How to Write a Pricing Proposal

What is a Pricing Proposal?

A price proposal is an initial bid that provides a detailed breakdown of costs associated with a proposed product or service.

It is not just a dry list of services or products with a price attached. It's a chance to paint a vivid picture of how your offering will fulfil your prospect's specific needs.

How to Write a Pricing Proposal

To easily write a compelling and personalised pricing proposal, you can use the Hubforce proposal template which is integrated in the digital sales room.

Hubforce templates mean you just need to enter the details of your proposal in an already structured environment.

Let’s discuss how you would come up with the right details for your pricing proposal

Understand your client

Just throwing out a price without understanding your client's needs is like offering a bulky winter coat to someone who needs a lightweight summer suit.

It might technically be clothing, but it misses the mark entirely.

Knowing your client's challenges and goals enables you to tailor your proposal to showcase how your offering directly addresses their pain points. This creates a powerful connection between the price and the value you deliver.

It enables you to present the ideal solution, ensuring they get the exact value they need at the right price point.

Align internally on your offer

While the final document goes to the client, a strong internal alignment among your team is crucial for success.

Pricing proposals often involve various departments, like sales, marketing, customer success and implementation(could be more depending on the company). Internal discussions ensure everyone is on the same page about resource availability, project timelines, and potential roadblocks.

This allows you to present a realistic and achievable solution to the client, building confidence in your ability to deliver.

The sales team can highlight the value proposition, while the technical team can ensure the proposed solution aligns with capabilities.

Digital sales rooms like Hubforce provide a customisable and interactive pricing proposal template. You can also create yours from scratch if you want. It provides real-time analytics into who is viewing your pricing proposal and how long was spent looking at your proposal.

So even if you send your proposal and they get silent you can still tell if your proposal is being viewed

What Should You Add to Your Proposal?

Here are important elements of an effective proposal

Contact information: Let your prospects know who they are talking to and also have a point of contact to reach out to easily
Value proposition: To subtly reinforce the benefits of your product or service and make your proposal more compelling.
Pricing options/packages: It is always a good idea to provide at least 3 pricing options for your prospects. It should also include an overview of what each option offers. Take a look at the Hubforce pricing package template below
Break down price: Give more detail about the frequency of billing, number of users and any other recurring costs
No hidden fees: Add all charges, taxes or discounts/sales for total transparency
Description: Add a detailed description of each item in your quote
Terms and Conditions/Legal: Add all applicable terms and conditions and legal documents as well
Case studies of similar businesses: This helps them to envision the value you are providing in their own business
FAQ: They will have some questions to ask. It would be great if they could already find some of the answers in the FAQ sections. This demonstrates that you understand them and their needs and you are committed to helping them succeed not just close another sale

Other supporting materials:

Videos
Comparison with competitor
Reviews and testimonials

Hubforce has all these already built into your digital sales room so can easily position your proposal strategically. In case you update anything in your proposal, everyone on the buying team will easily get access to the updated information. This eliminates the risk of sharing outdated information.

Pricing Strategies

Here are some common pricing strategies:

Value-Based Pricing: This strategy focuses on the potential return on investment (ROI) your solution offers and sets a price that reflects that value. Check out our article on practical steps to implement value-based selling in your B2B sales process
Cost Pricing: This is a simpler approach where you take the cost of producing your product or service (including materials, labour, and overhead) and add a markup percentage to arrive at the final price.
Competitor-Based Pricing: Here, you research your competitors' pricing and use it as a benchmark to set your price. You can charge less to be more attractive, use the same price to position yourself as a comparable option, or go premium if your product offers unique value.
User-Based Pricing: Charge based on the number of users who will use your product.
Tiered Pricing: Offer different feature sets at various price points.
Flat-Rate Pricing: Charge a single price for all features or services.

Best Practices for Your Pricing Proposal

Make price known on time:

By being upfront about pricing, you demonstrate transparency and build trust with potential clients. It shows you're confident in the value you offer and avoids any surprises later in the negotiation.
Knowing the price early allows potential clients to assess if your solution fits their budget quickly.
This saves them time by eliminating proposals outside their price range. It also helps you focus on qualified leads more likely to convert. Also, qualified leads who are happy with the price point can move forward more quickly.

Ensure your values are understood first

When the client understands the value you deliver, the price becomes a reflection of the problem you solve and the benefits they will gain.
It becomes less about a number and more about a worthwhile investment. If a client fully understands the value they receive, they're less likely to solely focus on price as a negotiation point.
They'll be more open to discussing the balance between investment and return.

Understand their needs

Understanding their needs allows you to tailor your proposal to highlight the aspects that deliver the most value to them. You can showcase features and benefits that directly address their specific challenges.
Use personalised and interactive proposal tools
Use a tool that enables them to edit and see the different prices for various uses. Hubforce enables you to permit authorised people to edit the proposal

Templates save time

Not just any templates. Customisable proposal templates save time and enable your sales team to send out as many visually appealing proposals as possible in a short time without the need for a designer.

Clarify next steps

Ensure that the next steps after viewing the pricing are clear

Leverage analytics

Prospects may go silent after receiving the proposal. So rather than follow up based on assumptions, you can leverage analytics from your Hubforce digital sales room to see if they are looking at the proposal and what part of the proposal they seem to be spending more or less time on