual page elements can be locked.

    Approval workflows

    Create conditions that if met will trigger an approval from a manager (by deal size and discount size).

    Workspaces

    Great for multi-unit businesses like franchises. Enables businesses to have completely separate instances that admins can manage.

    API Access

    Integrate with external systems, or enhance customization, our API provides the tools you need to succeed.

    Customer Success

    Basic Team Business
    Email & chat support

    Our team is here to provide their fabulous support Monday - Thursday 8 AM - 8 PM EST and on Fridays 8 AM - 4 PM EST.

    Phone & Zoom support

    Sometimes the written word isn't enough and our team will hop on a call to show you how to accomplish something in Proposify.

    Success manager

    Your own dedicated CSM who will onboard you and meet with you periodically to ensure you're getting maximum value from Proposify.

    Premium integration support

    Our team of experts can perform advanced troubleshooting and even set up zaps and automations to get the job done.

    Custom template design

    Our in-house designers will design an on-brand, professional proposal template to your satisfaction.

    info
    Learn more Learn more Learn more

    Subscribe via email