6 Tips to Successfully Present Your Business Proposal to Clients
1. Get to the point at the very beginning.
Your clients are busy, so don’t waste their precious time by starting with an introduction about yourself or your company for that matter. Time is their biggest asset, and they certainly don’t want to waste it by listening to your story. So, never fumble with the projector, don’t arrive late, and avoid anything that makes it seem like you don’t respect their time.
Start by addressing the main point of your proposal; preferably tap it in the very first minute as you begin your speech. There is a good chance that your audience wants to ask you questions, so it is better to tap the main point in the very beginning.
2. Take a break to ask questions.
After speaking for a few minutes, break the monotony by asking some informational questions to your clients. These questions will bring them back to your presentation if, they have lost their interest.
Here are a few sample questions that you can ask your audience to keep them engaged:
- If somebody asks you ‘what is a success to you?’ how will you define it?
- Have you opted for this approach in the past? If yes, then when?
- Is this the major challenge that your company is facing?
3. Make use of pictures to communicate.
Add images to your presentation to get more attention; a presenter who makes use of images in his presentation is able to capture his audience’s attention more efficiently than the one who uses only text. Using images in your presentation will make it more impactful.
However, it is also very important to know which images to add to your presentation. Not all images are effective. Charts and graphs can be quite boring, and they may distract your audience rather than enticing them. Hence, do a lot of brainstorming and choose your images wisely.
4. Sell your vision, not facts.
Clients absolutely hate presenters who keep talking about their company and themselves. Remember, they are there to find out if you can help THEM not to just listen to your story. They are more interested in knowing how they can beat their competitors, gain new customers, retain the previous ones, and double their profits. So, when you present your business proposal, sell your company’s vision by providing them the solutions to these problems and not by stating boring facts and figures.
5. Have a clear agenda.
A proposal is all about convincing clients and showing them why you are their best bet. This is why your presentation should have a clear and compelling agenda. When you present your business proposal, it should begin with reasons that persuade the client to consider your proposal and end with them accepting it.
- Challenge/Opportunity: Start your presentation by explaining the opportunities or the challenges that your clients are overlooking. Make it as captivating as you can so that your audience looks forward to watching your entire presentation.
- Benefits: State the benefits that your clients will get if they sit through the entire presentation.
- Plan: Showcase the plan that you have devised to solve the client’s problems.
- Introduce Your Company: Explain about your company in brief, its background, history, etc.
- Recommend: End your presentation by asking to do business with the client.
6. Let your stories lead, not the data.
While clients love data and statistics, they are equally excited to know about what the stats and figures can’t tell them. Stats are an important factor in a business proposal but narrating a story can help capture your audience’s attention.
Start with a story that has been backed up by the data and the research that you have done. The story can be very simple; for example, you can outline the needs of your clients and present cleverly in the story. If you add an emotional appeal to your pitch, then it will make it even stronger as well.
Presenting a business proposal efficiently is the key to your success. By adopting these 6 tips, you will be able to present your business proposal in such a way that it will be loved by your clients and win you more business.
