3 Reasons Your Proposals Keep Getting Rejected

The business proposal is a creative and informative way to communicate your unique value proposition to a potential client and provide them with a customised service approach. Writing a good proposal hinges on preparation; if you don’t know your client, how can you be sure that their expectations are being met? With this in mind, writing a great proposal is about both preparation AND presentation. Finding an engaging way of presenting your pitch will keep prospects hooked through every detail - ensuring no key points go unnoticed or unappreciated!

Your potential clients may receive an influx of proposals daily, so you want to make sure that yours stand out from the crowd! If they're too wordy or long-winded it can easily get lost in all those other messages vying for attention in their inbox. If you’re already finding that a lot of your proposals are being ignored or rejected, it's time to review and make some changes. You may think you’re doing everything right, but there could be a few reasons your proposals are not getting the attention they deserve:

It doesn't have a clear call-to-action (CTA)

No matter the quality of body content within your proposal, without a clear CTA your prospective client is highly unlikely to convert. They need you to outline exactly what you want them to do to move forward with the proposed offering, whether that is to contact you, accept the proposal, or pay directly from the proposal. The text you use must be concise and transparent, however, a little urgency will go a long way in maximising conversions. This can be achieved by using the words ‘now’ or ‘today’ within your CTA, or alternatively providing a time frame to which an offer stands. The psychology behind these CTAs is extremely important as we have become conditioned to seeing them on almost every digital platform we interact with. Clicking is now habitual and strongly associated with feelings of curiosity, anticipation and reward. Hence, without implementing at least one CTA within your proposal you could be severely dampening your likeliness of sales success.

Some examples of clear call-to-actions you may use include:

• ‘Visit Our Website’
• ‘Contact Us Today’
• ‘Schedule a Call’
• ‘Accept Proposal’
• ‘Pay Now’

It is important to keep in mind that you can include secondary CTAs, within your proposal to assist in driving the reader down the sales funnel. However, it should complement the primary CTA and provide a low-commitment alternative for those prospects who need further nurturing. These secondary CTAs should also carry less visual hierarchy so as not to confuse the reader. Additionally, it is important to consider the placement of your CTA buttons. Your primary call-to-action should appear several times throughout any given proposal, as potential clients may only need to read a small portion before they are ready to accept your offering.

No Social Proof or References

To convert any prospective client, trust is one of the most important factors. A brand's perspective on its own product or service will not create the level of confidence needed to drive conversions; instead it must be earned through social proof. Social proof is now expected by consumers and is a common tool used to measure credibility. It also helps to cut through any sales speak or marketing jargon - leading you right to your potential customer's heart!

"92% of consumers read online reviews and testimonials when considering a purchase"

Reviews and testimonials are a form of social proof, along with business case studies, business credentials and expert approval. While some organisations might be able to show for all of these, only one or two types of social proof are needed to form a solid foundation of trust between the client and the company. For smaller businesses, or those just starting out, they are less likely to have any notable credentials or achievements, which is why reviews and testimonials are so often implemented. They are quick and easy to collect and are just as effective in fostering trust through the removal of company bias. Additionally, if prospects see that the brand has replied to these reviews, it also shows they care about what their clients think, which will also play a major role in conversions.

You're still using PDFs

The PDF (portable document format) was developed in 1992, and truthfully, it has stood the test of time against new innovation. When we think of technology that existed two decades ago, it is definitely dated and has made exponential progress since. So why are we still using the PDF for our proposals when technology has provided us with so many more engaging alternatives?

“It has been found that your potential clients have a 78% higher chance of converting if you DON’T use PDF”

When the impact is this significant, it's clear the PDF needs to retire from the proposal game. Still not convinced? Here 8 more reasons why:

1. Limited Design Capabilities

The PDF is limited to static media only, meaning those awesome product videos you created…they don't get to do the work for you. PDFs can also be quite rigid, meaning it can take a lot of time to make your content LOOK good. While aesthetics are important, it shouldn't take you longer to design your proposal than it does to write it.

2. Clients Can’t Pay Directly From The Proposal

PDF, being an offline document format does not provide the option for an integrated payment system. At the very least it can direct the client to an online payment platform, but without an actual integrated payment button clients are a lot less likely to convert.

3. They’re not optimised for mobile/they're not responsive

Over 34% of proposals are first opened on mobile devices, following shortly behind PC, yet majority of these proposals are sent as in pdf format which is NOT optimised for mobile. The experience of trying to digest a pdf on mobile is one that involves a lot of zooming and panning, which often takes away from the message that is trying to be conveyed. Websites today have highly responsive designs, so users' attention spans are likely shorter. The result? They'll stop reading your proposal before reaching the call-to action - which is a critical point in moving clients down the sales funnel.

4. No collaborative capabilities

The pdf is non-collaborative, which means internal revisions will take longer and often result in long email chains that can easily get lost. This slows down the overall proposal and sales process.

5. Inability to track proposals

Unlike live proposals, when you send out a PDF proposal, there's no way of knowing when your prospective clients will open it, or if they have even received it, which can create a lot of anxiety. Furthermore, you're unable to track which parts of the proposal your client resonated with most, which links they followed or how long they were reading for, all of which are critical in refining all future proposals.

6. Limited sharing

PDFs are not shareable via an online link, unless you use the right file sharing services. They must be sent by email or if they're too large can only be shared with other people through certain platforms such as dropbox. This makes it harder to organize your proposals as it relies heavily on email exchange.

7. Not secure

When you're in a competitive industry, it pays to be mindful about proposal security. With so many other companies vying for the same contract and project as yours, there's no telling what could happen if your plans get leaked before they reach their intended audience. If your proposal finds itself in the hands of a competitor, this would be a huge threat to competitive positioning and may result in this competitor making counter offers in a flanking attack. This is the risk involved in using PDF, when you send it away, you lose control of its journey - who sees this proposal is then at the discretion of the recipient.

Ready to blast your next proposal into the stratosphere?

Now you have a blueprint for crafting the perfect proposal, it's time to start building. Sign up to pxmo and gain access to a tonne of ready made templates that will give you a head start on creating proposals that are too good to refuse.

Your proposal is your first impression with a client. It should be professional and demonstrate that you know what you're talking about. Unfortunately, many people still rely on PDF proposals which are time-consuming to create and outdated by today's standards. Live proposal software has recently entered the market and is making the closing process a million times easier. Here’s how:

Digital & Interactive

See you in the cloud. Every proposal you create is hosted online and mobile responsive. Clients can accept your proposals and even make payment without ever leaving the page.

Intuitive & Visual

Designers need not apply. Create like a pro with pxmo's simple yet powerful interface. Bye bye complicated editing tools, design grids and stressful colour-matching decisions.

Tailored by Industry

Who says you can't cut corners? pxmo comes equipped with custom templates & powerful integrations to perfectly fit your needs and save you time

Real-Time & Informative

Give up the guessing games. pxmo lets you know the moment something important happens (or doesn't happen). When your proposal gets the nod you'll hear about it.

Made for Teams

It's more fun with mates. Work seamlessly and in real-time with your team. Keep everyone in sync, and every change safe - no matter big or small.

Actionably Insightful

Watch and learn. See how your prospective clients view and interact with your proposals. Refine & optimise your content based on what sells.