The Compelling Proposal: Make it Easy for the Customer to Buy From You!

by Steve Thompson

The Compelling Proposal builds on the principles in The Irresistible Value Proposition to transform the document that everyone loves to hate-on both sides of the deal-into a concise seven-page tool for bridging selling and negotiation.Written in the customer's language, your compelling proposal will dramatically increase engagement by presenting multiple acceptable options to the buyer, giving them a rare opportunity to participate in crafting a deal that is good for both sides.As a result, you will establish trust, build credibility, and make it easy for the customer to buy from you!From the book: "The current state of supplier proposals is truly abysmal.""The compelling proposal is focused on the customer, the outcomes they are trying to achieve, the deal levers that will best enable them to achieve those results, and options for moving forward. What customer would not like that?""Your role is to make it easy for the customer to choose you and your firm by building trust and credibility while managing any uncertainty surrounding the deal.""If you want your customer to trust you, show them what you know about their business, not what you know about yours."

118 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2019

Reviews

[Stephen Stilwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Selling to businesses requires a different strategy than selling to normal, every-day customers. You want to reinforce trust; a prospective customer will trust you not because of what you know about your products and services, but what you know about them. Ensure that we’re setting up the right negotiation; you could be the best negotiator in the world, but if you’re having the wrong negotiation, you won’t get the outcomes that you’re looking for. Establish credibility; many people will confuse credibility with trust, but credibility is when you can establish that you have produced similar results for other customers, meaning you’ve been there and done that. Manage uncertainty; on average, there’s over seven buying influencers or decision-makers on the customer side, and all of these people aren’t aligned, and they don't all have the same agenda, and yet, you’re only negotiating one deal. Make it easy for the customer to buy, and feel they’re making the right choice; people who buy once are more likely to buy again; even if the next purchase is more expensive.

[Jan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Valuable sales book I have ever read

I have been selling in the enterprise selling space for 40 years and thought I knew it all. Learned from the best. Taught by IBM and HP sales leaders. None of what I learned was as valuable as what I have learned from Steve.

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good read.