Mikhail An was appointed first deputy general director of VDNKh JSC for congress and exhibition activities - "informexpo"
Minister of Economy and Finance of the Moscow Region. Education: 2002 Drexel University (USA), majoring in Finance,...
A commercial offer is the main selling tool. It is with a commercial proposal that a potential client begins to become acquainted with your product or service. And the success of all work to complete the transaction depends on how correctly the commercial proposal is drawn up and delivered. A commercial offer differs from a price list or a regular specification for a product in its purpose, which is not so much to inform the client about the product or service being offered, but to encourage him to purchase the product or use the service.
Commercial offers can be divided into “personalized” and “non-personalized”. Personalized ones are addressed to a specific person and contain a personal appeal. Non-personalized - designed for a wider and more impersonal audience of recipients.
Regardless of the type of commercial proposal, the author must clearly understand the target audience to whom the text is aimed. Before drawing up a commercial proposal, it is recommended to determine the needs of your audience, what may interest them and attract their attention. Often the most common mistake is replacing the real needs of the target audience with the author’s ideas about the needs of potential clients.
Once the needs of the target audience (TA) have been clarified, you can proceed to drawing up the text of the proposal. A commercial proposal must consistently perform 4 main functions of an advertising message:
It is in accordance with these functions that the text of the commercial proposal is formed. In the header of a commercial proposal, it is advisable to place a visual image that would attract the reader’s attention. Often, this function is assigned to the logo of the sending company. Therefore, the logo should first of all attract attention.
The typical structure of a commercial proposal is as follows:
Functions of structural elements
Heading
First paragraph
Main text
How to increase the readability of long text?
P.S
In conclusion, it should be said that when sending by email, the commercial proposal should be sent in the most common electronic format, which is guaranteed to be opened by a potential client.
Especially for our readers, I have prepared samples of competent commercial proposals that can be downloaded in Word. So if you were looking for examples of commercial proposals, you came to the right place.
Hello, dear friends. Alexander Berezhnov is with you and today we will examine in detail the issue of writing a commercial proposal.
Over several years of doing business, I have had to draw up a commercial proposal more than once, and friends from time to time turn to me for help in drawing up a selling and effective commercial proposal.
The article will discuss the design and content of a commercial proposal, the psychology of the client’s perception of your commercial proposal, and will also provide personal tricks and developments with explanations.
Let's start friends!
This article-instructions for drawing up a commercial proposal will contain a maximum of practical recommendations with clear examples. At the end of your acquaintance with it, you will have a ready-made system for writing CP, which will not take more than 30 minutes of your time.
No “water”, no bullshit. Let's go!
Practice shows that “cold” commercial offers no longer work, especially if they are sent as spam without prior notification to the potential client.
Therefore, “warm” commercial offers work. By analogy with “cold” and “warm” calls.
Next we will talk about drawing up “warm” CPs, since I don’t see the point in sending out the same information to everyone. Indeed, in this case, you not only do not know the person to whom you are sending it, but also do not take into account the specifics of the company of your potential client.
Design and structure of a commercial proposal
The CP is compiled in length of one page, in some cases - a maximum of two. With the right approach, the entire essence of your proposal, including client benefits, brief information about the company and contacts, can be placed on just one sheet.
Today, people, especially entrepreneurs or officials (for whom commercial proposals are mainly drawn up) do not have a lot of time and are unlikely to read writings of more than 2 sheets of A4 format.
If we are talking about a classic good commercial proposal, then it looks like this (from top to bottom):
Your CP should have a header with the company logo or a symbol (picture) of the product you are selling.
Sometimes people ask me whether it is worth making a commercial offer that stands out too much, for example, using colored paper (if this is a physical version) or bright colors and shocking pictures (for an electronic version).
There is no clear answer here.
You can divide your clients into two groups, send one a bright and eye-catching CP, and the other a regular one and see the response. It is worth considering here that any conclusions can only be drawn by sending a large number of commercial proposals, for example 50 or 100 to each group of your potential clients. Otherwise, your statistics will be greatly blurred.
In order to see in practice how a commercial proposal is drawn up, I decided to write it for our electronic business magazine HeatherBober.ru which you are reading now.
At the same time, you will be able to follow step by step how the CP is compiled. There will also be illustrations and explanations.
