Marketing Proposal Writing

During my time at Qwilr, I’ve seen THOUSANDS of proposals. Here are 4 proposal plays that the best sellers use to close deals: #1 Lead With Problems Start your proposal by articulating your prospects' problems, ideally in their own words. Using quotes from relevant stakeholders within their organisation will grab your buyers’ attention and show you understand their problems. This immediately demonstrates that this isn’t just a generic pitch – you actually understand them and are focused on their specific issues. Doing this also puts decision-makers in somewhat of a tricky situation. They must either… 1. Disregard the opinions of their team as incorrect 2. Acknowledge they’re facing a problem, but decide not to look for a solution 3. Look for a solution (which you are providing in the rest of your proposal) Most (good) leaders will opt for the latter and will read on to better understand your offering. #2 It's Easy to Digest You MUST ensure your proposal is clear, straightforward and easy to understand. Remember, the folks who will be reviewing your proposal are incredibly busy and don’t have time to decipher endless information, searching for what is relevant for them. If your offer is easy to understand, it’s easier to say yes to. Avoid dense walls of text, and use images, graphics and interactive elements to simplify complex ideas. Always steer away from jargon. While it might showcase a level of expertise, you have to keep in mind that it’s likely a number of people will review your proposal. You need to make sure that EVERYONE will buy in. #3 Make It Relevant Buyers want to know that you’ve helped organisations that look like them, or the type of organisation that they aspire to be. Making sure that your proposal speaks to your buyers’ industry, needs, challenges and objectives will increase the likelihood of engagement Build your case by including concrete data and case studies that resonate with your client’s situation. CAUTION: It can be tempting to litter your proposal with logos and quotations from your “biggest” clients. You should not (always) do this! Instead, focus on featuring logos of similar companies or aspirational peers, not just massive brands. Remember, just because a company is “big” to you, that doesn’t mean your client will care. They want to know you can help THEM! #4 Keep Next Steps Simple It’s essential that you break down your proposal into clear, actionable steps – giving your client a roadmap on how to proceed and what will happen when they sign. You should also educate your champion on how to position the proposal to the buying committee, arming them to sell internally. Meet with them and go through your proposal, asking what needs to be removed and added (for other stakeholders) and how they plan to share it more widely. Want to send proposals that impress buyers and close deals? Try Qwilr for free at https://getqwilr.com

We cut proposal response time by 60% and reactivated 20% of lost deals. How? with just one move: better follow-up. We know that proposal decks get buried in inboxes. Buyers forget what you sent, AEs left chasing the same names for weeks. Not fun! So we looked for a way to rebuild the process. And we came across: AI Deal Rooms. It is basically a centralized room where the buyer can find everything related to the deal: - Proposal or pricing - Demo recap - Case studies - Next steps The AI layer makes the room dynamic: - Pulls in call notes automatically after meetings - Personalizes summaries and intros for each buyer - Tracks engagement (who viewed what, when, and for how long) - Triggers follow-ups when buyers reopen, share, or revisit the content Here’s how we run it now at SalesCaptain 👇 1️⃣ Meeting ends Call notes, key pains, and next steps are summarized automatically (PandaDoc natively, Fathom.ai, HubSpot meeting notes..etc) 2️⃣ A deal room opens instantly in PandaDoc Proposal, demo recap, and case study, all in one link. Each room starts with a short video from the AE (Loom, Tella) 3️⃣ Email goes out fast No “we’ll send it next week.” AEs hit send in minutes. 4️⃣ Signals start tracking We see when buyers open the room, how long they stay, and who else views it (PandaDoc) 5️⃣ Follow-ups trigger on actions - Pricing opened → Slack ping (Zapier). - Proposal revisited → “Still exploring?” check-in. - Old deal reopened → nurture sequence. The results we've seen so far are: → Proposal response rate up 30% → Lost deals re-engaged 20% more → Sales cycles shorter, cleaner, easier to track (the way sales cycles should be) Buyers get one link with everything they need. Reps stop chasing, and focus on closing. I’m seeing this setup change how fast teams follow up and how often buyers come back. If you haven’t tested AI Deal Rooms yet, it’s worth exploring. Shoutout to PandaDoc for this feature. #salesops #revops #salescycle #gtm #pandadoc

