How Proposal Software Is a Game-Changer for Boosting Productivity and Closing Deals

Introduction

Sales is not just about having a great product, it’s about effectively closing more deals and doing it in stipulated time. Thus, the success of a sales team depends on two critical factors – high team productivity and the ability to generate more business. To achieve this, every step in the sales process must be aligned and managed effectively. 

Creating well-structured and professional proposals is an essential part of the sales process that has a direct impact on conversion rate and overall deal closure. Though, your sales team may use different techniques or approaches to create proposals; you require software for proposal writing or proposal software that makes the entire process automated and seamless. 

Proposal management software has emerged as a crucial tool for modern-day sales teams. The benefits of proposal software are numerous for teams who want to create a proposal that converts. In this article, we will look at different angles to understand how a proposal tool can help streamline and automate your operations, so your sales team closes more deals. 

 

What is proposal management software? 

Proposal management software or simply proposal software is a platform or an application that helps sales teams to create a proposal. It helps in writing, editing, managing, and sending proposals to prospective customers. Proposal writing software can be a web or mobile-based application that lets users easily build sales proposals by automating the process. 

It is an important tool for sales teams today looking to generate and send proposals digitally. When compared to traditional ways of creating proposals, proposal software brings in a huge range of benefits. The benefits of proposal software include automated creation and management, integration with tools like CRM and email, tracking analytics, and more. Let us dive deeper into these benefits –   

 

Proposal creation – Proposal software allows you to create well-structured, clear, beautiful, and professional looking sales proposals. It gives you all the tools to do so, such as templates, graphics, tables, content library, and other elements to help you create and customize the proposal according to the needs and preferences of the prospective client.   

 

Proposal management – After the proposal is created, the next important part of the process is managing the proposal. It includes storing, editing, and recording updates of the proposal that is created. Proposal management software becomes an ideal platform to manage thousands of proposals at a time. This helps sales teams to easily navigate them, edit them, and send them whenever they need.    

 

Integrations – Every step in the sales process is integrated and connected with each other, and creating a proposal should be no exception. Proposal software makes sure that your proposal activities don’t become siloed from the rest of your sales activities. The software allows integrations with other platforms you use, such as CRM, ERP, and mail, etc. 

 

Analytics and tracking – Analytics have become a critical part of the sales process. Analytics in proposal creation bring out insights that help sales teams improve and achieve better sales figures in the long run. Proposal management software offers analytical and tracking capabilities to the users like number of edits, parts require frequent edits, focus areas of the proposal and more.   

 

Electronic Signatures – Proposal writing software also allows parties to read and sign the contract online. This makes the process entirely digital, making it convenient and seamless for both the vendor and the customer.  

 

 

 

 

 
 

How Proposal Software Boosts Productivity and Closing Deals 

Proposal software can take your team’s productivity to the next level. Instead of creating a proposal from scratch every time, sales reps can use proposal writing software to eliminate tedious manual tasks. This does not only save time and effort but also streamlines the entire process.  

By leveraging the proposal software, sales teams can significantly boost their productivity and generate more business in the long run. Here is what you can get when you use such a proposal tool.  

 

Fast-Track Proposal Creation 

Creating a proposal can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. You may have to spend tens of hours to create a customized proposal as per your customer needs. Even after this, manual errors can creep in, and your productivity can take a toll. Proposal generator software helps sales teams to fasten the proposal creation process. The tool offers pre-built templates and feature-rich editors that sales reps can use to create high-quality proposals in a fraction of the time. These templates also reduce the time of formatting and editing involved in the creation process. 

 

Quickly Adapt to Customer Requests 

Proposal creation often involves revisions and updates that can lead to higher turnaround time and productivity loss. Using proposal software helps sales reps to make these revisions quickly and effortlessly. They can make changes to the proposals as per customer needs and send the updated ones in real time. This not only improves the update process but also improves the customer experience. 

 

Increase Proposal Submission Rates 

Submission of a proposal is as important as writing one. Effective and timely submissions can lead to a higher chance of securing deals. Proposal management software automates and streamlines the proposal submission process, reducing the overall workload. This can also have a positive impact on your proposal win rate, enabling you to close more deals for your business.  

 

Centralized Hub for All the Sales Information 

Proposal software creates a centralized hub for all the previous proposals and other sales materials. Apart from storing, the tool also arranges them in order (customer name, date, version, etc.), so they are easy to find. This allows sales reps to store, access, and manage proposals effectively. Having everything in one place helps them save time and eliminate the need to search for documents everywhere. Ultimately, your sales team can have everything at their fingertips, which can significantly improve their productivity. 

 

Create Personalized Messaging 

Personalized and well-crafted messaging in proposals and supporting sales materials can create a lasting impact on the potential customer. Proposal writing software provides different templates and content library to create customized and personalized sales proposals. This personalized approach makes customers feel special and valued. Furthermore, it fosters stronger relationships with them and increases the likelihood of closing the deal sooner. 

 

Instant Proposal Delivery and E-Signature 

When the proposal is created and finalized from the sales team, it can be instantly delivered to the customer through email, messenger, and other digital ways. You can also send the proposal in different formats (like PDF, Word, etc.) as per the needs of the customers. 

Just like you can create a proposal using proposal software, you can also get it signed by the customers digitally. These tools often come with e-signature capabilities attached which allows customers to review and sign documents securely within minutes. This speeds up the approval process and minimizes delays. 

