Introducing a new feature from Services Insider. We receive many letters and questions about marketing and selling services from clients and readers of the Services Insider newsletter. We will periodically present the best questions along with answers from our very own Service Doctor. It is not quite Dear Abby, but any questions about selling to brother-in-laws will receive special attention.

Dear Service Doctor:

I have a prospect with whom I have had a few meetings and we are now at the stage where they will be inviting a proposal from my company. The final link is to ensure we submit a proposal that provides value in the client's eyes. There have been some discussions about costs, but I think the prospect doesn't yet see the full value of our services and will be surprised by the fee. What should I say in my proposal?

Unsure in Utica

Dear Unsure:

First of all, let me complement you for being aware that the conversations you have had thus far have not allowed you to communicate the full value of your services. This insight has saved you from making the wrong next move. At this point you have two options:

1. Write and submit an exceptional proposal that specifically lays out for the prospect the value of what you are proposing. In the proposal, connect the value of the solution to alleviating his pain or helping him reach his aspirations. Paint a clear picture of the new reality that you have already articulated with him but may not yet be 100% clear to him.
   
   
2.  Lay out the whole proposal but don't submit it yet and don't go deep into fees. Instead, speak directly with the prospect about the solution you are suggesting, before you submit your proposal.

Based on the details you have provided, I strongly suggest you go with the second option. If you still have questions about the prospect (or the committee that might represent the full set of buyers) seeing the full value of your solution, you have not finished the initial sales process. A proposal a) will never be as convincing as you will in person, nor b) can it quickly adjust to new information.

Some tips for your next conversation:

• Walk through the specifics of what the new reality will look like with your prospect. Make sure you are on the same page, literally. Get him to articulate (and you can help) what things will look like when you have successfully completed your engagement. Only then can you paint the complete picture of the gap between where they are now and where they need to go.
  
  
• Ask what if questions to establish the full need of solving the problem. For example, “What will change in your job, for the better, once we implement our plan?” Or, “If you decide not to go with this solution, what won't happen with your company's growth?”
  
  
• Once you have the prospect articulate along these lines, see if you can get him to translate the impact of the good or bad results into financial terms. Help him along. “So what you are saying is, if you don't do this soon, the cost to the company in delaying this action will be $250,000 over the next two years?”
  
  
• If you can get the client to state his own numbers or agree with your numbers, you have already established the value base for him. If your solution costs $350,000 and he only gains $250,000, then you have missed the mark. Likewise, if your solution only costs $50,000, is a five time return on investment good enough for him?
  
  
• Depending upon how much trust you have established you can be direct and say, “Do you have an idea or a budget as to how much you plan to spend?” Or, “The rough estimate for this based on what you have told me will be $xxx. Are we in the right ballpark?” This will alert you early on as to whether or not money will become a major objection. If you're in the right ballpark in terms of budget and resources, then switch over to communicating your value proposition.
  
  
• If money is an objection here, don't jump to lower your price. Seek to understand what's really going on. One way is to ask, “If money were no object, would you want to proceed?” or “Given your current state, where you want to go, and what we have discussed thus far, what will it take to get you there?” If they want to move forward, work to create an alternative solution that can move them forward while remaining in their price range.

The important thing is to see that only you can work with the client to create:

1. An agreed upon picture of the current state
2. A desired future state
3. An acceptable pathway for getting there

You can't expect a proposal to do this for you. The proposal should be a confirmation of where you are. If you are not ready to confirm, especially if the fee will be a surprise, do not submit the proposal.

Happy sales,

The Service Doctor