An important condition that must be met before starting to draw up a proposal is an established warm contact with your potential client. That is, you must know in advance which company you will send the CP to and the name of your recipient.
Let's begin!
To know in what style to write a commercial proposal, to indicate in it the correct benefits for your potential client, you need to analyze it.
First of all, we will analyze his problems and needs, since our product or service will solve them.
In our case, the offer for a potential client will be advertising in the business magazine “HeaterBober.ru” in the format of a banner, review, or mention in the target article of the products or services of our advertisers.
Let's think logically. Who might be interested in our offer?
We position our business magazine as a platform with instructions, recommendations and interviews for aspiring entrepreneurs.
At the beginning of the first step, we simply have a general idea of our potential client and a blank proposal form.
In our case, the form looks like this:
Important point!
Let’s assume that we have already found a certain company “Easy Start in Business” on the Internet, contacted it and found out that its director, Nikolai Ivanov, was interested in cooperation with our business magazine. Now he is waiting for our commercial offer by email.
We also know that the profile of the company “Easy Start in Business” is conducting educational online webinars and trainings on organizing your business on the Internet.
At the end of the first step, our commercial proposal will look like this:
The title of your CP is a powerful tool for attracting the attention of your potential client. In our case, such a header could be as follows:
100,000 of your potential clients are already ready to pay for training at the “Easy Start in Business” company!
Let's now figure out why the title of our commercial proposal is exactly like this?
It’s simple, now our business magazine HeatherBober.ru is visited by more than 100,000 people a month. Considering that these are people who are interested in making money and starting their own business, it turns out that all of them are, in one way or another, potential clients of our fictitious company “Easy Start in Business.”
I think that if you were the head of this company, such a headline would not leave you indifferent. :)
Also, the phrase “already ready to pay” further fuels interest in our commercial offer.
And everything is logical, if these 100,000 people came to our website with the goal of starting their own business or getting an idea for making money, then in fact they are READY to pay for really high-quality and structured information that will be given at the online webinar of the company “Easy Start” in business."
And the figure 100,000 specifies the potential revenue from sales of webinars.
For example, it would be wrong to write a headline using the phrase “large quantity” and the like instead of the number 100,000. After all, big is a subjective indicator and everyone understands it in their own way.
And here the head of the company can immediately estimate the calculation of potential profit - that same sales funnel.
For example, if 100,000 people saw his offer, 1% went to his selling website, that is, 1,000 per month, and out of a thousand, another 3%, that is, 30 people bought services, while his average bill is 5,000 rubles, then the potential revenue per month will be equal to:
30 people x 5000 = 150,000 rubles. Then it is quite logical that he can spend 15,000 rubles or 10% of potential revenue on advertising per month.
Moreover, if out of 100,000 people who visit the site and see his offer, at least 3 people buy participation in the company’s training (15,000 rubles), then the advertising will pay for itself.
Now our commercial offer with a title will look like this:
Let's move on to drawing up the main part of the commercial proposal.
Before sending your potential client the electronic file with the commercial proposal, I recommend that you write a short introduction to the commercial proposal, where you must mention the client’s problems and wishes, that is, talk to him about him, about his company, about his tasks .
This is simple psychology, and just an attentive and respectful attitude towards your partner (potential advertiser).
This is what it might look like:
This is the introductory message you will receive before sending your proposal.
Now let's move on to the facts and benefits of the client, or describe here what potential advertiser Nikolai asked us to do.
Facts about the electronic business magazine HeatherBober.ru:
Your benefits from cooperation with the business magazine HeatherBober.ru:
Here we list the range of our services. Separately, you can also send the client links with examples of advertising that he requested, as well as a price list with prices.
At this stage, our commercial proposal will look like this:
This step is a kind of closing the sale. Here we must write something that will prompt our potential client to call you in the very near future. To do this, you can even come up with any trick on the go, as long as it turns out to be effective. But no matter what you write, this should ultimately bring additional value (benefits, benefits for the client).
For example:
Call us within 24 hours and you will receive 1 month of free advertising in a targeted article as a gift.
