Send Me a Proposal
A proposal should advance a decision - not become an expensive document that disappears into an inbox.
A proposal is expensive to build and easy to ignore. Before you spend the hours, find out what decision the document is meant to trigger and who has to agree with it.
What they say
- “Put together a proposal”
- “Send me a quote”
- “Write it up and I'll look at it”
What's actually underneath it
They are collecting prices, not evaluating a change
The proposal is being used to leverage an incumbent
Real intent, but the decision criteria have never been stated out loud
The ten questions that open it up
Ask one. Then stop talking. The answer is worth more than anything you were about to say.
- 1.“What would you need to see in the proposal for it to be useful?”
- 2.“What problem are you expecting the proposal to solve?”
- 3.“How will you evaluate whether the proposal makes financial sense?”
- 4.“Who will review the proposal besides you?”
- 5.“What concerns will those people probably raise?”
- 6.“Are you requesting a proposal because you are considering a change or because you are collecting prices?”
- 7.“If the proposal meets the requirements we have discussed, what happens next?”
- 8.“What could prevent the proposal from moving forward even if the numbers work?”
- 9.“Before I build this, can we make certain I understand the outcome you are actually trying to produce?”
- 10.“Would it make sense to schedule the review now so we can examine the proposal together?”
The trap
Spending hours building a document before you know what decision it is supposed to trigger.
Set the review before you write a word. A proposal with a meeting attached is a step. A proposal without one is a file.
Related objections
Busy people still make time for problems that matter. Determine whether the issue is scheduling or relevance.
Price is a number. Expensive is a conclusion. Find out what the buyer is comparing it against.
Budget may mean unavailable cash, unallocated funds, or insufficient priority.
Try it live
Paste the objection you actually got this week and get the question to ask back.
Reverse your objection