As of June 2022, there are approximately 17,000 SaaS companies in the US alone. And together, they cater to a total of 59 billion users worldwide.
Furthermore, experts predict that the global SaaS industry will grow a whopping $100 billion between 2021 and 2025, with the market achieving a compound annual growth rate of 11.35%.
All of this data indicates that cutting through the noise and securing SaaS sales will only get more challenging — especially if you’re targeting B2B customers whose buyer’s journeys tend to be complex, lengthy, and depend on the opinions of 6-10 decision-makers.
Of course, the fact that there’s a lot of competition in the SaaS industry right now shouldn’t dissuade you from going after success. On the contrary, it should inspire you to go into the sales process with even more enthusiasm than ever.
And, it just so turns out that writing a great SaaS sales proposal can help your brand stand out, increase your reply rates, and boost your revenue.
The following tips will help you do just that.
Learn What a Sales Proposal Should Look Like
One of the easiest ways to write a superb SaaS sales proposal is to do your research regarding what it should contain.
Don’t just try to wing the writing process and risk leaving out essential information that could differentiate you from your competitors.
Instead, try to browse the internet (or your email inbox) to see some examples of sales proposals that work — like this one from Semrush, which is short but effective thanks to its conciseness and humorous tone.
Once you know what to include in your sales proposal, you can start composing an outline.
This step won’t just ensure that you cover every single point that will help you make a sale. It will also prevent you from wasting time and precious space on information that won’t drive conversions or which won’t appeal to your specific target audience.
If this seems like too much work, there’s an even easier solution to ensure your sales proposal is a winner: using a customizable SaaS sales proposal template.
This approach will not only save you time but also make it easier to initiate the writing process, particularly if you’re in the launch phase of your product and need help getting started.
Know Your Target Audience and Their Pain Points
As you may have guessed, the key to ensuring a positive response to your sales pitch is fully understanding your target audience.
Don’t stop at simply defining who your potential customers are. More importantly, identify their pain points, needs, and preferred solution types. Recognize how your SaaS product might benefit them.
And, of course, experiment with presenting them with different use cases to increase your chance of converting more leads.
The easiest way to guarantee that your proposal includes high-impact sales points is to approach the writing process with a data-based mindset.
Don’t just assume the benefits your potential clients want to see. Instead, use the data you have access to and extract customer information. That way, you can precisely define how your software solution benefits your clients.
Then, you can use that information to compose your sales proposal, knowing that you’ve successfully described how your SaaS product can solve your potential customer’s pain points.
And, yes, you get extra points for adding examples to your sales proposal emails, like TINT did in the example below.
Skip the Jargon and Industry-Speak
Did you know that one of the biggest mistakes business leaders and marketers make when trying to convert new leads is using the wrong type of language?
That’s right. The way you formulate your SaaS sales proposal can make or break your efforts to stand out (and receive replies).
Fortunately, however, there’s an easy way to ensure that the contents of your pitch resonate: simplification.
By doing something as elementary as going through your final draft and finding ways to make it easier to understand, you can ensure that your audience understands what you’re saying, is engaged, and genuinely interested in further exploring your product.
Use Visuals to Your Advantage
Now, it’s true that making the right points and delivering them in the right way is essential in helping your sales proposal stand out and resonate.
But the reality of working in the SaaS industry is that some concepts can be extremely difficult to describe using universally understood language.
This is where you should do your best to use visuals to your advantage.
Not only are humans wired to process visual information 60,000 times faster than text, which can give you a substantial advantage when trying to explain your product’s features.
But, research also shows that images actively appeal to people’s emotions. So, knowing that feelings directly influence consumer purchasing decisions (yes, emotions are more efficient than information in getting people to buy), you can consciously use visuals to turn your sales proposal from just another pitch to a personal offer.
However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that any type of visual will do.
When attempting to engage potential leads, focus on relevance, quality, and variety. Try to utilize a combination of product photos (screenshots), original graphics, data visualizations, and visuals that show your team, customers, or ambassadors.
And don’t forget to make them all cohesive, which you can do either by hiring a professional to take all photos or using presets to achieve your intended look.
Minimize Risk
There are two reasons why SaaS sales proposals often go unanswered.
The first is the (abovementioned) fact that every B2B purchase needs the OK from at least half a dozen people before it can go through.
And the second is that the value offered in sales pitches is rarely enough to make potential customers bite the bullet and try out a new software solution.
Now, to overcome the first of these two obstacles, you need to do your homework and do everything you can to get your sales proposal to the right inbox. The second one, however, is far easier to overcome.
One of the most effective ways to boost conversions in any industry is to minimize risk.
And you can do this in several different ways:
1.Offer a guarantee that your products will meet customer expectations — the 30-day money-back guarantee from Ultimate Meal Plans is a great example.
2. Include social proof in your proposal. If you’re a new business, learn how to get more reviews from your customers to increase the chances of your pitch resulting in a sale.
3. Use trust signals. Another excellent way to convince consumers to try out your product is to use trust badges, which will provide leads with peace of mind. These can include custom-made badges or third-party certifications.
Source: notion.so
4. Encourage free trial sign-ups. Lastly, don’t forget that one of the best ways to convince leads to consider your SaaS solution is to have them try it out (without any strings attached).
Remember, the free trial conversion rate falls between 25% and 60%, depending on the type of trial. So don’t hesitate to use your sales proposal to encourage leads to sign up for a free trial with a fully-optimized CTA.
Don’t Forget to Follow up
You’ve followed all the steps mentioned above and have come up with a sales proposal that hits all the right notes. Yet, you’re still not getting any replies.
When it comes to this (and the question is when not if), there’s one single thing you need to do: follow up.
Research shows that only 2% of sales happen at a first meeting. The more likely scenario is that you’ll need to reach out to your potential clients at least five times before you get a “yes” from them.
So, if you want to ensure that all your hard work on writing a sales proposal pays off, don’t stop at preparing for a single touch.
Instead, create a strategy that will nurture leads into customers by gradually introducing them to your brand and your team and convincing them of the value they stand to receive by converting.
Bottom Line
As you embark on the journey of creating an appealing sales proposal for your SaaS product, these tips are sure to help.
However, the one key thing you have to remember is that your brand is unique. The best way to stand out and engage your target audience is to let that uniqueness shine through.
Don’t fall into the common trap of having your pitch sound like it was written by AI.
Yes, you can lean on some formulas and use templates (in fact, having a proven-to-work outline to start with always helps). But ensure that the end result reflects your brand’s personality and does a good job of describing the benefits of your product.
Last but certainly not least, don’t forget to track performance. Because, in the end, making tweaks to your existing proposal shouldn’t take too much work.
But if it has the potential to boost conversion rates by even a single percent, then the gains are well worth the effort.
If you want to start creating professional SaaS proposals, head over to Prospero’s proposal management softwareand get your free trial today!
