By Ahmed al-Akber/Dubai

We all love the idea of doing the charismatic Don Draper-style sales pitch – where the prospect has provided the agency with a direction and the sales team goes back to their office and slaves away at a pitch they think is perfect, only to find that the prospect had something totally different in mind.
This way of selling is risky and unnecessary. Rather than coming up with a grand plan in your own office and away from the critical feedback of the only person that matters (the prospect), share a draft of the proposal to see if there is agreement on the major elements of the proposal’s direction.
You want the prospect to be involved in the creation of the proposal for a number of reasons. First of all, they will feel that they are in control, which can never be bad.
Their feedback is being valued and taken into account and you are managing expectations of what the final proposal will entail.
There will be no surprises and clarity on what’s being offered.
They will have more confidence that what is being offered is tailored and ideal for them.
Here is how to put proposal co-creation into practice for your organisation:
1) Only do this with prospects that are worth spending the time on
2) Inform them of the “draft proposal” step when you meet them, and clarify the benefits of this
3) In the draft, share a summary of your discussion, what objectives you both plan to achieve by working together, the value provided to the prospect, how you intend to do that, and by when
4) Clearly label the proposal “DRAFT” so there is no confusion about what they are receiving
5) Don’t put a price on a draft proposal: it will unnecessarily set pricing expectations, which is unnecessary until the scope and other factors are fully determined
6) Share the draft in person – not on e-mail or the phone
Does providing a draft proposal increase the work-load for you as the seller? Sure it does.
But the commitment you get from involved buyers and reduced risk is worth the extra time. If time is short, verbally share the draft instead of on paper.
There is nothing better than a prospect saying “this is exactly what I want” and signing on the dotted line. Proposal co-creation gets you a step further to achieving this.

- Ahmed al-Akber is the managing director of ACK Solutions, a firm that helps companies to improve their marketing and sales results by offering more effective ways attracting customers and significantly better products and services. Ahmed has worked internationally in marketing, sales, and strategic planning at companies such as the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris International and Dell. Questions or comments can be sent to Ahmed on ahmed@acksolutions.com