What should every SaaS sales proposal include? -
The most feared SaaS sales pitch.
Be honest--you probably dread the thought of creating a SaaS sales plan, playing with the pricing plan in search of the right words to convince your customer. This isn't a lot of fun. Many salespeople are exactly like you do, and since so many drop the ball and do not create a compelling proposal, this is an opportunity to stand out and win the sale.
A successful SaaS sales pitch is typically made when a customer has stated that they're looking for an specific product. A few companies employ simple template templates to create their sales proposals, however others design extensive documents that break down each detail of the offer. We recognize the rules of law and the best practice differs in each situation.
However, you can cut down on the amount of effort and complexity that is involved in SaaS sales proposals by using pricing grids. The pricing grid is a sales tool that could be sent to potential buyers before you put together the final sales proposal. It allows prospective buyers to select what they want. Once they select the price they prefer and requirements, the account manager is notifying them and they can put together a plan that is EXACTLY with the expectations of the buyer.
In this article in this post, we'll tell youstep-by-step the steps to writing SaaS sales proposals that consistently will close sales faster. Before we discuss the things to put within your proposal, we'll look at some pre-proposal preparations that need to take into.
We'll then dive into every aspect of the proposal for sale:
- Cover Page
- About Us
- Problem (your prospect's problem or challenges)
- Solution (your solution for your company)
- Case Studies & Testimonials
- Team (key executives and team members)
- Contract (e.g., terms and agreements, scope of work, etc.)
Let's get started!
Pre-Proposal Préparations
A well-crafted sales plan should not be a surprise.
This should be the next logical step when you're talking to your potential client. That's why we strongly encourage account managers to utilize pricing grids before sending proposals. Additionally to that, there are some important questions you'll need to ensure you be able to answer prior to writing your proposal:
- Why does the prospect want what you're selling? What problem is the prospect looking to address? In order to write an effective sales proposal, you have to know your prospect's problems and results they're seeking. This can help you provide options that are specifically tailored to the needs of your prospective customer.
- Are they considering alternatives? If so, why they considering those options Knowing what competitors have to offer and what their SaaS solution differs from them can aid you in dealing with concerns before they become. If you've spent the time to learn about the issues your prospects face, you can address what aspects of your SaaS solution can be better to satisfy their requirements prior tosending your sales proposal.
- What is your budget? It's nearly impossible to draft a proposal without knowing your client's budget. It is best to gather this information when you're interviewing the prospective client. If you don't know their budget, you can ask. Be sure to wait before you write the proposal until you have an answer. Also, you may disqualify prospects that aren't a good fit.
- Who will sign the deal? Who is the ultimate decision-maker when you meet with your prospect, find out who the key decision-makers are and the person who will ultimately decide to accept the proposal. It will ensure that you're communicating to all parties needed for closing the deal.
- What is the procurement process? Certain companies, like government or educational institutions are required to have formal procurement procedures to suit their complex environments, while other companies may not have formal procedures in the purchase of new items or services. Being aware of your potential buyer's internal procurement procedure will allow you to take the proper steps in closing the deal, such as providing all the details you need within the proposal, including ROI analyses and project plans, timeframes and legal requirements, for example. If you can include all of the information they require to be able to accept and you'll be closer to closing the deal.
Writing Your Proposal
Once you've answered all these questions during the preliminary proposal stage, you're ready to start writing! A few tips prior to starting:
- Limit your proposals to just 1-2 pages. An executive or key decision maker is very busy, and could also have a short attention time. Make sure to keep it short.
- Utilize a straightforward terminology. Cut jargon that isn't understood by the general public. Simplicity is your friend when it comes to writing your sales proposal.
As a reminder, here are 8 elements that make up a winning SaaS sales proposal:
- Cover Page
- About Us
- Problem (your potential customer's issue or issues)
- Solution (your business's solution)
- Case Studies / Testimonials
- Team (key executives and members of your team)
- Contract (e.g. Terms and agreements, scope of work, etc.)
Be aware that this outline doesn't have to be written in stone. Consider this as a general rule of thumb to take as a base and adjust as you see the need.
- What is a Cover Page for a Proposal?
The cover page must include the title for the proposed proposal. It should also include the client's name as well as the date the proposal was delivered and the submission's name (you). It is possible to personalize the cover page by adding the logo of the client as well.
While this may appear as a simple task, the fact is that it's frequently overlooked. A cover page added to the sales proposition will give it a more polished and professional look.
The first impression counts!
Key Takeaways:
- Send your request to the right person.
- Keep it clean and professional.
- More About Us
Your "About us" section provides a chance to briefly introduce your company and convince prospective customers that your SaaS product can deliver the results they're looking for.
Describing your workflow, current clients and previous successes will increase the credibility of your company and show that you're a company they can trust.
It is also possible to list your client's goals within this section by couching them as your goals, which they ought to be! For instance: "Our goal is to improve the productivity of Company XYZ by 50% in twelve months."
Principal Takeaways
- Then, introduce your business however, keep the introduction short. Your prospect cares more about how you can assist them..
- Include facts about your company to boost your credibility and increase trust.
- Understanding the Problem of Your Prospect
Alright, this is where we begin to get into the the meatof what is the SaaS sales proposal.
