A far too common epidemic plaguing B2B sales today is when sales teams forget this is the buyer's journey, not the seller's journey. There's a reason for this, yet B2B companies continue selling how sellers want to sell, instead of how buyers want to buy. At its core, sales is a simple role with only a few required skills that define a successful sales rep. It is, in fact, buyers that are complicated, or rather, buyer's process that is complex. It is sales' responsibility to help buyers navigate the common pitfalls of this complex process. One area where sales needs to play a more impactful role is in how we deliver and orchestrate the proposal process with our buyers (or champions).

Proposals aren't just for obtaining the signature: they're among your earliest opportunities to demonstrate to the buyer that you understand their business and challenges and are capable of helping them navigate the pitfalls of their buying journey. This is why sales needs to stop thinking about proposals as a static means to obtain a signature, and start thinking of it as an interactive map to guide your buyer's process. The most successful proposals act as a journey map that illuminates your alignment with their milestones and communicates your ability to help them arrive at the destination of value realization. Used correctly, this can help build confidence in the partnership before the deal is ever closed.

Here are six proven tips to help you build impactful buyer proposals that will most certainly close more deals.