For example:
Alexander Berezhnov, customer service manager, business magazine HiterBober.ru
Phone: 8-919-739-52-33;
e-mail: [email protected]
Skype: berezhnovalex1988
As a result, we came up with the following commercial proposal:
It is not overloaded with unnecessary information and the client knows that he can find out other details from the contact person indicated for communication.
Now you know how to quickly draw up a good commercial proposal according to all the rules in literally half an hour.
At the end of the article, I wrote several commercial proposals myself.
You can download them below.
Dear friends, I suggest you download a sample commercial proposal that I have compiled for people who want to make money on the site,
similar to HeatherBober.ru.
This is a real, valid offer for potential investors. Perhaps you will be interested in it too.
That's all. Good luck to you in drawing up your own commercial proposals and many rich clients
For the recipient to highlight your commercial offer from a number of others, it must be correctly compiled and executed. Be sure to highlight your unique competitive advantages.
In addition, if you offer services, you need to tell about the company’s employees, and if you offer goods, about the features of production. Finally, it is important that your proposal is easy and interesting to read.
Commercial offer– a common tool in working with partners: current and potential. A commercial proposal is a common type of selling text.
Each of us has come across different examples of commercial proposals - the text motivates to perform a certain action, for example, a trip to the office, calling managers, etc. It is the performance of such an action for cooperation with the company that becomes the goal of drawing up a commercial proposal.
Sample of a commercial proposal
Not every manager is able to independently prepare a commercial proposal. Indeed, a commercial proposal on paper has serious differences compared to ordinary communication with a client. You have to put on paper the advantages of your proposal in such a way that the information is both brief and sufficiently succinct, stimulating the potential client to make a deal.
12 elements of a commercial proposal that will increase sales by 16%
Alexander Stroev,
General Director of IT For U, Moscow
In order to receive positive responses from such large customers as, for example, RosAtom, Siberian Generating Company, etc., I began to study their procurement regulations. This experience gave us the idea to create our own internal regulations for preparing commercial proposals for large clients.
These are the provisions that must be included in the form of a commercial proposal.
1. Basic commercial offers.
Such a commercial offer is usually sent out in large quantities. The commercial proposal is presented in one unique form. Potential clients of the company do not expect any letters from your company; in this case, the goal is to “attract” the attention of your audience.
Drawing up basic commercial proposals is beneficial in a situation where you are offering a single service, when it may be of interest to a wide range of consumers. For example, a commercial proposal for website development, water delivery, etc.
2. “Warm” commercial offers.
Personal commercial offers, since they are sent to a specific person for reading after negotiations. For example, after a “cold” call. The advantage of such an offer is that, at a minimum, the client is waiting for it. An important nuance. The commercial proposal must be drawn up taking into account the identified needs of the client, containing the most specific information and offer.
You need to start “warm” commercial offers with the following phrases:
“In continuation of our conversation, I am sending you...”
“As you asked, I’m sending...”
Another important feature of such commercial proposals, which is also sometimes called a technical-commercial proposal, is that a few days after sending, you can call the client again and discuss specific points of interaction. For example, how interested the client was in the proposal, what he liked, what he would like to clarify.
Tricks for writing a business proposal
How to create an ideal commercial proposal using the AIDA formula ( attention, interest, desire, action - attention, interest, desire, action), said the editors of the General Director magazine.
Step #1. Your goal. As a rule, a commercial proposal is drawn up for distribution to your clients. It indicates the company's goods and services in the hope that the recipient will be interested in at least one of the proposed positions. But it is possible to work for sure - to find out the client’s need, placing a bet on it, reporting about specific services or goods that are important for the recipient. Therefore, at the first stage, you should decide on the purpose of drawing up your commercial proposal or send a request for a commercial proposal to a potential partner.
Step #2. Not quantity, but quality. Try to keep your sentence length moderate—don’t try to include everything at once. It is better to provide a relatively small amount of text, choosing quality over quantity. You should pay attention to more relevant data, abandoning unnecessary offers that will only distract the reader. You should not distract the reader from the main thing - stimulating information that will motivate a person to conclude a deal or take another necessary action.
Step #3. Your proposal or offer. Offer – what you offer to a potential buyer. It can be considered the most important element of the commercial proposal. Since it usually depends on the preparation whether a potential client will be interested in studying the commercial proposal. It is important to take care of an informative and sufficiently “catchy” title.
