Your Proposals Aren't Winning? This might be why.
There are few things more frustrating than spending hours (or weeks!) on a proposal only to have the buyer go with someone else. Until it happens again. And again.
If you’ve found yourself in this position, then you’re likely wondering why this keeps happening. Let’s take a look at a few of the common reasons why the project might be awarded to someone else.
Promised to a Competitor
Whether you’re responding to an RFP or sending a proposal after a sales meeting, losing a proposal to a competitor is hard. The unfortunate truth is that many times, the buyer already wants to award it to the competitor before they even view your proposal. Due to internal protocols, they might have to release a formal RFP or get a few more proposals in the name of “due diligence”. In these situations, it’s tough to win the project, even if your proposal is excellent, simply because they have already made up their mind.
How to Avoid This
You will never be able to avoid this completely, but one way is to get verbal acceptance from the customer before you spend time creating the proposal. If they aren’t prepared to give that to you, ask what they need to know in order to do so.
In the case of RFPs, only respond to RFPs where you’ve been personally invited or have an existing relationship with the customer (whether through business development or previous sales). This will reduce the time you spend creating proposals that are a long shot.
Unclear Offering
Another reason you may be losing is that your offering isn’t clear enough. When the customer reads your proposal, are they left with questions about your process, product, or service? If so, then your offering might be too confusing.
How to Avoid This
Avoid adding too much text to your proposal. Instead, use bullet points, graphics, tables, and headings to show what the customer will receive. Everyone learns new information differently, and if your entire proposal is filled with lengthy text, they might be missing something that could persuade them to buy.
Confusing Pricing
Confusion around pricing might be another area. If you priced too high or too low, the customer will assume you don’t understand the project scope. Sometimes sellers make the pricing too complicated, which makes the customer confused about what exactly they’re getting and at what price.
How to Fix
Make sure you have an idea of what is industry standard for your type of work. From there, develop a pricing format that aligns with what you lay out within your proposal. For example, if you have key milestones in your scope of work, you can attach a price to each milestone.
No Testimonials/References
Trust is a huge factor in purchasing decisions. No one wants to be a fool for choosing to work with a specific vendor. If you don’t have anything in your proposal that shows previous happy clients, then buyers will assume that this is your first project (or that those in the past haven’t been successful).
How to Fix
Gather references and testimonials from existing clients. Develop at least three key case studies that you can incorporate into your proposal for your main offerings. You can also document key statistics, such as the number of clients you’ve had, your customer satisfaction rate, and any other metric to show that your company can be trusted to do a good job.
No Purchase Decision
This last one is out of your hands. Sometimes, after reviewing proposals, buyers decide that the project isn’t worth the investment. They might choose to do the work internally or determine that it’s not a big enough pain point to fix it now.
How to Fix
There isn’t too much you can do at this point. However, if you expect that they might decide to do the project internally, you can speak to that in your proposal.
Always remember that the no in this case means “not right now.” Follow up periodically so you’re top of mind when they decide it is the right time.
Next Steps for Improving Win Rates
These are a few common reasons why proposals lose. If you make the changes above, you should start to see your win rates improve.
Did we miss something that happens to you a lot? Let us know in the comments!