How to Win More Business by Banning the Word ‘Quote’

Let’s assume that the normal process for your business is to send a quote.  

Let me give you perhaps the most valuable insight you’ll ever have on quotes … NEVER GIVE QUOTES!! NEVER. 

Now, before you think this is a little over the top, let me explain. It’s the word ‘quote’ (or the ‘mindset’ that what you’re giving is a quote) that is the real problem! What does ‘quote’ mean?  

In short, it means a price that you’re inviting the prospective client to shop against! 

This isn’t splitting hairs! You see, if you’re going to successfully POSITION yourself in the market … if you passionately believe the professional services you’re providing are TRULY a brilliant solution for the prospect, then why would you go “cap in hand”, meekly submitting a ‘quote’? 

If you had the answer to the centuries old question of how to achieve perpetual motion, you wouldn’t be submitting QUOTES! If you had the solution to Nuclear Fusion, you wouldn’t be submitting quotes… 

So if your product and services are so good, why be seen to be submitting at all?  

What you should be doing is taking on the mantle of SUCCESS … of assuming you have the sale. Assuming being in the context of an ‘air of confidence’ that you DESERVE the sale. The word ‘quote’ has totally the opposite connotation. 

Now, we’ve addressed your new positive ‘mindset’ … what about the word itself? How can you re-phrase the word ‘quote’ and position it more positively? Well, come up with a term that suggests you’ve got the sale and you’re ready to take the next step… 

Here are some suggestions … ‘Action Plan’, ‘Project Proposal’, ‘Recommended Implementation Schedule’, ‘Programme Outline & Costings’ … In each of these cases, there is NO suggestion that you’re going “cap in hand”. Rather that you are confident in moving ahead. 

Next comes the wording of the proposal… 

How To Word Your Proposals To WIN More Business 

How do most conventional ‘quotes’ begin? Something like this? … ‘Thank you for the opportunity to quote on the supply of 1 x Model 126B WIDGET and service support contract for same …’. 

Terrible! We never speak like that in person. Why DO people write like that?  

I mean even tendering to government can have a bit of human touch in it. Sure, your proposal must clearly spell out the specifications and give the costings … but not as a cold laundry list. And even if a cold laundry list is required, it can have a warm explanatory covering letter … written by a human being. 

Let’s re-draft a standard ‘quote’ into a ‘Recommended Implementation Schedule’: 

Hello John, 

Thank you for the time we spent together last Tuesday. I genuinely value the fact that you were totally open and forthcoming in discussing the difficulties you’re having with (________). 

Following that discussion, and what we found, we are excited at the prospect of working with you. You see, based on your assessment, we’ve pinpointed five key areas to which our solutions will have a major positive impact on your operations (or whatever for your business). 

In our calculations, your savings from implementing our programme will be in the order of £65,000 in year one and £120,000 in year two. 

Your investment in (________) to affect those savings is just £57,000. This is perhaps 10% higher than others in our field charge, but you’ll see we have packaged some 50% more value in for you… What’s more, you will receive a totally unique support service … AND a full guarantee.  

I shall explain each of these in a moment. But for now, let me walk through those five areas and explain how our recommendations solve your major concerns: (etc.) 

 

Definitely NOT your conventional ‘quote’!

So what are the fundamental elements of this different approach?

• It acknowledges right up front that the person’s time is valuable

• It conveys a genuine enthusiasm for working with the new prospective client

• It ‘assumes success’ … not in a smug way, but in a way that says, “We are confident we’re the best and the solutions and added value we’re bringing you ARE great value.”

• It puts the price UP FRONT, before all the specifications … AND it states proudly that this ISN’T the cheapest option, just the BEST option.

You know, ‘mindset’ plays a far greater part in your success than you might think. Sure, most firms will have more or less the same degree of qualifications and professional knowledge. Sure, most firms may even draw on the same materials to provide the end result. 

So the thing that REALLY sets you apart is your ‘human element’ … the degree to which you put your heart and soul into what you do. 

