Reviewing The Proposal Together

I presented a scenario where Connie (the seller) and Jim (the client) had an initial meeting and agreed to get together to review and revise a proposal. 

Now imagine, a week later, Connie and Jim meet again and Connie reviews with Jim the ways in which her services can help him.  She begins to paint a picture of what Jim’s business can be like with her help.  She talks about the increased business Jim can expect.  She asks him what additional services or work he could do if his business was increased.  Jim begins to imagine for himself what that would be like. 

The whole process helps Jim and Connie to work together, thus creating the groundwork for a successful business relationship.  Connie goes over the details of the proposal asking for feedback throughout the process. 

Decision Making Process

Connie then tells Jim that she knows he probably needs a few days to look over the proposal and decide whether he wants to move forward or not.  Connie suggests that Jim set aside at least 30 minutes to write out the benefits he will get in moving forward with Connie and to write down any concerns he has.  Connie asks Jim for a time they can get together on the phone in 2-3 days to get Jim’s decision. He says he would like a week because he needs to talk it over with his partner as well and they set up a time.  

In the first scenario Connie threw a proposal over the transom and hoped it would land at the right time for Jim, hoped Jim would read it with the same thoroughness that Connie used in putting it together and hoped that Jim knew exactly what he wanted and what the next steps were. 

In the second scenario Connie helped Jim throughout the process:

• She asked for permission to go over the proposal together
• They built their relationship through meeting again and reviewing the proposal
• Connie painted a picture of how the service would benefit Jim’s business
• She described the service and cost, always checking with Jim to see if she was on target
• She gave Jim a process for making a decision and in the process uncovered any additional concerns Jim may have had, as well as if there were other people she had to talk to about the decision.  
• She set the expectation that a decision would be made in a few days
• She offered Jim an opening to tell Connie what she needed in terms of time frame     

What I tell my clients is that it is their responsibility to help guide the prospect through the buying process and always agree to a next action step together.  This helps build the relationship.  The seller and buyer are taking action together and the prospect feels taken care of, like the seller knows what they are doing. 

What can you do to help guide your clients to a decision? 

Next week – let’s talk more about the detail of creating the proposal, delivering it and helping the client with a decision making process.

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