“We’ve won $500,000 deals based on the quality of the proposal we’ve delivered. The customer has told us one of the reasons we were selected was due to the quality and completeness of the proposal and other information provided.” – Steve Kocimski, Director of Sales, Voice, Data, & Carrier Services Group, Sound Incorporated
Sound Incorporated, a technology solution provider of sound, security, voice, data, carrier and managed IT services, uses SalesDoc Architect (SDA) from CorsPro to create and generate all their voice and data customer deliverables. It takes about the same amount of time to generate a descriptive, customer-specific proposal as it did to generate a simple 2-page parts list with a price in the past. Today’s proposal and scope of work allows Sound Incorporated and their customer to work as partners rather than simply vendor and buyer.
Noticing a Positive Theme
Back in the day, Sound Incorporated used to provide a proposal that looked like everybody else’s – a 1-2-page parts list with a little information and the price at the bottom. Even with a simple 1-2-page proposal there was no consistency between proposals presented by different sales reps and divisions. If you asked 3 different reps for a proposal you’d get three very different looking documents. The only thing in common was the logo and some contract terms. Realizing the need for a more consistent deliverable that was easier to generate, Sound Incorporated reached out to CorsPro after Bill Garrison, Senior Application Engineer, met CorsPro founder and president, Brian Cors, at a Mitel event in 2013.
At first Steve Kocimski, Director of Sales, and his team were concerned that the proposal was too long. Then they realized that larger opportunities expect a proposal like this. Larger customers expect to see documentation, pictures, and feature descriptions about their specific solution. Whereas other vendors still sent in the list of parts with a price and manufacturer brochures attached, Sound Incorporated’s proposals were fine-tuned to their customer’s needs. And people took notice. They started hearing that their proposal was very professionally done – something they’d never heard before. A theme started to emerge. Because their proposal was so specific and customized, the customers told them they couldn’t compare them to other vendors’ proposals. People were saying things like, “You’ve provided so much detail and they’ve provided nothing.”
It’s All in the Details
In the past, sales used to hide service and other details. They soon realized all the customer was comparing was the price and not the services provided. Sound Incorporated knew what it took to install and implement the solution. The customer reading the proposal did not see all the details so didn’t know all that was involved.
With SDA, sales reps can easily lay out the hours for implementation and installation services. This is a real eye-opener for customers and a real education. They are amazed at how much time it takes and it spurs a discussion of what’s being provided. Sound Incorporated’s proposal and scope of work demonstrates the quality of work that will go into an implementation. It gives the customer the knowledge to go back to the other vendors to ask intelligent questions. What they find is that the other vendors aren’t providing the services they believe are necessary for a quality installation. This disqualifies the other vendors.
Trimming Doesn’t Have to Mean Lost Margin
Steve Kocimski shares that they have won deals where the customer is trying to trim the price. Their proposal gives the customer the information to trim the price on their own. The customer will offer up where they can scale back on the services. Sound Incorporated can trim the price without sacrificing the margin.
What initially began as a means to work faster and more consistently has turned into a tool that allows Sound Incorporated to educate its customer, demonstrate their quality service capabilities and allow them to work in partnership. As Steve says, “At the end of the day, it’s all about the customer deliverable.” With SalesDoc Architect, Sound Incorporated sets themselves apart with a quality deliverable that lays the foundation for a long-term relationship. Today it is easier than ever to show line item information when requested and to proudly outline their expertise. Their quality proposal and scope of work demonstrates the high-quality work Sound Incorporated puts into everything they do. It’s no secret – their customers have noticed the details and it has paid off.