Proposals That Win 100% Of Business For One Architectural Firm 

Now if all that sounds too soppy or metaphysical, let me share a snippet from a wonderful client of ours … an architectural firm. They are extraordinary in the lengths they go to serve their clients, and the passion they put into LISTENING to the client. 

They commented to me, “Many efficient architectural practices have good procedure manuals for the technical side of things, but we’re guessing that few of them have procedures for getting clients, nor for client care. And as the durations of a client’s projects can be 6 to 10 months, it’s an excellent opportunity to get close to the client early and keep that closeness.” 

In an ‘enjoyment’ sense, they have a lot of fun doing what they do, and their clients would do anything for them. 

On a hard-nosed bottom line basis, they are making more profits and growing faster than they could have ever imagined before they began their unique client focused ‘mindset’. 

So much so, since taking this approach they have remarkably NEVER lost a proposal. Compared to other architects, they are priced ‘top of the range’ … and yet they have had 100% success rate in getting the jobs they’ve been asked to develop proposals for. When the success rate of some in their industry is 1 or 2 in 10, this MUST say something!  

Of course, this letter I’m going to show you is just a tiny glimpse of the things they do, and I’m not at liberty to reveal their entire ‘system’ at this point. 

But I can tell you some of the special things they do…

They, for example, send a little gift of expensive chocolates with a handwritten thank you note when the client pays a progress payment. They always go with the client to their land upfront to get a feel of the project. They spend sometimes hours in initial briefings and always take COPIOUS notes of the meetings, feeding them back to the client in a very detailed report “to make sure we heard you right”. They take the client out to lunch after they’ve been to the site and get to know them as PEOPLE. Not cynically, but because they love people. 

And there are the little touches like a bunch of fresh flowers left in the home when they hand over the keys to a client… 

Little things … but they add up to an extraordinary practice that is at the very leading edge of their profession. 

Here’s part of their letter… 

 

Good Morning John and Jill, 

Thank you for meeting us at Fairmeadows Estate. It was interesting to hear your ideas. It certainly is glorious land up there.  

Thank you for sharing your vision with us. You’ve obviously put a lot of thought into your new home and what you said made eminent sense. 

We’ve attached a copy of our file notes from that meeting. These notes serve two purposes. It is information for your records, and it is for you to check that we heard you correctly. Please tell us if we’ve misunderstood something you said. 

On our office copy, the tick boxes in the side of the page are for the initials of the architect doing the work to ensure that your requests have been reflected in the plans. Some of those boxes may not be ticked until later, but either way, we make sure everything you’ve said is carried out. The third box is crossed if you change your mind on that particular matter at a later date. This way, nothing is left to chance. 

We thought it may be of interest to you both if we explained a little about our services and the results you can expect and how that can be of benefit to you. Part of our aim is not just to make the whole process easy for our clients but to make it fun and enjoyable. And should our relationship develop further, you’ll see what we mean by that. We’ve considered the amount of work involved and propose that our fee will be £16,000 for the entire process over a period of possibly eight months.  

Let me detail that for you and explain the progression of architectural services for the development of your home… 

 

Great letter!

It goes on to spell out EXACTLY what the client gets, and their ‘100% delight’ guarantee … if you aren’t delighted with the plans and their services, you don’t pay! 

Interesting that other professional firms don’t do this. It makes you wonder why. After all, if the client isn’t delighted, they aren’t going to want to pay ANYWAY … so why not publicise the fact. It says reams about you, and it makes everyone in your firm perform to a MUCH higher performance standard!

Interesting too that our clients have a bulging file of wonderful, warm and sincere testimonials and words of thanks from delighted clients … but they don’t keep them hidden in a bottom drawer! They have a page of testimonials that they attach to the back of their proposal… 

Now, some of this may not sit comfortably with you. You have to decide what is right for your business. But never lose sight of the immutable law, people like dealing with people … ‘risk’ being warm and human … it pays! 

When they implemented this, our client achieved a 100% conversion factor on their proposals (and incidentally never had to pay out on a guarantee!). 

But what happens if the prospect doesn’t take any further action after the proposal has been submitted? Check out our article on how following up on your proposals wins you the business.