In the battlefield of sales of products or services, your proposal is your secret weapon. It is not a piece of paper or mere pdf document, but a gateway to a potential goldmine.
But often, we find ourselves stuck in the ‘Proposal Purgatory’ – that dreaded space where interest seems abundant, proposals are sent out, yet nothing happens.
Should you follow up? Reduce your price? Or assume the client lost interest?
Welcome to the world of persuasion!
A realm where word choice can make or break a deal. Imagine this: Your proposal is like a key and every word is a tooth on that key.
The right arrangement can unlock doors to unmatched conversions.
Enter Dr. Robert Cialdini and his 7 principles of persuasion: Reciprocity, Commitment & Consistency, Social Proof, Authority, Liking, Unity, and Scarcity.
These aren’t just fancy terms but powerful tools when used correctly in your proposals will unlock the stuck proposals to unmatched conversions.
Let’s cover what these principles are,
#1: Reciprocity – Give before you ask! Offer something valuable upfront (like industry insights) before asking for their business.
#2: Commitment & Consistency – Highlight past commitments made by the client that align with your offer.
#3: Social Proof – Showcase testimonials from satisfied clients.
#4: Authority – Exhibit your expertise and why they should trust you.
#5: Liking – People do business with people they like; make sure to build rapport first.
#6: Scarcity – Emphasize what they stand to lose if they don’t act now.
#7 Unity – People do business with people who are “of us” community
Let me illustrate this with an example:
“Transform Your Business Operations with our cutting-edge software (Reciprocity). As discussed in our previous meeting (Commitment & Consistency), many industry leaders have already adopted this (Social Proof). Our team, with over 10 years of experience in the field (Authority), is keen to assist you in this journey. We’ve enjoyed our discussions so far (Liking) and wouldn’t want you to miss out on this limited-time offer (Scarcity). We look forward to welcoming you to our growing user community (Unity)
This is just one sentence about how you can create magic, but in every stage of sales proposal from sending an e-mail, opening statement, offer, and negotiation you have an opportunity to use a winning word, phrase, or losing choice
Again, if you are wondering, isn’t persuasion mean manipulation or resort unethical means? Shouldn’t I focus on explaining explaining features, and benefits of my product and leave it to the customer to decide, you are missing how the psychology of human decision-making works!
Dr.Cialdini’s work is rooted in science and 95% of human decision-making uses mental shortcuts. All 7 principles use this and leverage it ethically.
In the words of Dr.Cialdini himself,
“People’s ability to understand the factors that affect their behavior is surprisingly poor”
So why not use these principles to guide your clients toward making a decision that benefits both parties?
Try implementing these principles of persuasion into your next proposal and watch as it forms from a mere document into a conversion powerhouse.
Share your experiences below; I can’t wait to see your sales figures skyrocket!
BTW if you want to dive deep, then we are doing an exclusive webinar,
“Elevate your sales success game: Break free from stuck proposals to achieve unmatched conversions”.
We cover 5 unique case studies that reveal a conversion boost of 100% to 520% using small changes.
Look forward to see you
