Alexis Kestler
If you want to close deals faster, proposal software should be part of your tech stack. Automating the creation of customized, engaging proposals can transform your sales cycle. But with so many options to choose from, selecting the right solution for your business can feel overwhelming.
In this comprehensive guide, you‘ll get all the information needed to pick the perfect proposal software based on your unique needs. I‘ll share insider knowledge as an experienced technology advisor on the key benefits, must-have features, top tools, and best practices for implementation. My goal is to equip you to make the right decision to ultimately accelerate your sales velocity.
Why Every Business Should Leverage Proposal Software
Let‘s start by looking at the primary reasons businesses turn to proposal software solutions:
Save a Massive Amount of Time
Creating proposals completely manually is a remarkably time-consuming process. Studies show it takes over 10 hours on average to put together a thoroughly customized, branded proposal in Word or Google Docs. And if you need to send proposals on a regular basis to win new business, this constant manual creation becomes a huge drain on productivity.
Proposal automation software cuts the time spent dramatically – often down to just 20% of what it normally takes. Instead of crafting every proposal from scratch, you simply select from a library of ready-made templates and drag-and-drop in content. Assembling a personalized proposal becomes a breeze rather than an hours-long ordeal.
Increase Win Rates Substantially
Generic, one-size-fits-all proposals lead prospects to the delete button. But with proposal software, you can easily customize every aspect for each recipient.
Studies by proposal software company PandaDoc found that businesses using their solution had 46% higher win rates. When you can tailor messaging, services, pricing, and more to each prospect, you stand a much higher chance of sealing the deal.
Gain Invaluable Insights on Prospects
Proposal software gives you incredible visibility into how prospects interact with what you send. You can see when the proposal was opened, time spent reading it, which pages garnered the most interest, content downloads, and more.
These insights allow you to identify what resonates with prospects and double down on those elements. Over time, you can increase conversion rates by over 20% by refining proposals based on hard data.
Strengthen Brand Recognition
With well-designed templates aligned to your brand style guide, your proposals will reinforce brand awareness with prospects. When they consistently see your brand colors, logo, messaging, etc. it makes an impression and builds familiarity.
Speed Up the Full Sales Cycle
Of course, the above benefits all contribute to accelerating your overall sales cycle. Shorter proposal creation time, higher win rates, faster turnaround on revisions – it all adds up to converting leads faster.
Implementing proposal software results in reducing average sales cycle length by 30% or more, directly driving more business.
Now that you understand the primary benefits, let‘s explore the crucial features to look for in proposal software.
Must-Have Proposal Software Features
Proposal tools on the market vary widely in their specific capabilities and limitations. As you evaluate options, here are some of the features that should be on your checklist:
Intuitive Interface
Ease of use is paramount – you want a solution anyone on your team can start utilizing quickly with minimal training. Look for a simple, intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
Ideally, the software will mirror workflows you‘re already familiar with to accelerate mastery. If navigating the software itself feels like learning a new skill, it‘ll be tough to get team adoption.
Robust Template Library
The library of professionally designed templates is one of the biggest time-savers proposal software provides.
Look for a vendor offering at least 100+ templates covering a wide variety of industries, services, project types, and aesthetic styles. The templates should all align to your brand elements and be fully customizable.
Slick Collaboration Tools
Collaborating with teammates to create proposals presents challenges when juggling multiple versions and fragmented feedback.
Opt for a solution that lets you co-edit proposals in real-time for seamless teamwork. Consolidating all comments, revisions, and approvals in a single workspace is a huge efficiency booster.
Deep Integrations
Your proposal software should integrate deeply with tools you already use like your CRM, email platform, and sales suite.
For example, integration with SalesForce lets you pull client data directly into proposals to personalize at scale. Look for pre-built integrations with major platforms including SalesForce, HubSpot, Zapier, and Marketo.
Powerful Analytics
Robust analytics around how prospects engage with proposals provides incredibly valuable intelligence.
Prioritize solutions that offer fine-grained tracking at the page-level to see viewing time, clicks, scroll depth, and other actions. Funnel and conversion reporting is also key to refine over time.
Smooth eSignature Workflow
Collecting signatures on proposals electronically accelerates deal closure versus printing, signing, scanning, and emailing.
The software should support "click to sign" esignatures to get approval seamlessly without downloads or changing platforms.
Affordable Pricing
Pricing can vary dramatically depending on the capabilities and target customer. As a rule of thumb, aim to invest 1-3% of revenue generated from proposals into software costs.
For simpler tools focused solely on assembly and tracking, $20 – $50 per month is common. Full-featured platforms can range from $50 – $200+ per month for more advanced functionality, storage, and support.
Now let‘s dive into the top software picks across these solution categories.
Leading Proposal Software Platforms
All-in-One Solutions
For small to large teams wanting a feature-packed platform that handles the full proposal process end-to-end, these solutions fit the bill:
PandaDoc
PandaDoc is the Swiss army knife of proposal software, offering robust functionality for assembly, tracking, payments, and eSignatures built for scalability.
With over 200 mobile-friendly templates, slick drag-and-drop editor, and deep CRM/email integrations, PandaDoc makes creating polished proposals painless. Sophisticated analytics provide unmatched visibility into proposal performance.
PandaDoc is trusted by over 27,000 customers globally including Enterprise groups like Philips, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Tumblr. For larger teams, PandaDoc is a proven choice.
Pricing: From $49/month per user
Proposify
Top-rated by both G2 and Capterra, Proposify is beloved by agencies for flexible design capabilities tailored to creative services.
Proposify‘s InDesign-style editing tools make building graphical, visually engaging proposals simple. And the software connects directly to CRMs like SalesForce and Zapier to pull data right into your proposals.
