Commercial proposal to the head of the enterprise. Why do companies write CPs? Make a commercial offer from a construction company
A commercial offer is one of the main ways to start communication with a potential client. The success of the sale of a product or service largely depends on how well and professionally it is drawn up. Any commercial offer consists of the following sections:
- The logo or emblem of the company that offers the product or service. A commercial offer must be drawn up on a letterhead using the corporate style of the organization. This is an indicator of the level and seriousness of the business organization of the supplier company. Description of the product or service. In this section, it is necessary to disclose what, in fact, is proposed to be purchased or what is proposed to be used. Advertising services and terms of cooperation. Here you should indicate the advantages of the product or service, justify the reasons why the client is recommended to purchase the product or service, describe how they are better than their counterparts from competitors. Advantages of the company. This section reveals the merits of the company itself, describes its experience, the implementation of successful projects, and so on. Contact information - after reading the commercial offer, it should be clear to a potential client who, by what phone or email address to contact. Signature of a company representative.
Commercial offers can be classified according to several criteria. So, depending on the quality of contact with a potential client, commercial offers are “cold” or “hot”. "Cold" offers, as a rule, do not have an addressee and as their goal are informing the target audience about the capabilities of the product. Such an offer does not take into account the specifics of the potential client's business and is typical. A "hot" offer, as a rule, is sent after a meeting with a representative of a potential client. It contains unique benefits and conditions that are relevant to a particular potential buyer. The purpose of this type of offer is to move on to negotiations on the terms of cooperation and the conclusion of an agreement. There are also such types of offers as presentation (giving a general idea of the company's products), promotional (invites to participate in a marketing campaign), congratulatory, gratitude (contain unique conditions in in honor of the holiday or in gratitude for long-term cooperation), or invitation (it contains an invitation to participate in any event).
When compiling a proposal, it is necessary to clearly understand and highlight the problems that the target audience has. A commercial offer can be considered successful or correctly drafted if, thanks to it, it was possible to convince the recipient that he needs the proposed product or service. For a commercial proposal to be successful, it is recommended that it meet certain requirements. First, it must be free of grammatical and spelling errors. For writing it is useful to use professional text editors. They automatically check spelling and highlight words or parts of a sentence that are recommended to be changed. In addition, in modern text editors, there are special templates that can be used to design a commercial offer. Since the main task of such a document is to attract attention, it is allowed to use various infographics, drawings, diagrams, diagrams and similar illustrative materials in it, which facilitates the perception of the proposal and increases the likelihood of its acceptance. The color scheme used in the design of the document also plays an important role. Firstly, the colors should match the corporate identity of the company, and, secondly, they should not be defiant or too calm. Do not make black and white documents either. They look outdated and won't grab the reader's attention (except for those who value content over form, but those are becoming rarer). It should be remembered that at present, a large flow of information falls on each person every day, so it is very difficult to process it. It is for this reason that the necessary data is packaged in graphic materials. The quality of the paper on which the commercial offer is printed is also of great importance. It must demonstrate the solidity of the company that manufactured and delivered it. A pleasant feeling in the hands will automatically add to the attractiveness of the sentence and increase the likelihood of reading it to the end. The quotation must be delivered either by e-mail or in person. Moreover, the second method is much more preferable. Indeed, in the first case, there is a high probability that the letter will be deleted without being read as spam. And with personal delivery, there is a chance to personally talk with the recipient and convince him of the usefulness of the product or service.
