How to Tailor Proposals for Different Clients

The biggest lie in sales is that every proposal needs to be completely custom Sales leaders are burning out their teams with this myth. I've analyzed hundreds of losing proposals, and sellers who try to customize everything end up customizing nothing well. Here's what actually works ⬇️ The best proposals aren't built from scratch, they're assembled from proven components. Think about it like LEGO blocks. You have a finite set of pieces (your solution capabilities), but you can build infinite combinations based on what the customer actually needs. Most sellers think customization means writing new content for every deal. Wrong. Real customization means strategic omission. When you focus only on the 2-3 challenges your prospect actually cares about, you create laser-focused proposals that feel tailor-made. Meanwhile, your competitors are drowning prospects in 47-slide decks covering every possible use case. The psychology is SO simple … when everything seems important, nothing feels important. Smart sellers build modular proposal systems: 👉 Component A: How we solve workflow automation 👉 Component B: How we solve data accuracy 👉 Component C: How we solve reporting delays For each deal, they select only the relevant components. That way proposals feel completely custom while taking 70% less time to create. Your buyers don't want to see everything you can do. They want to see exactly how you solve their specific priorities. I dive deeper into this modular approach and share my complete 5-step proposal framework in the latest Innovative Seller episode. Tune in to learn how to scale proposal creation without sacrificing impact.

Every single sales team I have ever evaluated has their lowest score on the closing competency.    This really boils down to really crappy proposal meetings and sales pitches.    First we should never be doing a discovery meeting and a proposal meeting at the same time.     If a sales person does split their discovery and proposal meeting, they usually show up with a boiler plate deck completely focused on why the company is so great.    They present every single capability that the prospect doesn't care about, so somewhere within the first 5 minutes the deal is lost.    Here are five things I teach my clients to do when presenting a proposal:    1) Customized each proposal to the client.     2) Start with an objectives slide.     This should be the 3-5 problems you extracted from the discovery call.    After presenting this slide, ask the client if you captured their needs.    It's pretty amazing to see how prospects lean in immediately because you have summarized their challenges so well.    This is a sign you have them hooked.    3) Connect each problem the client has with one of your solutions.    You could sell a 250K piece of equipment that has 100 different "cool" things    The only cool things that matter are the ones that solve the prospects problems.    Only share a maximum of five solutions.    4) Add in a maximum of two slide about your company.    This should be your company's unique value proposition    5) Drop in a testimonial or two that is relevant to that prospect    Always have a strong testimonial on the slide right before you share the pricing    The key to deliver flawless pitches and improving your close rate is about stepping into the prospects world.    I can guarantee you if you follow only one of these steps you with see your close rate increase by a few percent.    If you follow them all you can easily double your close rate    You will realize the problem with your proposal meeting is you don't actually have the information you need to properly present your solution to your client.    And you need to go back and do real discovery meeting to extract the prospects challenges.    Closing starts at the beginning of your sales process, not the end.     #wesleynewisdom 

Here’s how I write sales proposals that close deals. [it's not some complicated playbook - you can do it] You've done your discovery. You know how you can be helpful. What do you do next? Don't give them a “here’s what we offer” or “here’s everything we can throw at it.” But instead show them: “here’s how we solve your exact problem.” It is not the time to pitch. Now is when you reflect on the discovery. So the buyer sees their own words in the solution. Here’s how: 1. I restate the problem in their words. - “You said your team is great at relationships, but inconsistent with follow-up.” - “You said you're getting leads, but they aren’t converting.” I want them nodding before they even hit page 2. 2. I clarify what success looks like to THEM, not me. - “You said if you could fix this, you’d see X% more close rate and get your weekends back.” That goes right into the intro. This isn’t about what I offer, it’s about what THEY want. 3. I keep the offer tight and tailored. - 2–3 specific things I’d do. That’s it. - Each one maps back to the exact problem they named. 4. I include pricing options + a next step. - “Based on what we discussed, here are 3 levels of support I can offer." - “Let’s hop on a quick call, just to align and confirm the scope, then we can get started!” No long-winded, bullet-pointed slides. (this kills me) No menu of options and asking them to pick. Just confidence you can help & next steps. TL;DR Here's my Hot Tip: --> Start by making it more about the buyer and what THEY need than about your business and "what you offer."