The offer must be based on the following basic postulates:
A good offer or unique selling proposition (USP) involves combining several elements. For example, the harmony of an attractive price and comfortable delivery conditions or guarantees, etc.
Step #4. Focus on solving customer problems. A competent commercial proposal is focused on solving the problem of the target audience. A prerequisite is focusing on the problem of your clients.
It should be borne in mind that a commercial offer, which is limited to simply a story about the company’s goods or services, is useless waste paper that is not capable of attracting the interest of a potential client.
The text of the commercial proposal should be client-oriented. He becomes the main character of our story. The more phrases “we”, “I”, “our” in the text, the less it will arouse the reader’s interest. Why should a client waste time reading a eulogy about a company?
There is even a rule - 4 “you” and one us. Some people talk about 3 “yous,” but this does not change the principle. Focus not on yourself, but on the reader. In this case, the commercial offer will be more valuable for the reader. When drawing up a commercial proposal, you should always be guided by the client’s question, “Why is this beneficial for me?”
Step #5. Pricing. The client needs to understand the company’s pricing principles. Therefore, in your commercial proposal for cooperation, you can talk about the pricing system - what factors are the basis for cost formation. Or send a price list with your commercial proposal. When operating in a highly competitive market, you should send proposals with competitors' prices. A fairly effective method is to convey information to the client about the benefits he will receive.
If you send a price list along with a commercial offer, you should consider the following tips:
Step #7. Gratitude after the first sale. Once you've made a sale with a quote, you shouldn't let the client go. The first step after the first cooperation is gratitude. Every person is pleased to see gratitude and hear “thank you.” After all, this confirms that they did something kind and good. We rarely meet grateful people. Thanks to your gratitude, at least surprise your client, because he did not have to read such letters.
Download examples of commercial proposals for different areas of business at the end of the article.
In 79% of cases, the client makes a purchase only after looking at 6 to 14 proposals - this data is provided by Denis Kaplunov, an expert in writing commercial proposals. We will tell you how to create an effective CP so that the client chooses you out of a dozen competitors. As a bonus, you will be able to download business proposal templates and also learn how to simplify their distribution using a CRM system.
A business proposal is a business letter to clients advertising a product.
Why do companies write CP?
Denis Kaplunov, copywriter and software development specialist in his book “An Effective Business Proposal” he identifies the main components of a proposal:
Let's look at how to correctly compose a commercial proposal - section by section.
Examples of how to write a lead CP:
1. Press on an important problem for the client - lack of clients, competition, lack of ideas for new products.
If you want to double the number of clients at your fitness club in 2 months, then this information is for you.
2. Draw a picture of a bright future when the client's problem is solved.
Imagine that your hotel is booked to capacity all year round, and room reservations are booked months in advance.
3. Mention the key benefit of the offer or outstanding customer results.
With us, you can reduce the cost of maintaining accounting documentation by half in the first month.
4. Intrigue with the novelty of the product - this always attracts attention.
Especially for the New Year, we are offering a new product - our branded sweets in gift sets, and much cheaper than when purchased separately.
Offer (from English offer) is a specific proposal, the heart of the CP. It should contain a brief description of your product with key features as well as customer benefits. You need to explain to the client why he should buy from you, and not from competitors. This means you need to show what else you can offer besides the product:
Important nuance: If you want to make your commercial proposal as attractive as possible, do not lie to your clients and do not promise the impossible. Such tactics will only do harm in the long run.
An example of an offer in a commercial proposal of a transport companyThe most important thing is to indicate it. Otherwise, most potential clients will go to competitors, not wanting to waste time finding out the cost. Next, these numbers need to be justified. If the cost is significantly lower than that of competitors, this is already an excellent argument. If not, find something to stand out. These are all the same discounts and bonuses, product guarantee, speed and quality of service, gifts, exclusives.
Example
Our taxi services are 5% more expensive than our competitors, but we have a child seat in every car and you can transport pets.
For expensive complex services, a detailed breakdown of the components of the package works great, as well as a detailed calculation that demonstrates great benefits for the client in the future. Another effective technique is splitting the price in terms of a short period of time.