Ready-made commercial offer samples
Service Quote Templates
Quote Templates in Word
Ready commercial offer for cooperation Examples of a commercial offer for the sale of goods Samples of a commercial offer for the provision of servicesHow to create a commercial offer
Write a commercial offer for the sale and supply of goods
When creating a commercial offer for the sale and delivery of goods, it is necessary to reflect the following points in it: 1. Uniqueness - how the product differs from substitutes and competitors, what are its advantages, why it can satisfy any need better than others. 2. Value for money is also an important point in the commercial offer of goods. The consumer, as a rule, chooses the product that allows him to achieve the maximum in this ratio. Therefore, when offering a product, it is recommended to indicate what additional bonuses the buyer will receive in quality. 3. Delivery efficiency. Goods are purchased when they are needed. The buyer wants to solve his problem as quickly as possible with the help of the goods, so he is not ready to wait for a long delivery. 4. Service. If the goods are technically complex, it is imperative to indicate how the buyer should proceed in the event of a breakdown or need for maintenance. Ceteris paribus, the buyer will prefer the product that he can either easily serve himself, or there will be a service center next to him.
Commercial offer for cooperation in business
When compiling this type of commercial offer, it is necessary to very clearly and, at the same time, unobtrusively talk about the benefits of cooperation, what benefits it will bring to the partner, and also describe the proposed conditions for conducting joint activities. This is a rather difficult job, since the proposal should not be written in the dry language of a business plan, but, at the same time, reflect all its main aspects. Creating such a commercial offer is a whole art. It must also be remembered that a cooperation offer is made to a specific partner. Therefore, it is very important to know the needs of this partner and reflect the ways and mechanisms of their satisfaction in the proposal.
Make a commercial offer from a construction company
The potential consumer of the services of a construction company is primarily interested in the price. Therefore, in the commercial offer it is recommended to describe in detail the possibilities of its reduction, and the reasons why this is possible (for example, due to the use of modern materials or unique technologies, and so on). Pricing transparency is also important for the consumer, so at the end of the proposal or as an appendix to it, it is recommended to include a table with a cost justification. Construction time also plays a big role. It is advisable to indicate in the proposal how and due to what they can be reduced. The reputation of the construction company is also taken into account by many customers when making a decision. You can confirm it with articles from newspapers, letters of recommendation, various awards, descriptions of completed projects.
Features of the offer of accounting, legal and consulting services
The number of providers of such services is quite large, so the competition in this market is very high. In addition to price, you can attract a consumer by the following factors:- A high probability of a positive resolution of the client’s dispute in the courts (for example, by demonstrating their success in such cases); Saving the client’s costs on full-time staff by transferring part of the functions to outsourcing; Full support of the client’s activities, solving all his problems in a certain area, so that he only the main activity; Offering various bonuses that competitors do not have (advice on a number of issues for free).
Advertising agency business proposal
A document from such a company should demonstrate its professionalism. The commercial offer from the advertising campaign must contain elements of the original design, professional terminology, spectacular slogans and other similar elements. This allows a potential consumer to immediately assess the level and technology of the advertising agency. If it knows how to sell itself well, then the client's product will be able to effectively advertise. Thus, the customer has an element of trust in the company, which increases the likelihood that he will use its services.Common mistakes when writing text for business proposals
The first mistake that many marketers make is to oversaturate the offer with data. They sincerely believe that it is important for the client to know everything about the product in order to make an informed and rational decision. However, in practice this is far from the case. The behavior of the buyer or customer is rarely rational, rather it is emotional. Therefore, it is not worth giving a lot of information in the offer, it is much more effective to create the feeling in the consumer that the product or service will help him satisfy the need. This feeling greatly increases the likelihood of a subsequent purchase. The second common mistake is excessive attention to a potential client. The compilers of the offer are scattered in compliments, describe all the successes of the client, assuming that it will be pleasant for him. However, a potential buyer is much more concerned about the solution of his task or problem, so, of course, he will read about his successes with pleasure, but if he does not find an answer to his questions, then it is unlikely that he will contact such a company. Also, many compilers mistakenly include the following information in the proposal:- The history of the company describes how the company's path began, how it developed, and so on, but this is not at all interesting to a potential buyer of products. It only takes his time, which means it annoys him and worsens the perception of the offer. The history of the leader, the reasons why he came to this business, that he is an expert in this or that activity, is indicated by his achievements and awards. It is also not interesting to a potential buyer and worsens the impression of the offer. A description of the production technology to convince that the product is really of high quality and has the declared characteristics. But it must be borne in mind that the buyer is not a specialist in the production of products. He needs to understand that the product or service has the required properties. For this, a quality certificate or a description of the product itself with characteristics is quite enough. Indication of irrelevant customer needs. When compiling a commercial proposal, it is important to clearly study the representatives of the target group and formulate the need that they want to satisfy with the help of a product or service. If there is no such information, there is a high probability that the commercial offer will go into emptiness. The buyer will not find answers to his questions in it and will not purchase the goods.
