Do we use persuasive techniques to win our proposals? No, we are too busy printing 50 pages of boilerplate BS nobody will ever read.
Your proposals should be compelling and persuasive. Most importantly, they should create urgency for action. Here are three persuasive tools you can use to win over customers:
Most proposals prattle on about the company, the offer, the tools, the technicians, the certifications, the NOC, etc. This is all about "I", the creator of the proposal.
Unfortunately, most customers could care less how wonderful you are. As you describe (in excruciating detail) your Silver, Gold, and Platinum service plans, they are mentally scanning the room for escape routes and wondering if there's a nearby pencil they can jab in their eye.
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The only thing the customer can and should care about is the "U", which is what they will gain from your solution. Don't talk about your "precious metal" plans. Instead, talk about:
- The time savings the customer will gain
- The disasters they will avoid
- The lazy employees they won't need to manage
- The patches, updates, and backups they won't need to worry about
This is "Outcomes-based" selling, where you speak only about the magical transformation your customer will gain by contracting for your Managed Services.
In short, make sure the "I-U" ratio is mostly about the customer, the "U".
Comparisons
All cost justifications are based on comparisons:
- Expenses now vs projected future expenses
- Revenues now vs potential revenues in the future
- Costs now vs costs after a potential catastrophic event
Always present your offer as a comparison to something else.
You might contrast your MSP package of $12,000 per month against the $1 Million they are currently planning to spend (for the two Tumbling Chimps currently employed in the IT Department).
Yes, when you factor in salary, benefits, training, management overhead, and office expenses into your calculations, your customer is dropping a cool $1 Million on their internal Nerd Squad.
Your customer doesn't need to
WASTE $1 Million over five years, when they can
INVEST $12,000 a month in your Managed Service Plan,.
The Gretzky Principle
The last important step is to talk about the future. Contrast the pain, suffering, and risk of continuing the customer's current path with the safety, peace of mind, and security of going with your solution.
As Wayne Gretzky famously said: "I don't skate where the puck is. I skate where the puck is going to be".
If the customer thinks IT expenses are high now, imagine how they;ll grow in the years ahead?
- Will tech talent cost more or less in the future?
- Will monitoring & diagnostic tools cost more or less in the future?
- Will networking and communications be more or less complex in the future?
- Will Malware and Security threats be more or less frequent in the future?
This is where you turn your Monitoring & Diagnostic tools into weapons. Only the largest IT staffs can afford to purchase and deploy all the latest software and hardware tools. If they don't have all the tools, they are putting their mission-critical network at risk.
Of course, your customers won't need to continue these costly expenses, because you will take care of it for them. Don't just talk about the present, talk about the future!
Don't let your proposals become Weapons of Mass Confusion. Use these simple persuasive tools to compare, contrast, and convince your prospects.
