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The last time you sent a proposal to a prospective customer, did the scene play out like this?
You spent 20 minutes finding the right sales proposal template, or worse, copying a previous proposal. Then you spent another 30 minutes personalizing it and double-checking that every blank is filled in and mention of other customers is replaced with your new customer. Then you copied and pasted your price quote (which you also spent 2 hours putting together manually). Before you sent the proposal, you spent another 20 minutes finding the right assets and attaching several supporting documents to the email, hoping the buyer would open the files and read them.
Whew! That’s a lot of work. And after all that effort, you’re still left wondering, “Did they read my email? Did the slick sheet I attached speak to their needs? Did they share the email with internal stakeholders?”
A sales proposal has a lot riding on it. And, a couple of missteps can derail a deal.
Those mistakes could be anything from overlooking a personalization field in the template, to errors in the price quote, to attaching the wrong assets.
One of the biggest missed opportunities is responding quickly to a buyer’s request for a proposal. 50 to 78% of B2B customers buy from the first vendor to respond. And, in our scenario above, it could take a few hours to pull together a quote and generate a proposal. Who has that much time to waste? And, why should your buyer have to wait that long?
If it takes too long to generate a proposal, they will move on to another vendor.
Beyond Sales Proposal Templates
Templates are a good thing. They save time and standardize corporate communications. However, sales proposal templates have their limitations. They are a good starting point when creating a standard branded template. But when they have to be manually personalized they are vulnerable to errors.
You may be thinking, “I use mail merge to pull information from Microsoft Dynamics CRM to fill in the blanks of my template.” That is more efficient, but ultimately not as effective as it could be. These types of proposals often read as cookie-cutter (because that’s what they are). Your clients deserve a better, personalized experience.
The Better Alternative: Digital Sales Proposals
A better way to share proposals with your buyers is to generate a dynamic digital sales proposal that is personalized for each client. A digital sales proposal, or DealRoom, is a micro-website that delivers personalized content customers need to make buying decisions. All the pertinent information, such as case studies, ROI calculator, and customer reviews, are located in one place that is easy to share with internal stakeholders, instead of multiple email attachments.
DealRoom sales proposal software technology integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales, enabling sales teams to generate customized business proposals that help close deals quickly. It’s a smart way to extend the value of your investment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Not only do buyers benefit from a personalized experience, sales teams benefit as well. Using dynamic sales proposal software, they can easily collaborate on deals. And, deep sales insights on customer engagement and level of interest are collected from every DealRoom. This collective data set helps sales operations determine friction points and optimize sales content.
It’s time to go beyond sales proposal templates, and provide your customers and sales team with an optimal buying and selling experience. Learn more about DealHub’s expertise in the sales proposal software category and see a customized DealRoom. Request your demo today.
Article by: Gideon Thomas – VP Marketing & Growth, DealHub.io | LinkedIn
DealHub Configure-Price-Quote solution is rated the #1 CPQ software for ease of use, easiest setup, and best support. Sales teams configure quotes and proposals faster with fewer errors. DealHub’s highly intuitive CPQ minimizes administrative tasks, empowers sales teams to engage more effectively with buyers, and streamlines sales operations to reduce the sales cycle and increase revenue. It operates natively within Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales and includes: dynamic sales playbooks, interactive content sharing, document generation, contract management, and e-signature. Request your personalized demo to learn how DealHub will accelerate your sales process and help your team close deals faster.