How to effectively complete a business proposal
The last sentence in the document is very powerful. A potential buyer is likely to skim through the text, but linger on the last paragraph or phrase. This is how the human mind is arranged, and this must be used when drawing up a commercial proposal. The content of the last paragraph or proposal should reflect the essence of the entire document and encourage the potential client to take the necessary action - make an appointment, start negotiations, purchase a product or service, make a trial order, and so on. Most often, a commercial offer ends with the phrase “respectfully”. This, of course, is a win-win option, but instead of this phrase, a text offering the document recipient unique conditions for the sale of a product or service (for example, at a significant discount) is much more effective. This will interest the client much more than expressing respect to him. Moreover, a respectful relationship between partners is implied a priori. A fairly common option for ending a commercial offer is a message that specific managers are always ready to answer the client's questions, and their contact details are indicated. How to contact a specialist, of course, should be at the end of the commercial offer, but it does not in any way encourage a potential client to take any action. So, a commercial proposal should end with a call to action. We can distinguish the following motives that can induce the client to perform the required actions:- Information that the number of goods or services offered under the terms of this commercial offer is limited; Bonus offer - free sample, opportunity to test the product or service, product availability, discount on current or next purchase; Description of the buyer's personal interest (what he will receive, what savings will be achieved, what needs will be satisfied, and so on); Information about the attractiveness of the product or service (availability of a guarantee, special delivery conditions, quality service).
If the offer contains more than one page, or various additional materials are attached to it (for example, cost calculation tables, price lists with the entire range of goods, a schedule for marketing promotions, conferences or exhibitions), then a cover letter should be sent with it. It contains in a very concise form the main conditions and the essence of the proposal. First of all, the cover letter should contain a greeting to the addressee, preferably by name and patronymic (address address attracts much more attention than typical greeting formulas). Next, you should introduce yourself and name your position in the company to make it clear what the issue is. In the case of preliminary meetings, it is recommended to remind the recipient of the letter about this. In the main body of the letter, it is necessary to inform the potential client about the goods or services offered by the company, as well as about the benefits that cooperation can bring. This must be done briefly so as not to repeat the commercial offer, but at the same time, after reading the paragraph with the benefits, the potential consumer should have questions and a desire to find answers to them in the commercial offer itself. This will encourage him to read the document more carefully. Next, list the documents that are attached to the letter. Firstly, this is a document flow norm, and, secondly, it will allow the addressee to quickly find out which documents to pay attention to in the first place in order to make a decision. At the end of the letter, you should thank the recipient for their attention and call for action (call the company , ask questions by e-mail, and so on). The rules for completing cover letters are identical to the recommendations for the closing phrase of a commercial proposal. Thus, writing a commercial proposal is a completely technological process. If you follow all the recommendations, then it will be successful and lead to transactions. However, each compiler must develop his own unique style and way of forming a proposal. This greatly improves the efficiency of his work.
Few people know that a well-written commercial offer can give a 100% conversion. To do this, you must follow a number of fundamental rules, which we will now discuss. Read our article on how to convince you to read the commercial offer to the end, as well as what to focus on when talking about your product.
Denis Kaplunov,
founder of the copywriting agency Denis Kaplunov Studio
In this article you will read:
Sample of a well-written business proposal
How to write a commercial proposal? Hundreds of merchants are looking for the answer to this question. The more accurately the product meets the needs of the target audience, the higher the effectiveness of the commercial proposal (CO), but on the condition that it is read and correctly understood. This is especially important if you intend to send out "cold" non-personalized offers. How to draw attention to the CP using lexical means? How to find persuasive arguments? Get acquainted with the techniques, the effectiveness of which we have tested on examples of hundreds of sales texts.