Example
A month of using the cloud CRM system on the “Start” tariff costs 1,100 rubles for 5 users - that works out to 220 rubles per month for each. And if you immediately pay for access for six months, you get a 20% discount, that is, access for each employee will cost only 176 rubles per month - that’s only 6 rubles per day. Agree, it’s a ridiculous amount of money for a program that automates business processes, integrates with mail, telephony and SMS messaging services, generates analytics and helps manage a business.
Here you need to indicate what exactly do you want from the client: order, call, write, follow a link, visit the office, provide contact information. To hurry a person up, write down a limit on the duration of the offer or the quantity of the product. Or you can save some benefit for last: promise an additional discount or free shipping when ordering right now.
How to write a proposal for cooperation? Similar to offering goods! If you want to offer your professional services, prepare a compelling commercial proposal.
The standard cooperation proposal template includes five blocks.
We have selected for you samples of commercial proposals that are high-quality in both form and content. Download CP templates, study and adapt them to your products.
Evgeniy Malyar
# Business nuances
What is the purpose of a commercial proposal? How to compose it correctly? Is there a universal template? The article provides answers to these questions and also provides samples for downloading.
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Nowadays, as everyone knows, there is no shortage of goods. On the contrary, there is overproduction in many industries. For this reason, the most important task of global business is solving the sales problem. Many people know about such a tool as a skillfully composed commercial proposal, but not everyone knows how to draw it up correctly. The text offered for review is devoted to this topic. Below we will tell you how to correctly draw up a commercial proposal, and also present visual examples of successful solutions.
It is not for nothing that a commercial proposal is called commercial. Its sender is the enterprise. It is addressed not to the retail consumer, but to a commercial structure. The task of the drafter of this document is to convince the potential client of the opportunity to earn or save a significant amount.
The difference between a commercial offer and an advertising offer is the addressee. He, like the addressee, is most often a legal entity.
The products offered are goods to be resold or funds (current or fixed assets). The commercial category also includes proposals relating to:
In each of these cases there is a common feature - the expected benefit for the purchaser of the product or service.
A commercial offer for the supply of products is a letter containing the recommended sections below.
Appeal. In the case of mass mailing of commercial letters, this paragraph is excluded or replaced by the generalized form “Dear head of the enterprise.” If the proposal is drawn up after preliminary negotiations, after which the person responsible for the procurement has agreed to familiarize himself with the conditions, then you should contact him by name and patronymic.
Title. After the preliminary conversation, the manager may become distracted and forget what he talked about with the representative of the potential supplier. The title should remind him of this. It represents the most concise (up to ten words) form of the conversation topic. For example: “Commercial proposal for the supply of cement.”
Offer. This is the main part of the letter, which outlines the benefits of the proposed product. It should be understood that the commercial structure is most often not interested in how good the product is for the end consumer. For example, economic characteristics such as:
As well as other important commercial qualities. All other things being equal, the decisive criterion for choosing a supplier is price.
The main rule of the offer is the minimum sufficiency of the information contained in it for the buyer to evaluate his possible benefits.
Call to action. After reading the offer, the recipient of the offer should know what to do next. You can count on the fact that he himself will guess to call the specified phone number, but it is better that it is directly stated in the text. In many cases, sales are effectively stimulated by limiting the period of preferential terms of the contract.
Polite exit. Yes, and in written communication you also need to be able to “leave” gracefully. The commercial offer, like a personal visit, ends with a discreet thank you for your attention.
There is no universal standard for all occasions, but each organization can create its own form. The commercial proposal form compiled according to the above plan will be used regularly by sales managers. All that remains is to make changes from the customer base and monitor the relevance of prices.
An example of a successful proposal, in this case office furniture:
View in full
The offer not only provides good prices for standard products, but also indicates the reasons for such a pleasant surprise (direct work from warehouses, no advertising costs). All the advantages of purchasing chairs from this supplier are listed (free travel, warranty, replacement of defective products, general efficiency).
Now it’s time to look at a few examples of offers included in offers for specific product groups.
Food products are a broad concept. It includes everyday products, delicacies, confectionery, canned food, tobacco, alcohol, and many other things, including animal feed. Each time, when choosing a strategy for creating an offer, a sales specialist relies on the advantages that promise benefits to the buyer, mentally putting himself in his place.
