But what we often hear from landscape sales professionals is that they’re not exactly sure what to include in a landscape sales proposal in the first place. While you’re probably really great at beating the bushes and selling jobs, the proposal writing aspect may still feel like an enigma.
Chances are you’ve never taken a course in drafting landscape business proposals—and you probably feel a bit on your own in terms of the process. You want to write a great proposal but maybe you don’t even know where to start in order to do so.
In this article, we’ll talk not only about how to create a great proposal but also some of the critical items that you should be including on them which often go forgotten. Getting an improved proposal out the door will help make you more successful and more efficient.
A proposal is a tool of communication between the landscape company and the client. It clearly spells out what services will be performed but also provides some expectations on both sides of the work. In other words, it not only delineates what the client can expect from your company but also what you can expect from the client. The latter is often an area that landscape contractors tend to leave off but has a valuable purpose.
Let’s explore some of the factors that are commonly forgotten on proposals but that we believe are important to include.
All of these factors have something in common. They help create clear and concise information about the agreement between the landscape company and the client. We believe in keeping everything spelled out. There should never be any guessing on the client’s behalf. They simply have to take out their copy of the proposal and they’ll be able to see all specifications regarding the project.
As you construct the proposal, think about it in terms of what is important to convey to the client as well as what information you expect from them in return. That information should help give you a clear sense of what should be included.
In other words, you’ll be able to create a proposal quickly, but without sacrificing its quality or integrity in any way. It will still be highly professional and, of course, consistent, thanks to the assistance of using landscape business software to create it.
Having to enter information over and over as you generate different proposals is undoubtedly a frustration point. When we talk to landscape companies, one of the first things they tell us is that duplicate data entry is a big time waster for them in the office. That’s where building information into a landscaping proposal template can become so valuable.
With landscape maintenance proposal software, you can create a template that has all of the key information about your company and the types of projects you perform already built in. Of course, it also has the most accurate and up-to-date costs. Then it’s just a matter of customizing the proposal for the job specifics. The process is simplified since you already have data at your fingertips that just needs to be dropped into place. That speeds up the process tremendously and frees up your time to sell more jobs.
And not only will you be moving more quickly through the proposal generation process, but you’ll also be able to create more accurate proposals. That’s because you have accurate data at-hand. One of the common mistakes we’ve seen made during proposal generation without software is that Salesperson A creates something completely different from Salesperson B. That’s frustrating not only for sales but also for the client, should they discover their neighbor was charged a different price for the same work. Those types of inaccuracies in proposals can have a negative impact on business.
One of the biggest “wants” on the client’s behalf is knowing that you are going to consistently follow through on doing what you say you’re going to do. We believe that entire process starts with sales, but more specifically, with the proposal.
The proposal spells out exactly what it is that you are saying you will do. The client can see that you have set processes and procedures in place from the very start—and that puts them at ease. When the client feels confident with your proposal, they feel confident with you, and that’s a big deal when it comes to selling a job.
A landscaping proposal template takes the guesswork out of generating a proposal of this caliber. You’ve already built standardized language into the proposal that can be replicated again and again, no matter what the job. You ultimately wind up with a highly professional proposal with consistent language and pricing across the board. That can put you on a whole different level compared to your competition.
One important point that cannot be ignored when talking about proposals is the timeline involved in getting it to the client. Nothing is more frustrating for clients than not hearing back from you. If you tell them that you’ll have a proposal together for them by a certain date and that date comes and goes and you never send it, you’ve probably lost them.
Even the best, most professional proposal in the world cannot save you from poor communication. Stuff comes up and your clients understand that. If you’re going to be late getting them the proposal, just let them know. That can mean all the difference in the world between them giving up on you or waiting it out.
Of course, with landscaping proposal software available to assist you, you really can get your proposals out the door quickly so they’re a lot less likely to be late. Our clients tell us that they’re able to generate proposals faster than ever before. Yet, even though they’re coming together more quickly, they’re also more professional. It’s truly a win-win scenario. You’ll keep your clients happy by getting them information that is accurate and up-to-date and you’ll be able to put it together in a concise and efficient manner. At the end of the day, everyone is better off because of it.
If you’d like to find out more about how Asset can quickly generate great landscaping proposals and create company-wide efficiencies, contact us for a free demo or call us at 800-475-0311 so we can answer your questions.
Image Source: Level Green Landscaping