Tactic 1. Talk about the client, not yourself.
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When starting to write a commercial proposal, remember that the main character of the CP should be the client, and not the company that addresses him. Therefore, when composing the text, you need to think not about how it is more profitable to present yourself, but about how the proposed product or service will help the client. The best examples of how to write a commercial offer suggest that it is pointless to load the reader of the commercial proposal with information about the history of your enterprise. In an effective sentence, the pronouns "you" and "your" predominate over the words "we" and "our". There is an unspoken rule that professionals are guided by: there should be only one “we” for four “you” in the text.
- Commercial offer: samples and examples. 16 killers and boosters everyone needs to know
Reception 2. Give up clichés, pomposity and terms
Since you have decided to write a commercial proposal correctly, keep in mind that the style of the commercial proposal should be concise, understandable and simple. Therefore, you should delete from it stamps and clericalisms that clog the text and do not carry any information about the product. Worst of all, if the speech cliché is not only worn out, but also sounds inappropriately pompous: “The company is proud to present ...”, “We express our deep respect to you ...”.
Professional slang and scientific terms should be used very carefully. Typically, with their help, companies seek to emphasize their competence. But this is appropriate only in personalized CPs addressed to knowledgeable customers, and in communication with a wide audience, clarity is more important. Compare two commercial offers promoting brick making equipment.
Template style example: “The company is proud to present its new technology that reduces the cost of brick production by 30%. Our company has been operating since 1950. We are interested in new permanent partners”.
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A sample of a correctly written commercial proposal, fragment: “Would you like to reduce the cost of brick production by 30%? We present to you the equipment with which this can be achieved.
Technique 3. Demonstrate confidence and positivity
The commercial proposal should radiate confidence in the product. Potential customers are repelled by the widespread figures of speech “Let me offer you ...”, “We hope you will be interested in our offer ...”, “We will wait for your answer ...”.
Presumptuous phrases are also harmful: "We are sure that ...", "We know that ...". They seem to impose someone else's point of view on the addressee. The author of the CP should not make the decision for the reader.
When starting to write a commercial proposal correctly, it is equally important to adhere to a positive style. It is worth minimizing the number of negative statements and words with the particle “not”. If desired, it is easy to replace them with synonymous constructions of an affirmative nature.
Examples of turning a negative tone into a positive one: “If you do not want to pay double the price ...” - “You will save double on this purchase”; “In order to be known, grandiose advertising campaigns are not necessary” - “In order to be known about you, you can do without loud and expensive advertising.”
Tactic 4: Create a catchy headline
One of the main mistakes that kills the desire to read a sales letter is the removal of faceless phrases like “Commercial offer”, “Business offer” or “Proposal for cooperation” to the beginning. The heading of the CP should be informative. Its task is to attract the attention of the target audience, to tell them what this text might be of interest to them.
There are several effective tricks that allow you to create a "catchy" headline. Ideal - to formulate it on the basis of a unique selling proposition. You can turn an intriguing question, call to action, question-answer into a good headline. You can focus on the benefits of the product or on the group of customers to whom the product is addressed. But in all cases, a successful title should include one or more words that reflect the key need of the potential client.
Examples of effective headlines: “A new client - for 10 kopecks!”, “How to identify the degree of reliability of an employee in 25 minutes?”, “We will select a profitable tender for you and help you win it!”.
Tactic 5. Come up with an intriguing introduction
The purpose of the introduction, or lead, is to draw the customer into the reading and prepare them to talk about the product. Here are some tips for creating a lead.
Voice the client's acute problem and its solution. Example: “Do you need to send employees to St. Petersburg on a working visit? Then the question arises where to place them. For a successful business trip, the historical center of St. Petersburg is an ideal option.”
