Listen to the Customer
This sounds deceptively simple, but if your customer is looking for stainless steel kitchen accessories to display at her modular kitchen showroom, there is little use in trying to get her to look at sturdy cedar wood products. It does not matter that your products are the latest rage or that they are built to last. Aim to give the customer what she is looking for. This is, by far, the best way to convince the customer that you will supply what she needs. Not only does this approach increase your chances of getting the business, it also acts as an advocate or an ambassador for the business by creating a positive image. To begin with, create a well-written proposal or business communication.
You don’t have to be a poet or a published writer to write well. Often, the most-read texts are those that convey sincerity. How often have advertisements guaranteeing incredible results put you off? Look closely at these and you will find that more than the service, product, or guarantees that make up the advertisement, it is the language of these texts that conveys a feeling of insincerity. There is an excessive use of adjectives or punctuation marks perhaps to convey the wonder of it all. Most likely, there is a line at the end of the ad that urges the reader to take action immediately — to call up or write at once. It is not the concern of this article to gauge the success of such literature; however, it is little wonder that a business proposal is not a text aimed at the general public. It is more like a note that conveys the product attributes or service benefits of the business in question to the reader. Sincerity is rated very highly in business proposals.
To be informed time and again of a product or service that we do not require or see no benefit in acquiring is the easiest way to alienate us as consumers. Negative associations develop fast and can kill all chances of a customer ever returning. As gloomy as that sounds, it is true that nothing puts off a customer faster than a product simply talking about itself constantly and unceasingly. Remember, the customer has the option to go elsewhere — and is especially likely to exercise it if he or she never needed to know about whatever you’re selling in the first place!
Probably then, the best way write a business proposal is to first go about finding out what your customer requires. When you conduct research, you are making a very factual examination of the clients’ requirements and arriving at logical conclusions. The final step, in the case of writing a proposal, is to keep it simple. You can begin by listing the product’s or service’s benefits and then speak about maintenance and support systems if you have them in place. Also, when you write, pay attention to smaller details like correct spelling and grammar.
Conclusion
There are no two ways about it: ensuring success in developing your business is as dependent on listening to your customer as on talking about your business.