Effective client management begins with proactive engagement, anticipating needs and potential hurdles. Mastering the art of listening plays a crucial role in this approach, allowing us to gain deep insights into our clients' operations and strategic objectives. Imagine setting the stage at the beginning of a project by discussing with your client: Dependency Exploration: 'Can we discuss any dependencies your team has on this project’s milestones? Understanding these can help us ensure alignment and timely delivery.' Impact Assessment Question: 'Should unforeseen delays occur, what impacts would be most critical to your operations? This will help us prioritize our project management and contingency strategies.' Preventive Planning Query: 'What preemptive steps can we take together to minimize potential disruptions to critical milestones?' Success Criteria Definition: 'How do you define success for this project? Understanding your criteria for success will guide our efforts and help us focus on achieving the specific outcomes you expect.' These discussions are essential for building a roadmap that not only aligns with the client’s expectations but also prepares both sides for potential challenges, reinforcing trust through transparency and commitment. By adopting a listening approach that seeks comprehensive understanding from the onset, we can better manage projects and enhance client satisfaction. Let’s encourage our teams to integrate these listening strategies into their initial client engagements. How have proactive discussions influenced your project outcomes? Share your experiences and insights. #ClientRelationships #AdvancedListening #BusinessStrategy #ProfessionalGrowth

6 months ago, this consultancy wasted 20 hours on ONE proposal and thought it was normal. Today, it takes 4 - and they're on track to 2X ARR without a single extra salesperson. Here's how the @Incepteo team built the agentic AI solution that drove their success: In October 2024, I got an email from John (name hidden), the sales director of a London consultancy who specializes in public sector cost reduction. PwC and Deloitte – his primary competitors – were integrating AI into their sales and operations. He wanted to know how he could leverage it too. To help, I took him through our signature @Incepteo process: 1) Hosted a Discovery Workshop I hosted a quick discovery workshop to help John identify areas in his business workflow that could leverage AI. As we were brainstorming ideas, I asked him how much time his team spent on proposals. John told me it had been a huge pain point for years: • Each proposal required over a month to complete • Every word was written manually If AI could help them create high-quality proposals faster, they could focus more on closing deals. Using this information, we… 2) Built the System My team and I built a custom agentic AI proposal writing system with the aim of taking off the majority of his team's workload. This task wasn't something that simple GPT could handle. GPT (and other LLMs) can talk and generate content, but they struggle to • Process large, complex business documents • Understand structure & context beyond generic training data To fix this, we used Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), a method that helps LLMs pull answers from specific knowledge (in this case, business documents). We trained the system on 5 years' worth of John's best proposals to ensure accuracy and consistency. Then, we added an agentic approach on top —a multi-step AI workflow where specialized AI agents work together to handle critical steps:   → Researcher – Gathers insights, analyzes documents, and understands requirements. → Writer – Structures the proposal, aligns it with the right templates, and drafts the content. → Reviewer – Reviews, validates, and flags inconsistencies in a checklist. → Finalizer – Organizes everything into a Word document for human review.   It's like having a team of clever assistants working together! 3) The Result John has just gone live with this system. Using this system, his company: • Cut proposal creation time from 1 month to 1 week • Reclaimed 50% of their time for their sales team • Gained potential to 2x revenue AI didn't replace his writers. It made their lives easier so that they can build relationships & work on high level tasks. This project even inspired us to rebuild our own proposal system. More on that soon :)

