Prospects Should Earn Proposals Does your sales team give out proposals and quotes like one of those people standing on the street handing out flyers? “Here, please take one!” There is a cost to giving out proposals or paperwork too soon—the prospect doesn’t value it or your time, and you lose the chance to set up a specific next step that would help them earn the proposal. Example: You do a demo. Atthe end of the demo, they ask about pricing or a proposal. You say you’ll include a proposal with a follow up email. They say, “Thanks”. You send the materials. You never hear from them again. Giving out proposals too easily helps no one — though it might feel good to think, “Sent out another proposal today!” Great—but how many are you getting back? If you’re not winning at least 50% of the proposals you’re giving out, you’re too easy. Instead, next time when the prospect casually asks about pricing or getting a proposal, don’t give it to them until you know they want it. Tell them you’d be happy to, and to do that, you’d need to set up a scoping call with them and the key people, to ensure the proposal is accurate and meets their needs. If the prospect declines—then either they aren’t a great prospect, or you didn’t prove your value to them in your prior calls or demos. If the prospect wants what you have, now you have another chance to focus your time with them and the other key people on creating a vision of how you can specifically solve their problems… and generate a proposal that nails it for them.