Email your proposal and your are guaranteed to lose the sale

Technology is wonderful, and it’s also a big curse in sales specifically when it comes time to deliver the proposal. While using software to craft and construct the proposal is a necessity, using email to deliver the proposal is costing you lots of money.

Wait, scratch that.  Let me put it this way, if you’re emailing your proposals you’re guaranteeing that you will lose the majority of your sales opportunities.  Email is one of the single biggest killers to closing the sale.  

When you email a proposal, you’ve essentially closed the door yourself to communication.  Sure its easy to press send, and you certainly don’t have to worry about someone saying “no” right to your face and having hurt feelings. The moment you hit send though, is the moment you’ve given up 100% control of your sale.  You just put the prospect in control.

They now decide when and how it’s appropriate to respond to you or not.  They can ignore you permanently.  You will lose to someone who has a $1 lower price, because at the point its all about price.  You gave up your differentiation when you gave up control.  

Don’t use the excuse that email is how your clients and prospects want to conduct business.  Of course it is, its easier that way.  You must find ways to work around that, um, objection/stall.  So what can you do?

• Meet with them over coffee to review the proposal.
  
• Set up a web conference to review the proposal, and don’t email it them until the time of the conference.  Explain that there’s a lot to it and you don’t want any ambiguity.
  
• Schedule follow up meetings in advance, because you know there’s invariably additional questions, work, etc.

Your work, time and effort have a cost, and you’ve earned the right to a legitimate meeting and answer.  Ideally you’re being rewarded with a  commission for those efforts, and you drastically decrease your chance for a commission every time you email a proposal.  Stop giving up control.  You’ll find more closed sales faster if you simply meet in person and stop emailing proposals.

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