A prospect asked for a proposal. The rep sent it same day. The $60k deal disappeared overnight. I still remember the rep’s face the next morning. Pure human emotions: not angry or dramatic. Just that quiet drop, like, “I really thought we had it.” And honestly, I get why they rushed. The demo went well. The prospect was engaged. Asked smart questions. Nodded at the right moments. Said the magic line: “Send me a proposal.” That line hits a rep’s brain like dopamine. You feel the deal tightening up. You feel the quarter getting easier. You want to be fast, helpful, on it. But in B2B, “send the proposal” often doesn’t mean “we’re close.” It often means, “I need something to forward.” And when you send it too early, three things happen. First, the proposal gets judged by people you’ve never met. Finance, procurement, IT, a VP. They see a number and a scope with zero context. That’s not evaluation. That’s a drive-by. Second, price lands before alignment does. If you haven’t sanity-checked budget range and what they’re actually buying, the proposal creates sticker shock. Sticker shock creates ghosting. Third, you confuse interest with authority. The person who loved the demo might not be the person who can defend the spend internally. The proposal becomes their way to work without committing to a decision. This is the part reps don’t get taught early enough: Your job isn’t to be the most available vendor. Your job is to be a premium partner. And premium partners don’t rush documents. They slow the moment down and clarify reality. So now, when someone asks for a proposal, don’t say “sure” and sprint. Ask one calm question first: "Happy to send it. Do you have a few minutes to review it together?" That one question changes many things. Because the space in B2B SaaS is tight. Competition is everywhere. You need to understand their feedback on your pricing. Explain how it's unique vs. your competitors. Get mutual alignment on how it will provide ROI for your customer. The reps who win long-term are the ones who can feel that trigger and still choose patience. Not because they’re slow. Because they’re serious.

"Send me a proposal." Sounds like progress. But it's actually one of the most dangerous moments in BD. Because most people say "I'll get that over to you by Friday." And that's where the deal quietly dies. After thousands of BD conversations, here's what I've learned: A premature proposal isn't a next step. It's a polite way of ending the conversation. Before you write a single word, ask yourself these questions: Do I actually understand their problem? ↳ Without that, your proposal is just a guess. Are they shopping around? ↳ Ask: "What criteria matter most in your decision?" ↳ Now you can write something that actually fits. Have we agreed on scope? ↳ Ask: "Can we spend 20 minutes aligning on goals first?" ↳ Clients approve what they helped shape. Is everyone at the table? ↳ Ask: "Who else should be involved before I write this up?" ↳ The person not in the room is usually the one who stalls it. Has budget come up? ↳ Ask: "Do you have a range in mind for this work?" ↳ Design the right solution — not just any solution. Does this even feel real? ↳ Ask: "Is this a real priority right now?" ↳ An honest conversation now saves weeks of wasted effort. And the most powerful shift of all? ❌ Don't say: "I'll draft something and send it over." ✅ Do say: "What if we worked through the approach together in 30 minutes?" Clients commit to solutions they helped design. Every time. The proposal isn't where you win the work. The conversation before it is. Stay curious. Ask better questions. Co-create the path forward. And when you do send that proposal? They'll already know the answer. What's one question from this list you could use this week? ♻️ Valuable? Repost to help someone in your network. 📌 Follow Mo Bunnell for client-growth strategies that don't feel like selling.