Show the client how to get out of a difficult situation. Example: “You bought an apartment, but the developer missed the deadline. As a result, you moved late and suffered losses. Today, the legislation of Russia gives you the opportunity to absolutely legally collect an impressive penalty from the developer.
Tactic 6. Make an attractive offer
The main part of the CP is occupied by an offer - the presentation of a product or service. It is not enough just to name the product and describe its properties. An effective offer should lead the client to an independent conclusion that the proposed product or service is the best of all that he can get.
Focus on the benefits. You should not call the product unique, even if it really is. Consumers are not impressed; the only thing they are interested in is the useful result of the purchase. It must be described along with the name of the product. Let's say the intro to a CP addressed to an online store states the following problem: "If you sell clothes, you know that at least 40% of things are returned due to the fact that the size does not fit." So, next we need to show the main benefit: “Introducing a software package that allows online stores to reduce the number of returns of clothes to 5–7%.”
Focus on hot spots. Talking about the features of the product, it is important not to drown in the details. You need to write only about what the client wants to know in the first place. We solve this problem by identifying the so-called hot spots - the key factors in the purchase of a product. In each area, each product or service, these points are different, often unique. Nevertheless, there is a classic eight, which is typical for all markets.
Let me explain using the example of a KP of a manufacturer of bags addressed to wholesale buyers. Such significant factors as price and additional service are even taken into account here twice. The ability to sell goods at a high retail margin, a reasonable minimum purchase volume, a wide range of stock - these and other benefits make the KP highly attractive.
Technique 7. Pick a Persuasive Argument
A potential client is always in doubt, especially if the offer is very tempting. Therefore, it is important to present arguments confirming the feasibility of the promise. Argumentation tools directly depend on what exactly needs to be proved.
Here are the 12 most common arguments: calculations, mini-cases, examples of work performed, testimonials, recommendations, testimonials and certificates, photo reports, samples and samples, customer lists, guarantees, visual comparisons in a “before and after” scenario, a story about a company or product in numbers.
An example of effective argumentation. The travel company accompanies the partnership offer for potential agents with a mini-case. With it, she shows the mutual benefit of the scheme of work: “The size of your partner remuneration is 3% of the cost of the tour. Take, for example, a trip for two to Vietnam for 14 days, which costs 110,275 rubles. These clients were brought to us by a partner who earned 3,308 rubles. In just a month, this partner sold four tours (to Thailand, Vietnam, India) with a total value of 550 thousand rubles. His partner remuneration for the month amounted to 16,500 rubles.
Tactic 8. Make a great deal
Special offers are posted at the end of the quotation. Their main task is to dispel the last doubts of the reader and encourage him to quickly respond to the received letter. Among the most popular types of special offers are gifts and various games with prices.
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Top 9 deals: free shipping, giveaways, strong warranty, two for the price of one, discount on second purchase, price reduction on old collection items, price reduction for willingness to wait, special price for a specific item, special price for a particular category of buyers.
An example of an effective special offer. By increasing the bonus, the cleaning company pushes the client to long-term cooperation: “When you sign a contract for 3-6 months, you get one free general cleaning. When concluding a contract for one year, we will give you a professional coffee machine.”
Communicate your USP in a commercial proposal
Natalia Radchenkova, Marketing Director of Alfa-Content service
Define your USP and convey it to the customer in your special offer. When working with clients in our service, we emphasize that the customer of services has the right to agree on a media plan, propose adjustments, refuse proposed sites, approve or reject the texts of publications, and propose changes a reasonable number of times. If something does not suit him at all, we are ready to return the money. This increases customer loyalty, and so far there has not been a single case of any of them abusing their rights. Working with clients is smooth and comfortable.
Reception 9. Complete the CP with an application
From my own experience I can say that this tool is very effective. Applications are often read by potential customers more carefully than the main text, since it is in them that they find specifics. As a rule, applications are used in two cases: when you need to illustrate the theses of the main text and when you need to substantiate your assurances. At the same time, it is important not to forget to mention the appendix and its content in the main text.