 

Automate Follow-Ups with Reminders 

One of the biggest challenges in sales that severely impacts on the productivity of the sales reps is follow-up on the proposals. It can easily take 10-30 days for customers to get back on the proposal. Proposal software helps automate this process by sending follow-up reminders to customers. This automation helps to reduce the delay in accepting the proposals and close the deal sooner. Moreover, sales reps can focus on other potential leads who need personalized assistance, ensuring that no opportunity is lost. 

 

Track Proposal Metrics for Faster Approvals 

Today, tracking and analytics have become an indispensable part of the sales process. Analytics can help sales reps to get deeper information on proposal performance like: 

• How and when customers interact with the proposal. 

• Sections where customers spend most of their time, such as scope and pricing sections. 

• How many times the proposal file was opened.  

Tracking the performance of the proposal through analytics is key to continuous improvement. The proposal software brings the ability to measure the performance on various metrics to help sales reps refine their approach and boost overall efficiency. They can also learn about areas in which they lack and need improvement. Consequently, this will help them address the concerns of the customers and improve their ability to close deals quicker in the long run. 

 

Estimate the Closing Probability 

Using the analytics and combining it with historical data, proposal management software can provide insights into a deal’s likelihood of closing successfully. While working on multiple proposals simultaneously, the sales reps can prioritize their efforts on high-potential opportunities. They can allocate their time and efforts based on this likelihood and get the deals closed sooner. 

 

Minimize Human Errors 

Manually working on proposals can be prone to human errors like spelling mistakes, omitted sections, or even incorrect numbers. All these can negatively impact the credibility of your business or even lost deals. Proposal software automates data entry and content generation, minimizing the risk of mistakes and ensuring accurate, professional documents every time. 

 

Business Benefits of Proposal Software 

Now, we understand that using proposal software brings high productivity and helps closing deals. However, there are plenty of other benefits that proposal management software can offer to your business. Here are some of the main advantages listed below. 

 

Time efficiency – Creating and sending proposals can consume a lot of hours. Using the proposal automation software, sales teams can reduce the hours spent by automating the process. This involves using pre-built templates, content library, and integrations to speed up creating and sending proposals. 

 

Enhanced collaboration – Proposal software boost collaboration between the proposal team members and other sales team members. For instance, different sales reps can create and manage proposals simultaneously on the software while tracking text changes and version updates. This also boosts internal review and evaluation processes amongst the team. 

 

Cost benefits – Though purchasing proposal management software can be a costly affair, it can cut operational costs in the longer run by reducing manual efforts and paperwork. Furthermore, it reduces chances of errors, saving teams from back-and-forth with customers.  

 

Quality control – Proposal software brings high consistency in branding and messaging across all proposals and sales materials. It also eliminates common errors and maintains the set standards every time a proposal is created. 

 

Customer experience – Customers today expect quick and smooth communications through the channels they prefer. Proposal management software does exactly that by streamlining proposal process and reducing unnecessary stuff.   

 

Cincom CPQ software brings all these benefits to your business by offering robust proposal software that generates polished, professional proposals in various formats with high branding and messaging consistency. With Cincom CPQ, your sales team will be able to boost productivity, enhance customer experience, and generate more business.  

If you are looking for a proposal management software, Cincom CPQ could be the one for you.  

 

 
 

How do you choose the right proposal software tool for you? 

Proposal software becomes an ideal choice for sales teams to boost productivity and close more deals. However, not all tools and applications are created equally. There are dozens of tools available in the market but only one could be ideal for your business based on their features, pricing, customer support, and integrations.  

It is essential to choose proposal writing software that is ideal for your business. For that, we have listed some points to consider before you make the final decision. Here are the criteria that you must look at to find the best proposal software: 

• Ensure the tool has functions and capabilities that your sales team needs, such as automation, analytics, etc. 

• The tool should fit within your budget while offering the best ROI possible. 

• Look for a tool that offers both mobile and web support, so your work doesn’t stop wherever you are. 

• Make sure the tool integrates well with your existing tools to streamline your sales workflow. 

• The tool should provide a library of templates and formatting options to offer deep levels of customization and branding options. 

• Ensure that the vendor offers prompt support and customer service across the channels. 

 

Conclusion 

Managing proposals can be time-consuming and challenging. With proposal software, your sales team can streamline proposal creation and management effectively. The ultimate benefit your business will gain are higher productivity, faster deal closing, and enhanced customer experience.  

Get in touch with us and take the first step towards streamlining your proposal process today! 

 

FAQs 

 

1- What is proposal software?

Proposal software is an application that helps sales teams to create a proposal. It helps in writing, editing, managing, and sending proposals to prospective customers. 

 

2- How proposal writing software accelerates proposal creation?

The tool offers pre-designed templates, content library, and other editing features to speed up the creation process. There is no need to create proposals from scratch. Sales reps can use different templates to create customized proposals in a fraction of time. 

 

3- What is CPQ software?

Configure, Price, Quote, commonly known as CPQ, is a software solution that simplifies the process of creating complex quotes, so sales reps can close deals quickly and provide enhanced customer experience. 

 

4- Can proposal management software integrate with other existing tools?

Yes, many proposal management software come with integration capabilities. They can seamlessly integrate with other tools like CRM, ERP, and other sales enablement tools. 

 

5- How to find a good proposal writing software?

There are plenty of software for proposal writing available in the market. To choose the best proposal and contract software for your business, focus on points, such as features, budget, integrations, customer support, and other factors based on your business needs.