See how one small business owner used a well-thought out business proposal to attract a prospect. This case study is a composite sketch based on many small businesses today who are working to gain a competitive advantage in tough markets.
Dimension Marketing is a marketing company, run by Johnny Marketer in Higher Ground, Massachusetts. His prospect, The Place, was a small, local bistro-style restaurant in the same town. The challenge facing Johnny was to increase The Place's overall market share.
The Place Sales Proposal
Introduction
In this section of Dimension Marketing's business proposal, Johnny stated that his company had conducted a significant amount of research concerning The Place's market status and business objectives. By doing this, Johnny immediately placed his firm in a position of power as an expert on the prospect's particular market and status within that market.
Challenge
Here, Johnny Marketer discussed The Place's challenge in greater detail. In this case, The Place only absorbed 5% of the total restaurant-going clientele in Higher Ground. Johnny reasoned that the prospect needed to create a mass media campaign to appeal to the remaining 95% of their potential audience. Citing his research, Johnny then introduced his solution--reorganizing The Place's advertising strategy.
Solution
Johnny's team conducted a demographic outline of The Place's clientele to determine who their customers were. From this data, Johnny was able to determine which advertising mediums would best reach this target audience (television, the Internet, radio and local print). He clearly outlined the benefits of each medium, along with all potential costs involved in placing ads.
Benefits
This was where Johnny's selling skills really came into play. In addition to citing excerpts from their resume (long-term member of the Higher Ground Advertising Association, over 150 years' combined team experience), Johnny made sure to reiterate how these credentials would play a pivotal role in the prospect's solution. In this case, Johnny stated that Dimension Marketing's numerous, established contacts within the broadcast, Internet and print communities would enable them to negotiate the most cost effective advertising rates for The Place.
Costs
Johnny clearly and concisely outlined all potential costs related to reorganizing The Place's advertising strategy.
Television: A locally produced, 30 second commercial could cost as low as $1,000. The cost of airtime is dependent upon programming choice and frequency.
Internet: Web site production costs are as low as $2,000-$5,000. The starting production price of most Banner Ads is $1,000-$1,500. Placement costs vary.
Radio: A locally produced, 30 second commercial could cost as low as $2,500. The cost of airtime is dependent upon programming choice and frequency.
Local Print: A full-page, 4-colour ad--including photography, copy and layout--could cost as low as $1,000.
In this section, Johnny also briefly discussed the challenges at hand and the Dimension Marketing solution. He then highlighted his firm's extensive credentials: "One look at our industry expertise and growing list of successful local clients, and you'll see we are the right candidate for this exciting project." At the conclusion, Johnny thanked the prospect for providing the necessary information required to compile the proposal, and then listed his contact information:
"Thank you for taking time to review this proposal, and providing The Place's essential data. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me, Johnny Marketer, at (888) 555-5555. A list of client referrals will also be provided, upon request."
Pop Quiz: Are Your Proposals Effective?
