PSA: I spent 5 years sending proposals wrong before a client gave me the truth

For 5 years I always led with pricing in my B2B service proposals. I thought clients wanted to see the number first so they could decide if it was worth their time. Then about 6 months ago a prospect in Austin told me flat out that my proposal felt like a menu, not a solution. He said he needed me to explain the problem first and how I fix it before even talking about money. Now I lead with the pain point and my approach, and my close rate jumped from 20% to around 45%. Anyone else get stuck doing proposals the wrong way for years?

3 comments

3 Comments

quinn1611d ago

That 45% jump is huge and it makes sense when you think about it... the menu approach just makes people compare you to other prices instead of trusting you to solve their problem. I had a similar wake-up call when a client told me my proposals sounded like every other vendor they talked to. Once I started writing out their specific headaches and how I'd handle them step by step, the whole conversation changed and I stopped getting ghosted after sending quotes.

theajohnson1d ago

Did I mention this to my barista before realizing I don't have a business?

olivia_white931d ago

I sent proposals like a grocery list for FIVE years before someone finally called me out.