Why I write proposals

My business counselor reminded me that proposals do not close a sale. And yet I spend a lot of time on each one. I thought I was being so precise in case someone came back and accused me of not doing what I’d promised. But, in 20 years of writing hundreds of proposals, no one has ever done that. I have sometimes checked a proposal to see what I promised, but none of my clients has ever come back and said, “See, it says right here, that you will do this.”

So, after a weekend spent writing proposals, I wonder, Why do I do it? I’m sure I could write some boilerplate that I just copy and paste onto each one. And, in fact, I always plan on doing that. But it never works out because each client is unique. There is a slightly different goal, or reason. The brand personality is different, and so the emphasis is just a little different.

I also write them because it helps me understand the client better. I usually do some deeper research when I’m writing them. And I review my notes from our first meeting, remembering what they got excited about, what they were confused about. The last meeting I had, the owner of the company commented about a mutual acquaintance twice, “He’s a real nice guy.” That made me like the business owner better—he was a high-energy intense man with a little edge of anger, but this comment made me see that he appreciated kindness.

I also write them for clarity’s sake. Social network  marketing is new, and can be many things. Often, in our initial conversations, I’ll talk about what’s possible. But after I get a sense of my prospective client’s budget, I only recommend the tactics that will have the most impact. I like to explain those in detail, the way the process will work, what the schedule looks like, and what the results will be. “Manage expectations,” yes, but also tell the story of this process. I want them to finish the proposal with the sense that this is going to be fun, it’s not going to take a lot of their time, and everything will be explained to them.

I hope it inspires confidence. But they’ve probably already decided whether they’re going to buy or not.