How to Write a Foolproof Sales Proposal That Closes Deals

Your sales process is one of the most essential operations across your entire business. 

Generally, sales processes include a range of different steps, each one with its own degree of importance and complexity, and each one seamlessly leading to the next. 

The end goal is to close a deal and make it official.

The last part of a typical sales process is the sales proposal. But guess what? Many companies often take this bit for granted. 

They think: “Well, we got this far, so surely you aren’t going to pull out of the deal NOW?” 

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but not only is this not the case, but it can also lead your salespeople to neglect sales proposals entirely (or kind of). 

Keep reading our handy guide to find out how to write winning sales proposals that lead to successful deals each time.

1. Really understand your buyer's pain points

This is where it all starts: your prospective buyer’s pain points. 

What frustrates them? What keeps them up at night? What keeps them from hitting their quarterly targets? What causes bottlenecks? What causes loss of revenue?

Once you have honed in on–and really understood–these challenges, you are ready to start crafting your sales proposal. 

Remember that throughout the whole document, you will need to constantly refer back to those challenges in order to demonstrate how your proposed solution will effectively help them revolutionize their lives solve their pain points.

2. Get the reader hooked with a great summary

Regardless of whether your sales proposal is written in the form of a sales email or a different type of document, one thing is for sure: it needs to get your reader’s attention right away. 

After all, our attention span at the moment is shorter than that of a goldfish, right? So, put your creative hat on and try to write a captivating subject line or title, as well as an enticing first paragraph.

Even better, why not craft an executive summary to highlight all the AMAZING value that you are going to deliver? 

Here, you will be able to showcase to your prospect that not only do you understand exactly what their problem is, but that you have just what it takes to fix that problem at a price that is attractive and convenient.

3. Demonstrate tangible value

Now it’s time to show your prospect that you really have what it takes to make them the hero that solves a major issue within their company. To achieve this, you need a value proposition that aligns with their priorities and initiatives. 

Here’s how to craft one:

• Keep it crisp, concise, and compelling: no obscure words, no false promises, and no buzzwords.
• Keep it tightly linked to their pain points/goals.
• Include a differentiator that sets you apart from the competition.
• Include a case study (or two) to prove that other companies like them already achieved incredible results thanks to YOU.

4. Communicate concrete results

You have shown your client that you know (and care about) their challenges. You have demonstrated value by telling them how you’ve helped similar companies in similar predicaments. 

Now you need to explain to them HOW your proposed product or service is effectively going to help them achieve what they want and need.

This part of the sales proposal is usually the longest, but PLEASE, for the sake of our goldfish-like attention span, try to keep it as brief and actionable as possible. 

Start by highlighting your solution’s main and best features, and tie them to real-life examples of how they can use them to overcome their challenges. If you can share metrics/stats, all the better.

5. Close with a compelling CTA

Now that you have hooked your reader with a great proposition, demonstrated tangible value, and kept them engaged with exceptional content, it’s time to win the deal. 

How? 

With a compelling call-to-action (CTA), of course!

While your CTA needs to be as persuasive as possible, you also want to keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Try not to overdo it or use excessively convoluted words or expressions (for example, do not use the word “convoluted”).

Follow these golden rules, and you’ll have a much higher chance of maximizing your CTA:

• Don't use more than six or seven words.
• Use interest-based CTAs such as “Is this something you’d be interested in?” or “Does this align with your goals?” or “Is this top of mind for you?”
• Add some engaging visuals, especially in the form of short video clips and fun, easy-to-digest, and value-packed infographics.

If your sales proposal is in the form of a document, the ending should also always include a signature—read this legal signature guide from PandaDoc if you want to learn more about it.

Writing a winning sales proposal that gets your clients excited and wins you sales deal after sales deal is easier than you think. Just follow the tips in our guide, and you will notice that this step of your sales process gets more and more successful each time. 

Remember that the key here is to provide value, show genuine interest, and deliver actionable results.

By doing so, your clients will truly understand that you can help them achieve what they want and need, and will be a lot more likely to close the deal with you. 

Now, this is what we call a win-win.

Guest post by Yauhen Zaremba, Director of Demand Generation, PandaDoc

Yauhen Zaremba is the Senior Director of Demand Generation at PandaDoc. Yauhen is a growth-focused market leader with more than 14 years of B2B and B2C marketing experience. For the past seven years, he has focused entirely on the electronic signature, proposal, and document management markets.