For example, when offering to purchase fishmeal, he understands that the letter will be assessed by a specialist who knows what the “Bronstein method”, “acid number” and other specific terms are. In turn, the feed mill technologist, having compared the parameters of the ingredient with analogues, will come to a conclusion about the final quality of the product of his enterprise. The chief economist will assess the prospects for increasing competitiveness, after which the general director will make a decision on the purchase of raw materials.
The case considered has its own specifics - the final product is intended for livestock farming, and advertising does not affect cows or pigs, unlike people.
Other products have their own rules:
Download sample
The more complex the technique, the more qualifications are required from the offer writer. In most cases, equipment is supplied on the basis of technical specifications provided by the customer, so the commercial proposal is usually a short list of possible options indicating the maximum characteristics.
For example: “Our company manufactures automatic bottling lines with a capacity of up to 10 thousand bottles per shift.” In other cases, where standard products are expected to be supplied, the main emphasis is on competitive pricing.
The peculiarity of working with equipment is that the initiator is often the buyer, letting potential suppliers know about his intention to purchase certain machines or a production complex. This usually happens at exhibitions, or a tender is announced.
The commercial proposal template for neutral equipment is an extremely concise introduction with a brief description and price of the product:
Download sample
In this case, there is no need for a catchy title and an exciting form of presentation. The text is addressed to specialists who know perfectly well what equipment the enterprise is interested in, as illustrated by the example provided. Price also does not play a primary role. Most often, it is not the amount that is more important, but its relationship with the useful economic effect (return on investment).
This offer is addressed to large and medium-sized operators of various equipment, as well as repair enterprises. To compile it correctly, it is necessary to understand what criteria for choosing a supplier are decisive:
Deadlines for proposals for the supply of spare parts often do not make sense.
Download example
There is no need to praise building materials - for their objective assessment there are brands (for example, Portland cement or M-400, alabaster, etc.) The head of a construction company knows what his company needs and will quickly understand what he is offered to buy. The offer for the supply of crushed stone, concrete or sand looks very simple: it is a table with two columns (name and price per cubic meter or ton).
For more expensive products, a breakdown of pallets (bricks), pallets (waterproofing coatings) or other types of packaging is also required. Construction timber is supplied in cubic meters.
In cases where a new progressive material is proposed that has not yet found mass distribution, a detailed description of its advantages is necessary.
Download sample
The proposal consists of the text of a letter addressed to the head of the enterprise, a color catalog and a price list indicating wholesale discounts (depending on quantity). Particularly large clients may be offered special discounts, which must be mentioned in the text.
In this case, it would be useful to describe special technological techniques (laminate made under high pressure, heavy-duty trimming, laser cutting and marking, etc.) that guarantee the strength and durability of the product. Delivery and assembly are usually included in the contract price.
A sample is presented at the beginning of the article.
The work clothes of staff carry not only a functional load - in many enterprises it is an element of corporate style. A proposal for the supply of workwear may take this factor into account or contain information about an economical option that provides for minimum requirements. Descriptions or images of all types of products are provided.
A brief summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed product, payment and delivery methods, additional features, discounts and everything else that distinguishes this supplier from its competitors for the better is necessary.
Competition in the workwear market is high, therefore the main condition for writing a successful commercial proposal is constant monitoring of prices and range of goods.
Download sample
Large enterprises are interested in creating dealer networks and attracting wholesale buyers. This way of working is motivated by accelerating capital turnover by reducing the rate of profit. One of the means to implement such a business strategy is to send out commercial proposals that reveal the benefits of potential customers.
A sample letter illustrates the mediation scheme for the sale of steel doors:
Download example
Profitability is justified:
This template can be considered very successful. It outlines the benefits of mediation in a concentrated and clear way.
One type of commercial offer concerns not the sale, but the purchase of a certain product. In this case, the author notifies potential suppliers of his intention to purchase the product on the most favorable terms for him. In fact, we are talking about announcing a procurement tender.
Despite the opposite meaning, the purpose of this operation is the same - making a profit. The potential buyer seeks to attract as many sellers as possible and, as a result, get the lowest possible price with acceptable quality.
This technique is used both by large (including government) organizations that officially notify the terms of the tender, and by relatively small commercial structures.
Factors that attract potential sellers, as a rule, are guaranteed quick payment and the relative competitiveness of the offered price (not always).