Virtual Sales Proposal Strategies

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

I looked at over 100 proposals worth over $500K as a B2B buyer. I only remember a few. Here are 4 ways you can set yourself apart (and why most proposals never get looked at): 1. Built for the buying committee - not just the champion Most proposals assume one person makes the decision. That’s rarely true. The best ones were written with execs in mind. Mobile-friendly, easy to skim, and structured like a story, not a spec sheet. The kind of doc I could forward without rewriting a single thing. (like Qwilr!) 2. Helped me sell internally The proposals that stood out made me look good. They included visual slides I could screenshot into a board deck. Framed the problem. Showed the cost of inaction. Made the ROI feel obvious. They gave me language to use with my CFO, not just the vendor’s pitch. 3. AEs tracked engagement and followed up with a purpose Great sellers didn’t “check in.” They followed up based on what I actually did. They knew when I viewed the proposal, which sections got read, and what was skipped. Every email felt relevant—because it was. They weren’t guessing what mattered. They had data. 4. AEs pre-empted objections I hadn’t even voiced yet Before legal asked for terms, I had a friendly breakdown of the key clauses. Before procurement jumped in, I had a clear explanation of how pricing scaled. It felt like the AE knew my internal process better than I did - and helped me get ahead of it. TAKEAWAY: Most proposals are written to present. The best proposals are built to sell. Qwilr turns your proposal into a selling tool—one that’s interactive, trackable, mobile-ready, and designed for the whole buying committee. It helps your champion make the case. And it helps you win deals - even when you’re not in the room. If you want to stand out, build proposals that do more than inform. Build proposals that close.

"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.

Every single sales team I’ve evaluated has one thing in common Their lowest score is on the closing competency. Most teams lose the deal long before they ever talk numbers. If your sales reps can’t clearly articulate the client’s pain, connect it to a specific solution, and build a narrative that positions your offer as the only logical next step. They’re not closing. They’re just quoting. ❌ Combining discovery and proposal into one call short-circuits the sales cycle and kills momentum. ❌ Leading with company-centric messaging instead of client pain points loses buyer interest early. ❌ Generic, uncustomized pitch decks fail to engage and don’t advance the deal. When I coach leaders through this, their close rates go up because the conversation shifts from "here’s what we do" to “here’s how we help you.” Here’s how I coach teams to flip the switch: Customize the proposal based on THEIR stated needs and pain points Start with their top 3-5 challenges (from discovery) Confirm you captured them correctly, it builds buy-in Connect ONLY the relevant solutions to each challenge Limit your company’s slides to 2- 3 slides with clear value proposition, this isn’t about you Share a relevant testimonial right before presenting pricing THEN present pricing once they see the value. If your team is stuck in the present and pray proposal cycle, let’s talk. It’s time to teach your sellers how to connect, position, and close with purpose.

Here’s the proposal template that helped me close over $100 million in enterprise sales: It’s also helped my clients close more than 50% of their deals when they use it. And until now, I’ve never shared it publicly. Most sellers are great at pitching features. But the ones who consistently win big deals? They know how to tell a great story. The truth is, executives don’t buy products - they buy confidence. They buy vision. They buy a story they want to be part of. If you want to sell like a top 1% seller, you need a proposal that doesn’t just inform… it moves people. Here’s how I do it 👇 The Story Mountain Framework for Sales Proposals: 1. Exposition – Introduce the characters and setting. Start with them: → “You’re trying to expand into new markets… to grow revenue… to unify your tech stack…” Set the vision. Make them the hero. 2. Rising Action – Lay out the challenges and obstacles. → “But growth stalled. Competitors moved faster. Customer churn increased.” Quote discovery calls. Surface real pain. Build emotional tension. 3. Climax – Introduce your solution. → “Then you found a better way…” Now show how your solution helps them overcome the exact obstacles you outlined. 4. Falling Action – Ease the tension. → “Here’s our implementation plan. Here’s the ROI. Here’s how others in your industry succeeded.” Give them confidence that this won’t just work—it will work for them. 5. Resolution – End with clarity. → “Here’s our mutual action plan. Let’s get started.” Lock in buy-in, next steps, and forward momentum. This structure has helped me close some of the biggest deals of my career—including an $8-figure enterprise deal at Salesforce where I used this exact approach. I broke it all down in this week’s training—and for the first time ever, I show you the actual proposal I used AND tell you how to access my Killer Proposal Template for free. 👀 Watch the full training here: https://lnkd.in/gPY_cvv5 No more boring product pitches. No more ghosting after the readout. Just proposals that close.

A client emails asking for a proposal, but you'd rather hop on a call to break it all down. Sending a price without context feels risky, right? Wrong. Send. The. Quote. Nobody - nobody - wants to sit through a dramatic reading of your proposal. If you’ve done your homework, nailed the value prop in earlier conversations, and built trust, dragging the process out with one more call isn’t helping. In fact, it might annoy your client. The move? Send the proposal, but make it irresistible to follow up. Add context that tees up the next conversation and keeps the momentum going: - Break down how the quote could flex depending on priorities. - Suggest incentives tied to their feedback. - Flag sections that might need clarification or expansion. - Highlight areas where they have choices to make. Finally, don't forget to include a timeline: “I’ll check back next week to answer questions and schedule a call to finalize.” This isn’t about skipping steps. It’s about respecting your client’s time while showing confidence in your value. If you’ve done the work upfront, sending numbers should feel like a natural step. It shouldn't feel like a risk. Ditch the outdated sales tactics. Put the buyer first. PS - the extra gangster move would be to send a brief ( < 2 min) video of you walking through the proposal. Remember that it will likely be forwarded internally...often to people with little or no context. Make sure you can provide that context for them in a format (a short video) that's easy to consume.