Ten types of actionable applications: price lists, calculations, case studies, examples of completed work, product images, photo reports, letters of recommendation and reviews, samplers and testers, bonus cards and gift certificates, a description of a cooperation scheme or a sequence of proposed work.
Tactic 10. Test the offer
After sending a quotation, it is useful to call some customers and ask why they are interested in it. If the answer is not at all what you would like to receive, you need to continue working on the proposal. It is worth changing the content and form of the CP and testing the resulting options on loyal customers, experts and just acquaintances (sample document). It's hard work, but the result is worth it. One of the pioneers of direct marketing, John Caples, gave an example when only one word was changed in the headline of an advertising text - and the effectiveness increased by 19.5 times!
Materials for download, a sample of how to write a commercial offer:
Denis Kaplunov graduated from the law and economic faculties of the Odessa National University. I. I. Mechnikov. He worked for five years in the banking sector, where he worked his way up from an ordinary economist to the manager of the bank's regional representative office. Since 2011, he has been specializing in writing sales texts. Author of books on copywriting and marketing.
"Studio of Denis Kaplunov"- an agency that develops promotional materials for business. Founded in 2014. Among the clients: Komsomolskaya Pravda, Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, MTT, Rostec, TESCOM, Window Factory, Eksmo, Unisender, Vitek. Official website -www.kaplunoff.ru
A commercial offer is the main sales tool. It is with a commercial offer that a potential client begins to get acquainted with your product or service. And the success of all work on the transaction depends on how correctly the commercial offer is drawn up and delivered. A commercial offer differs from a price list or a regular product specification in its purpose, which is not so much to inform the client about the product or service offered, but to encourage him to buy the product or use the service.
Commercial offers can be conditionally divided into "personalized" and "non-personalized". Personalized are addressed to a specific person and contain a personal appeal. Non-personalized - designed for a wider and impersonal audience of recipients.
Regardless of the type of commercial offer, the author must clearly understand the target audience for which the text is oriented. Before compiling a commercial offer, it is recommended to determine the needs of your audience, what may be of interest to them, to attract attention. Often the most common mistake is to replace the real needs of the target audience with the author's ideas about the needs of potential customers.
After the needs of the target audience (TA) are clarified, you can proceed to drafting the text of the proposal. A commercial offer must consistently perform 4 main functions of an advertising message:
- To draw attention
- Arouse interest
- Awaken desire
- Stimulate purchase
It is in accordance with these functions that the text of the commercial proposal is formed. It is desirable to place a visual image in the "header" of a commercial offer that would attract the reader's attention. Often, this function is assigned to the logo of the sending company. Therefore, the logo should first of all attract attention.
The typical structure of a commercial offer is as follows:
- Title offer and graphic illustration
- Subtitle clarifying the subject of the sentence
- The main text of the offer
- Advertising slogan, slogan, call
- Trademarks, sender details
Functions of Structural Elements
- The title and illustration should draw attention to the text, interest a potential client. This is the core of advertising and the most powerful message to the buyer.
- The subheading is the link between the heading and the body text. If the client is not interested in the headline, then the subheading gives one more chance to attract him to the purchase.
- The body text fulfills the promises of the title and details it.
- The final phrase - a slogan, a postscript - should encourage the client to make a purchase.
header
- According to statistics, headlines are read by 5 times more people.
- News ads are read 22% more often.
- The strongest words in the title are "free" and "new". But it is also important not to forget about the values of the target audience, in some cases, free of charge, on the contrary, will repel.
- The title should be direct and simple.
- Don't use negatives in headlines.
- Avoid blind and overly general headings.
- Use one font. The more fonts in the title, the less people read it.
- If the headline contains a direct quote or is enclosed in quotation marks, it attracts an additional 30% of readers.
- Short titles of one line, no more than 10 words, work better.
First paragraph
- Keeping the reader's attention is becoming increasingly difficult - you need to learn how to compress the story into one paragraph several lines long.
- The first paragraph should contain no more than 11 words.
- A long first paragraph will scare the reader away.
