Building a Winning Proposal

Do the hurdles of crafting proposals and contracts leave you feeling stuck, wondering if there’s a better way? Imagine if your proposals could captivate and convince with ease, rather than leaving you questioning what’s missing or why they didn’t hit the mark. Ever faced the sting of rejection on a bid you knew could have been a game-changer, if only your proposal had done it justice? If these challenges resonate with you, you’ve found exactly what you’ve been searching for right here.

In this post I'll cover the WHY of a proposal, the elements of a great proposal, and then putting it all together. I've been building proposals for 27 years in the B2B commercial cleaning space. I started in sales as our  only salesperson and 3X'd our cleaning company from $600K/yr to $1.8M in just my first 2 years.

Over the years I honed in crafting great proposals and at the bottom of this post, I'm offering a chance to purchase an editable copy of both our winning proposal and our contract. You'll save time building one yourself from scratch, you'll have access to a document that works, and you'll increase your overall odds by providing a higher level of value for your prospects.

The WHY

Your potential client has a reason why they reached out to you, maybe it's due to....

• Turnover and staffing issues
• Their cleaning company is too rigid in their offerings
• Lack of consistency of cleaning
• Poor adherence to the agreed-to scope of work
• Lack of sustainability or eco-friendly products and equipment
• Mistreatment of the cleaning company's employees by management
• The prospect wants to scrap in-house cleaning
• Their cleaning company jacked up rates, without increasing value

Whatever the reason, your prospect is coming to you for help. You can help them. You can win them over. And the best way to do that is through a proposal.

The purpose of the proposal is to continue to sell to the prospect long after you do the walkthrough. The more you include in your proposal to address these needs, with a plan of action to do so, the greater the value you show and the greater the odds you have to get to a YES. It's just like the target in the picture above. A great proposal will get you closer to a bullseye. With a comprehensive proposal, you're more than likely to hit the target. Unfortunately (or fortunately for you), most of your competitors don't even know there's a dart board.

Here are the top failures I see in sample proposals out there. There's a lack of....

• Flexibility and scalability
• Cost transparency
• Quality control measures
• Detailed Scope of Work (SOW)
• Client testimonials or other social proof
• Clear understanding of contract requirements
• Highlighting experience and experienced staff

Elements of a Winning Proposal 

All of our proposals at least have....

• Proposal cover page. This includes our biz name and contact info, our prospect's info, logos for both of us, a contract term, a proposal version number (handy if they request multiple edits), and an expiration date to spur action.
• Proposal sales letter. This letter highlights our capabilities, our USPs,, and a clear call to action (e.g. what do I want them to do after reviewing this proposal?)
• About Us. We cover our history, additional contact info, affiliations and memberships, and certifications. We also include our USPs and services in graphic form. Sometimes we'll add an executive summary with information about ownership and management with bios and pictures.
• Social Proof. We will either include a page of recognizable logos of clients we clean, testimonials, and/or references.
• Service Details. We'll add sections here as needed including management philosophy, contract execution, insurance, cleaning supplies and equipment featured, employee screening and training, quality control, insurance and others.
• Scope of Work. We' break down tasks and the frequency of those tasks, separated by areas.
• Pricing Summary. Sometimes we will include a pricing summary, depending on the contract complexity.
• Contract. We cover services provided, contract terms, pricing, payment terms and methods, supplies provided or not provided, contract termination, and about a dozen other topics. 

We know the pain points of our prospects. They've told us and in our marketing and walkthroughs, we ask about that. We mirror what they tell us in our proposal. This way we're presenting a winning proposal that addressed their needs and got to the root of why they reached out in the first place. 

Transform Rejection into Selection with Just a Few Clicks: Picture this: Your proposals are not just read but remembered. They stand out because they speak directly to your clients' pain points with solutions that showcase your value, flexibility, and commitment to quality. Our editable proposal and contract templates are the result of years fine-tuning what works in the competitive B2B commercial cleaning space. If you’re ready to turn your proposal process into a powerful tool for success, CLICK HERE to make your proposals impossible to ignore.