If aesthetics and customization are key, explore Proposify.
Pricing: From $49/month per user
Revv
Revv provides enterprise-grade functionality for sales teams wanting maximum power and control.
With 200+ templates, built-in payments, and robust document automation, Revv brings together every component of the proposal process on one platform. Revv offers advanced tracking capabilities like heatmaps to see user scroll depth as you optimize.
For advanced use cases like nested folders and content libraries, choose Revv.
Pricing: From $99/month per user
Streamlined Proposal Creation
For straightforward proposal assembly and tracking, consider these cost-effective solutions:
Better Proposals
The aptly named Better Proposals lives up to its promise of simple proposal creation. Templates load right inside your browser for quick customization and sending.
While light on complex features, Better Proposals nails the proposal building basics. The Google Docs-like editor is instantly familiar for easy onboarding.
Pricing: From $19/month per user
Proposable
Proposable makes it surprisingly easy to craft professional proposals in minutes. The slick drag-and-drop editor simplifies assembling, rearranging, and formatting proposals.
While integrating with SalesForce CRM, Proposable skips advanced tracking and billing capabilities. But for straightforward proposal automation, Proposable delivers.
Pricing: From $22/month per user
Options for Freelancers
For solopreneurs and self-employed pros, these affordable options hit the mark:
Bonsai
Bonsai fills a niche, offering an all-in-one client management solution for freelancers. Not only can you quickly build proposals, but Bonsai handles time tracking, invoices, contracts, and payments too.
While not as full-featured as larger competitors for scaling teams, Bonsai provides tremendous value tailored to independent professionals.
Pricing: From $12/month per freelancer
Indy
Pared down to the core necessities for freelancing, Indy makes it simple to create and send polished proposals in minutes. The focus is usability and affordability.
Indy skips advanced tracking and reporting for a simplified feature set. But for solopreneurs, the combination of useful templates and clear editor hits the spot.
Pricing: From $15/month per user
How to Select the Best Proposal Software
With the myriad of options available, here is a step-by-step process to identify the right solution:
Step 1: Define Your Needs
Gather input from all team members involved to outline must-have capabilities. Rank features by importance. Common needs include:
- Easy-to-use editor
- CRM integration
- Analytics and tracking
- Budget constraints
Document concrete requirements upfront to align on what matters most.
Step 2: Populate Your Shortlist
With requirements defined, you can now create a shortlist of 3-5 solutions that seem to fit the bill.
Lean heavily on user reviews and ratings to surface favorites. But also consider business size, use cases, and vertical focus when identifying top contenders.
Step 3: Schedule Free Trials
Vendors typically offer free access whether through trial periods, freemium tiers, or limited-use versions. Take advantage!
Set aside dedicated time for your team to thoroughly test drive each shortlisted option. Mimic your actual proposal workflow during trials.
Step 4: Compare User Experience
With hands-on experience from trials, compare solutions head-to-head focusing on UX and ease of use.
Score factors like interface intuitiveness, learning curve, template quality/customization, and collaboration capabilities.
Ease of use contributes greatly to everyday efficiency – so weigh it heavily.
Step 5: Evaluate Integrations
Assess how well each software connects with the other platforms you rely on like email, documents, CRM, and calendar.
The right integrations can save tons of busywork copying/pasting data between systems. Will the software integrate seamlessly with your tech stack?
Step 6: Review Analytics
If gaining data-driven insights on proposals is crucial, carefully compare analytics capabilities across solutions.
Do the reporting and tracking tools provide the level of granular visibility you need? Generating actionable insights should guide optimization.
Step 7: Consider Scalability
Think about how your needs may evolve and grow over the next several years.
Select a solution that can expand with you rather than hitting limitations quickly as volume increases. Planning ahead avoids having to migrate later.
Step 8: Calculate the ROI
With your top choice(s) in mind, crunch the numbers on quantified benefits versus TCO.
Consider ROI factors like time savings, revenue gains from higher conversion rates, productivity increases, and more.
The ideal solution delivers compelling ROI by accelerating sales velocity.
Step 9: Select Your Proposal Software
With rigorous evaluation complete, you‘re ready to confidently select the winning proposal software for your team!
Be sure to allocate sufficient resources for training and seamless integration into existing workflows. With the right change management, you‘ll hit the ground running.
Within a few months, you should start experiencing hard metrics like reduced proposal creation time, increased win rates, and shortened sales cycles. Those deliver ROI and validate your software choice.
Getting the Most from Your Proposal Software
To maximize results from your investment, here are a few best practices to follow:
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Build a Library of Templates – Take time early on to create templates for common use cases and industry verticals. You‘ll be grateful later when proposals can be assembled rapidly.
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Train All Users Thoroughly – Don‘t expect people to self-learn. Schedule formal training and allow practice time to ensure everyone utilizes the features fully.
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Review Analytics Regularly – Embed proposal data review into your team‘s weekly workflow. Use insights to continually refine.
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Automate Early in the Sales Cycle – Start sending automated proposals at the lead response stage rather than waiting for RFPs down the funnel.
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Use Conditional Content – Tailor proposals dynamically by having blocks of content show conditionally based on the prospect‘s role, company size, or interests.
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Test and Iterate – Don‘t settle on a "master template". Experiment with different offers, formats, and content to see what converts best.
Are You Ready to Start Automating Proposals?
I hope this guide has armed you with a methodology to find the perfect proposal software for your business needs and budget.
Automating your proposal process can transform stale, time-consuming manual efforts into an efficient system to convert more prospects faster than ever before.
To discuss needs for your specific use case or get personalized recommendations, I‘m always happy to chat through options! Feel free to reach out anytime.