🚀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄. Most people use AI to speed up repetitive tasks. But I’ve found its real power lies in helping you think differently. Before sending a pitch or proposal, I take one extra step that changes everything: 𝗜 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:  → What objections might the recipient have?  → How can I adjust my message to address those concerns? This approach does two things: 1️⃣ It forces me to step into the recipient’s shoes.  2️⃣ It sharpens my messaging by highlighting weak points I might have missed. ✨ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁?  More thoughtful, tailored pitches – and higher response rates. What makes this method even more valuable is how it builds over time. Each insight from AI gets saved in a growing playbook of objections and solutions. Now, I have a library of strategies ready for every type of outreach. Here’s where I’ve seen it work best:  ✔️ Closing sales deals.  ✔️ Writing project proposals.  ✔️ Crafting job applications.  ✔️ Securing partnerships. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝘆? 1️⃣ Take a recent pitch you’ve written.  2️⃣ Ask AI these two questions.  3️⃣ Use the feedback to refine your message. You might be surprised by what you discover. What’s the next pitch you’ll put through this process? Share your thoughts below! 📌 Enjoyed this? Hit 👍, comment 💭, or re-post ♻️ to share with your network. #AIForBusiness #CommunicationTips #PitchPerfection #WorkSmarter

We’ve all been there. You open the Zoom. They smile politely. And then you hit “Share Screen”… and their soul leaves their body. PowerPoint isn’t the villain. But using it as a crutch instead of a conversation? That’s where we lose people. After practically living behind a laptop screen the past few years selling SaaS products, here’s what I’ve learned (the hard way) about holding attention on a virtual sales call without the death scroll of slides: • Start with a story, not a slide. Talk about a customer like them. What were they dealing with? What changed? Make it real before you make it a bullet point. • Use tools built for today, not 2000. Try Gamma, Tella, or even a live doc with visuals. Dynamic, interactive > passive slides. • Be the slide. Your screen is not the main event—you are. Talk with your face, hands, and tone. Use chat. Ask questions. Be human. • Leave room for the messy, unscripted parts. That’s where trust happens. That’s where connection clicks in. No deck can compete with that. Want to keep your audience awake and their cameras on in 2025? Let your presence do the presenting. What’s your favorite way to ditch the deck and lead better virtual sales conversations? #salestips #DeathByPowerpoint #virtualselling #B2BSales #Insuretech #ZoomFatigueIsReal

We stopped sending proposals six months ago. Our close rate went up. Our work quality didn’t change, but our pitch did. We used to sell like every other agency. Intro call. Discovery. Proposal. Follow up. Follow up again. Cross our fingers. Keep following up if the door isn’t closed. Close rate within 30 days hovered around 30%. Standard for services. Nobody was complaining since timing is often hard to pin down. Then we changed one thing. A prospect reached out about their sales team's onboarding. They were losing reps in the first 90 days and wanted a system to fix retention before it became a hiring problem. The old approach: send a proposal. Phases. Deliverables. Timeline. Price. The standard document that looks like every other agency's standard document. Instead we opened Replit the night before our second call. Described what their onboarding tracker should do. Reps in the pipeline, weekly milestones, manager visibility into who's falling behind and why. Nothing complex. Just clear. Took about two hours. By the time we joined the call we had a working prototype with their actual problem solved on screen. I shared my screen. The client stares, a little puzzled. "Wait. You already built this?" That was the close. They didn't ask for a proposal. Didn't negotiate. Didn't need to think about it. They saw their problem solved before they signed anything. That was six months ago. We've done it nine times since. Closed seven. The psychology is straightforward. A proposal asks someone to trust you can do the work. A prototype proves you already started. One is a promise. The other is proof. It doesn't work for every deal. It works best when the client has a specific, definable problem. Something you can build visually in a few hours. And especially when they're comparing you to other agencies or operators. While the other company sends a 12-page proposal, you share your screen and show a working tool. Different conversation entirely. We use Replit for every one of these builds. Describe what the tool should do, get a working version, deploy it. The time cost is low enough that building before billing actually makes sense. If the deal doesn't close, you lost an evening. If it does, you skipped two weeks of follow-ups. And the client already trusts your work because they already got a taste. The best pitch is a prototype. Try Replit here: https://lnkd.in/eB2cJgc6 When you sign up and upgrade to Core, we both get $10 in credits. シ Follow me for more and save this for later. #ReplitPartner #AgencyGrowth #FractionalExec

If you're sending proposals to find out what people think, stop. I watch salespeople send proposals every day hoping they magically create momentum. Here's the rule: Never send a proposal until you've reached agreement from the stakeholders, not just on the solution, but the problem they're solving. If everyone doesn't agree on the problem, they'll never agree on the investment. Three strategies: 👊 Nothing in the proposal should be new: Price, terms, options. A proposal is simply a written recap of a conversation you've already had. 📧 Don't email it and pray. Walk them through it. If you're not there when objections surface, you're giving up the chance to address them. 🎥 If you can't get everyone together, send a video. Most buyers open a proposal and go strait to price A three-minute screen-share video forces them to see the value before they see the number. Remember: The proposal isn't where deals are won, it's where the deal is confirmed.