The hidden psychology of Upwork proposals: Most freelancers focus on what they want to say. Few focus on how clients actually hire. I've spent the last 3 months studying client hiring behavior. Here's what nobody talks about: Clients don't hire the best freelancer. They hire the safest choice. Think about it: • They're spending real money • Their reputation is on the line • They have deadlines to meet This changes everything about how you should write proposals. Here are the psychological triggers that actually matter: 1. Risk Reversal Don't say: "I'll do a great job" Say: "If you're not happy with the first draft, I'll rewrite it completely" 2. Social Proof Don't say: "I'm experienced" Say: "Just finished a similar project for [Known Company], happy to share results" 3. Cognitive Ease Don't say: "I can handle all aspects of content strategy" Say: "I'll deliver 3 ready-to-publish articles every week" 4. Authority Positioning Don't say: "I know SEO" Say: "Your competitors are ranking for 'X' term - here's why you're not" 5. Instant Clarity Don't say: "Let's discuss your needs" Say: "I see you need [Specific Outcome] by [Specific Date]" The uncomfortable truth? Most proposals focus on capabilities. But clients hire based on comfort. They're not looking for the best writer, designer, or developer. They're looking for the safest path to their desired outcome. Want proof? Look at the last 5 jobs you didn't get. I bet the winning proposals weren't better. They were safer. Your expertise matters. But your ability to reduce perceived risk matters more. Stop trying to be the best choice. Start being the safe choice. The game hasn't changed. But now you know the real rules.

Be comfortable pushing back on the client/prospective client. An engagement has to set you up for success, too. Examples: 1. The client wants a proposal but won't tell you the budget or where the money will come from. Potential solution: Suggest a range and get verbal approval that the range makes sense and that the client can find the money or knows how to influence the people who can. Spend time understanding the process for moving forward to a decision, including all people involved; if the client won't tell you or doesn't know, wait until he does. Why send a proposal that the client can't/won't approve? (Often potential clients ask for a proposal because it is easier than saying no, and often potential clients either have no decision-making authority or just need to collect a bunch of proposals before hiring the vendor they already want to hire). 2. The client says they need your help creating a full-blown strategic plan, but the team will only allocate a half day for a retreat to get it done. You know from experience that a lot more time is needed. Potential solution: Don't overpromise. Either get the client to agree to the time you need or suggest that you do a part of the strategy in the time available, like a SWOT analysis. 3. The client wants you to facilitate a meeting about a sensitive topic but won't let you interview any participants ahead of time. Potential solution: I would avoid this engagement unless I can interview participants ahead of time. Otherwise, there are too many risks/unknowns and it could be that the client wants to shift the burden of leadership to me. I never want to be the lightning rod. 4. The client wants you to coach all of his direct reports to work better together. However, you have already done an assessment and learned that the client is likely the real obstacle. Potential solution: Present this data and suggest that you coach the client first about how he can better engage the team and set the tone. If the client balks, happily move on. 5. HR wants you to coach a manager that they most likely want to fire anyway. They want you to document the coaching. Potential solution: Tell HR that you don't do "coaching as a last resort" coaching. You would prefer to coach managers that the company wants to keep and develop. 6. HR calls you to facilitate a retreat of senior leaders to determine the culture of the company. The CEO/founder isn't going to be there, even though he controls the company and is the primary shaper of the culture. Potential solution: This was a real case for me, and I refused to do the engagement unless the CEO was there or at least would work with me throughout to be sure this wasn't a "check the box" exercise. HR wouldn't let me do that and so I passed. Other colleagues of mine said they would have done this work anyway, because it could have led to more work to implement and involve the CEO. Thoughts? Let me know any other cases where it makes sense to push back.