The "Problem" part (often called the "Need" part) will be where you can address your client's current challenges and demands. What issues are they experiencing that you can help with?
Give a clear description of all their needs, prioritized from critical needs to value-added features. List everything that your prospect is struggling to overcome, including the efficiency of their business, its revenue or profitability, scaling, etc. An organized list makes it easy for them to understand.
There's no need to dig involved in the solution just yet . This is your chance to show your prospective client that you've listened, that you understand their pain and concerns.
Moreover, it's a chance to paint a grim depiction of their current situation to later surprise them with the improvement they'll see if they choose your company's SaaS solution.
Here's a mockup of how this area could be like.
Key Takeaways:
- Write down the needs of your prospective customer in order of the priority (most crucial to least important).
- Simply Communicate The Solution You Offer
For simplicity's sake for simplicity, we referred to this section of the sales proposition the "Solution," but "How We work" as well as "How We Perform" are two other popular names for this section.
These are questions that you can use to facilitate the writing during this point:
- What is my distinctive selling point?
- Which aspects of my SaaS product will be most useful for my potential customer?
- What are my key results and deliverables?
- In what timeframe will they see these result?
Like: "Integrating our software will help automate your fulfillment process and decrease your costs by at least 10% within a twelve-month timeframe."
This means that you're outlining your solution and the results that you will achieve. It's been mentioned many times already, but this is worth repeating It's important to create an image of the way your SaaS product will benefit users.
Concentrate on the prospect. The SaaS might have hundreds of features, but just a few could benefit this specific potential customer. Your proposal should focus on the aspects that will provide the greatest worth. One more time for the people in the back:
Be sure to keep your eyes on the prospect.
It is also important to add your project plan, timelines, and value-adds, plus an overview of the implementation process. This is crucial for bigger enterprise-sized deals as it could take weeks or months.
Finally, it is possible to include additional information requested by the prospect within this section or as an appendix. (Scroll through the pre-proposal process to refresh your knowledge!)
The most important takeaways are:
- Introduce your SaaS solution, including the goals you can aid them to achieve. Don't be vague!
- Include timelines for the project and deliverables, milestones, value-adds as well as any additional information to speed closing.
- Include Great Case Studies & Testimonials
The solution you propose may be exactly what your prospect wants, but they'll be looking for more than your promise that you'll deliver.
Include customer testimonials as well as case studies, and other information which illustrates you can drive outcomes. Doing so adds an enormous amount of credibility to your SaaS business and product.
- According to an Nielsen study, 66% of consumers trust online customer feedback.
- Testimonials and quotes boost conversions by 34%, according to Sumo.
It is no surprise that adding examples and testimonials in your proposition can significantly increase your chances of closing the deal. Make sure you do take care not toskip this step.
Social Proof can be described as a psychological phenomenon where people conform to other people's actions under the assumption that those behaviors reflect the proper behavior.
The Key Takeaway
- Social proof and case studies can be crucial in convincing people that you have the ability to be a success.
- Showcase The Team That will be working with The Client
This section is a great way to present your business's top executives along with employees who would be working on the account.
Give a brief description of each team member along with a professional photo.
Principal Takeaway:
- Put faces to the project by including bios and photos of the company's top executives and team members.
- Add Your Contract
It is important to include the contract in the sales proposal so that your prospect can take the contract and sign it immediately. We won't get into details about how to write the contract. (Contact your attorney to get advice regarding this issue.)
The key takeaway is to capitalize on the excitement of your prospect and have the contract signed right away!
Key Takeaway:
- In order to speed up the closing process, include your contract or legal contract in your proposition and have it signed.
Wrapping It Up
Making sales pitches which consistently close SaaS deals requires intentionality and, yes, effort--but when you adhere to the principles that were previously mentioned, you'll be on your way to consistently closing SaaS agreements.
This is a summary of the most crucial tips for a successful sales pitch:
- Limit your proposal to 1-2 pages.
- Write the proposal only after you've determined the target's budget.
- Send your suggestion at the correct person who will make the final decision.
- Limit the details you provide about your company to a minimum--focus on the prospect.
- Outline your prospect's needs.
- You must be specific in ways you can assist them to achieve their goals and get outcomes.
- Include case studies and testimonials for credibility as well as social proof.
- Attach a contract and create a signable version.
Then, what's the best way of approaching these steps?
The most common mistake people make is copying and paste this list onto an adhesive notepad and then following it each time they need to create proposals...
There's no reason to create more work for yourself, or waste valuable time.
You can also try using program designed to create SaaS sales pitches. This saves you critical time you could be spending nurturing relationships with prospects and closing sales.
Although you could try common tools such as Google Sheets or Excel for this, we recommend using the tool designed specifically to be used with SaaS.
Using a tool inherantly built to help you understand the complexities of SaaS proposals is the best way to sell SaaS. It is fortunate that there exists certain tool that will do exactly this.
Interactive Quotes is a unique pricing proposal tool that streamlines the entire SaaS sales proposal process. There's no need to be at your desk concentrating time on singular proposals -- with you can create the proposals, submit them and track their progress online, at any time. This basically takes all the method described in this blog post and makes it available to you at control.
Begin by using Interactive Quotes for free.
