Top 5 tips to successful proposals

We caught up with our Consultancy Desk team this week to discuss our internal processes and one of the topics discussed was providing a quotation.

We all know creating a professional and comprehensive quotation is an important part of any business, but do we all have processes in place to ensure the customer experience is consistent and the level of know-how translates across the board?

There’s a strong chance that your customer is asking for quotes from several sources, and you will be compared with the competition, so set the bar high with our 5 tips to create a seamless quotation process for Professional Services:

  1. Contact – Initial contact is an opportunity to build rapport and add value – explain the process, your teams’ level of expertise and agree turnaround / deadline.
  2. Qualify – use the tools available (Technical Discovery document) to identify the needs, desires, frustrations, or concerns. Ask questions and gather as much background information as possible.  The best way to minimise objections/ resistance later on is to ask better questions earlier on during the qualification.
  3. Communicate – pass on the relevant information to the technical team and advise them of any time & budget restraints, deadlines etc. Consider variables – does the work need to be onsite, will it require more than 1 person at a time, will it be performed during weekend etc.
  4. Present – this is the opportunity to present the price and propose how your business / technical expertise will help the customer achieve their goal. Be clear and confident, overcome any areas of concern by understanding what you’re providing, and offer to clarify any queries that the customer might have with the appropriate technical resource. Focus on value, let the customer know they can trust you to get the work done accurately and to the highest standard.
  5. Follow up. Whether you win the business or not, you should have a clear follow-up process in place, it will help establish your relationship with the customer and might convert them down the line or retain them for future opportunities. Be professional, polite and persistent, just don’t be a pest!

Of course, you may have your own process to success, and we’d love to hear what you would add to our list. We are also keen to help with your Professional Services opportunities and you can contact us at [email protected]

Kristina Jakubjonoka & Tom Leech