Sales Proposals: What reps can learn from movie trailers
  • sales
  • Blog post

Sales Proposals: What reps can learn from movie trailers

I watch a fair number of movies in my spare time, which means that I find myself watching more than my share of trailers for upcoming films, as well.

One of the most exciting things about going to the movies is seeing a well-constructed trailer. The kind that shows you just enough to get you excited for more, but doesn’t leave you feeling like you’ve seen the whole movie in the space of three minutes. Take this classic trailer, for example:

What makes that trailer so special? It draws you in, focusing on one specific aspect of the film (the sense of terror and isolation) that would appeal to its audience, and leaves the rest out. It doesn’t try to cover everything, just the part of the film that resonates most with the audience.

So what’s this got to do with sales? Think of a movie trailer as a sales proposal, designed to detail the benefits of the product (in this case, the movie) to potential customers (moviegoers).

Now, think about your current batch of prospects. Do you know which features or benefits are important to them? More importantly, can you identify the features or benefits that resonate most clearly with them, and which ones are secondary?

Next time you’re making a sales proposal, treat it like a good movie trailer. Don’t feel obligated to cram every single benefit and feature into your proposal. Instead, find the one or two that will entice your prospect into wanting more.

So go ahead; hide those features that don’t have any resonance with your buyer. Creating a sales proposal isn’t about giving your prospect a complete picture of your product. It’s about having the discipline to leave out things that, while they might be special to you, don’t matter to your prospect.

For example, if your prospect is looking for something that makes their product more convenient, every benefit in your sales proposal should tie back to how your solution brings added convenience. Of course, you might have a whole list of other benefits, but unless you can link them back to your customer’s primary focus, they’re just noise as far as your buyer is concerned.

You may not be able to leave your prospect shaking with excitement like a good movie trailer can, but you can give them every reason to pick your product over the rest.

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