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Many small business marketing entities want to know how to come up with a winning business proposal – especially a BIG BUSINESS proposal – a proposal that wins business with client companies!

My whole philosophy as a customer magnet is to attract customers – then they call you. This eliminates time-consuming customer research. My philosophy is to eliminate cold calling scripts and get the customer to pick up the phone and say “would you like to work with me”… BUT there will be times when you need to make an offer. Especially when dealing with business customers.

You can access many of my successful proposal examples and effective proposal examples. These same suggestions would help you secure corporate deals with organizations. But first, let me share with you some of my top marketing tips to keep in mind when creating your customer proposition.

Consider this a sample business proposal policy:

1. Your business proposal must be a sales document

Don’t rely on a one-page price and outline document like your sales proposal, you should offer much more. The offer should be a sales document that guides a person through the process and establishes you as a logical choice for solving a specific issue or problem.

2. Build relationships within the business organization BEFORE submitting your proposal

Use EVERY opportunity to build relationships with people in the company organization before submitting your business proposal. I suggest that you visit the organization to… observe people at work, meet people informally, or conduct interviews. This is your chance to make friends. You will also get an impression of the organization’s internal policies.

Another advantage of this contact is that you get a picture of the concerns and problems in the organization and have the opportunity to raise the proposal. This is a great way to avoid delays and deadlocks as your business proposal progresses.

3. Anticipate the type of questions your client company will ask AND answer the questions in your proposal

After you’ve completed your organizational survey, it’s time to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Make a list of questions your client is likely to ask you. Then, as you prepare your business-to-business proposal, respond to any questions and objections that may arise. Make sure you make a good attack in your proposal – it will save you the difficult task of defending your business proposal as it moves up the corporate hierarchy.

4. Avoid complacency – You want your business proposal to reach decision-makers

Even if you have a good contact at a company and seem willing to hire you, at larger companies, more than one person is making the decision. Make sure your proposal doesn’t rest on its laurels in your warm contact. Use your offer to sell yourself to everyone in the organization.

5. Don’t highlight major changes

Now I know it sounds weird, but what scares customers is the very product you offer and that’s a chance. Who wouldn’t want your service offering to change, customer relationships to improve, or sales to increase?

I’ve done a lot of research on the psychological views of the top and middle managers and one thing that stands out is their fear of change. How do you overcome that? Avoid using words that signal a big change on the horizon, words like transformation or dramatic outcomes. Use more moderate terminology to show exactly how your product fits into their organization.