I've been writing Learning Strategy proposals for over a decade now. In my early presales days, I used to think a detailed proposal spoke for itself. A well-crafted learning strategy, thought-through frameworks, and awesome visuals. But I quickly realized that detail alone doesn’t win deals. Clients don’t want to wade through a hundred slides describing the solution- they want 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒. And that confidence comes from metrics. Not the ones everyone else is tossing around, but the ones that speak directly to 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑖𝑟 goals. Here are five metrics I’ve used to cut through the noise and get clients to listen. 1. 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Impact is great, but clients are often under pressure to show quick wins. So, I started highlighting timelines: > How fast will learners hit key goals? > What does success look like on Day 30 versus Day 1? I started weaving this into the implementation roadmap and turned “time to competence” into a story - 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑤𝘩𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒. 2. 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 “Improving performance” sounds good in theory. But the real win comes when you anchor it to outcomes: > Sales teams closing deals faster. > Customer service teams raising CSAT scores. > Operations teams cutting downtime or errors. I stopped overloading slides with generic percentages and brought in real-life case studies: “Expected: 15% faster onboarding → Realized: 17% in 6 months.” This made the results concrete and credible. 3. 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 The fact is that adoption makes or breaks success. I used engagement metrics to calm the biggest fear clients have - what if no one uses this? I'd show how design drives behavior: > Completion rates hit X% in Y weeks due to microlearning and personalized pathways. 4. 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐭𝐨-𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨 Traditional ROI numbers often feel disconnected from reality. So I flipped the approach: > What does not solving this cost? Lost revenue, inefficiencies, churn? > What happens if we fix it in 3 months instead of 12? I turned these scenarios into relatable before-and-after stories. Clients didn’t just see a number; they saw a problem solved in their context. 5. 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 Short-term wins are great, but learning that doesn’t stick? That’s the elephant in the room. I addressed it upfront: > Retention rates at 3, 6, and 12 months. > Application rates and manager feedback as proof points. I paired this with strategies like spaced learning: “Retention improved by 20% when we introduced follow-up nudges.” This showed clients I was thinking beyond delivery dates. 𝐓𝐋𝐃𝐑: Strong proposals focus on the metrics that matter most to that client. Back them with context, proof, and a clear narrative, and you’re not just presenting a solution; you’re earning their trust. I'd love to hear your stories - what metrics have you found to make the biggest impact? #BusinessImpact

What Clients Actually Want in #Upwork Proposals (پوسٹ پوری پڑھیں, یو ول فائنڈ ویلیو، انشاء اللہ) Most freelancers think a great #Upwork proposal is all about listing skills and experience. But after analyzing client feedback, job descriptions, and responses, I realized something important: clients don’t just want a freelancer - they want a solution. Here’s what really matters to clients when reading proposals: 1️⃣ Clear and Direct Answers to Their Needs Clients post jobs because they have a problem they need solved. They don’t have time to read long introductions or generic pitches. Instead of starting with "I have X years of experience in WordPress development," it’s better to say: "I see you're looking for a fast and secure WooCommerce store. I can set it up with a clean design and easy management, so you can focus on growing your business." This immediately shows them that you understand their problem and know how to fix it. 2️⃣ Proof That You Can Do the Job Saying "I am skilled in WordPress and e-commerce" isn’t enough. Clients want proof. The best way to do this is by sharing: ✔ A quick example of a similar project you’ve done ✔ A link to your portfolio or a live website ✔ A brief case study showing the results you achieved (works in some cases) For example: "I recently built an online store for a clothing brand that saw a 30% increase in sales within two months. You can check it out here: [link]." This builds trust and makes your proposal stand out. 3️⃣ A Simple and Realistic Plan Clients don’t expect a full project breakdown in the proposal, but they do want to know how you’ll get things done. A simple 2-3 step outline helps: Here’s how I’d approach this: 1️⃣ Set up a secure and responsive WooCommerce store. 2️⃣ Customize the design to match your brand. 3️⃣ Optimize speed and make sure everything runs smoothly. This reassures the client that you know what you’re doing. 4️⃣ A Personal Touch Clients don’t want copy-paste proposals. Mentioning something specific from their job post, like their business name, a requested feature, or a challenge they mentioned, shows that you actually read their job post. For example: "I noticed you mentioned needing a seamless checkout experience. I can integrate Stripe and PayPal to make payments hassle-free for your customers." This small effort makes a big difference. 5️⃣ A Simple Next Step Many proposals end with "Looking forward to your response." Instead, guiding the client to the next step increases your chances of getting a reply. For example: "Do you have any specific features in mind for the store? Let’s discuss this—I’m happy to jump on a quick call!" This invites a response and keeps the conversation going. Check 1st comment👇 #upwork #MubashirHanif