- What to write about in the following paragraphs? About the same, only in more detail.
Main text
- Love your product.
- When addressing a consumer, use the word “you”.
- “Beautiful writing is a great disadvantage” - Claude Hopkins. Use less exaggeration.
- The shorter the sentences, the better the text reads. But a sequence of equally short sentences is boring.
- When writing text, use spoken language. But use professional slang only in exceptional cases.
- Write the text in present tense.
- Do not make large introductory parts - immediately state the essence.
- The price indicated in the offer has a significant impact on the purchase decision.
- It makes sense to include product reviews and research results in the text.
- Avoid analogies like: “exactly like this”, “in this way”, “in the same way”.
- Avoid superlatives, generalizations and exaggerations.
- Use clear words and well-known names.
How to increase the readability of long text?
- Large text is best broken into paragraphs.
- After 5-8 cm of text, enter the first subtitle. A bold subheading will grab the reader's attention again.
- Insert illustrations from time to time. Highlight paragraphs with arrows, asterisks, marginal marks.
- Capitalizing the first letter increases readability by 13%.
- A serif font is easier to read from a sheet, while it is better to read a sans-serif font from a monitor screen.
- Do not make the text monotonous, highlight key paragraphs in font or italics. Although underlining impairs readability, it's best to use bold type.
- If you have a lot of unrelated items of information, just number them.
P.S
- There are five times more people who notice slogans than read all the ads.
- The text of the postscript should contain the most important information that encourages reading the entire article.
- The last paragraph should be no more than 3 lines.
- Compared to the number of applications that have reached the advertiser, at least 2 times more potential applications remain only in the mind of the client.
In conclusion, it should be said that, when sent by e-mail, a commercial offer should be sent in the most common electronic format, which is guaranteed to be opened by a potential client.
A commercial offer is a document that contains an invitation to a deal. It can be addressed to one person, or to a larger group. Compreds, as they are called in professional jargon, are used for various marketing purposes: for selling goods, advertising information products, finding employers, etc.
Examples of commercial offers
It is believed that the preparation of commercial proposals is entirely the task of copywriters. This is not entirely true. KP is made up of directors, marketers, and sales managers. And you can too, since for this you don’t need to graduate from the Faculty of Philology or go through a dozen journalistic trainings. It is enough to know your project from A to Z and understand its strengths. If you are an author who expects to make a CP on order, you will have to find out information about the company and products from customers in advance. In order not to spend a lot of time on discussion, make a brief. In it, ask a series of questions, the answers to which may be useful. For example, many people ask about advantages, disadvantages, competitors, etc.
However, having information is not everything. In order for the CP to work, you need to know how to compose it correctly. We will devote the next 15-20 minutes to explaining this.
Types of commercial offers
In almost all specialized literature, compreds are divided into two types: “cold” and “hot”. It is important to distinguish between them because they have a different target audience. And, as you know, people are different from each other, and each needs its own approach.
- "Cold" CP is, in fact, a letter for those who see your brand for the first time. But no, this does not mean that you should send the document to just anyone. It is necessary to preliminarily prepare a sample of persons who may potentially be interested in the offer. For example, you want to write texts for money, so the first thing you do is send out a newsletter to digital agencies, copywriting studios, and SEO companies. You know that these places may be recruiting authors, and that some part will definitely respond to your message.
- "Hot" KP is sending a letter to the public that has already been prepared. Let's say the manager of the company spoke with a person on the phone and intrigued him with favorable conditions or an affordable price. The next thing to do is to send the potential client a killer commercial offer. There is more room for imagination here. If in a “cold” CP you need to do everything to keep the reader’s attention and, God forbid, not overload him with unnecessary information, then in a “hot” CP you can roam to the fullest. After all, if a certain person is interested in your brand, it is logical to assume that she wants to learn more about it.
There are other options for compreds. For example, the popular copywriter Daniil Shardakov mentioned an offer - a more complex type of business texts, closely related to legal subtleties. However, we will not focus on this. In order to successfully communicate with customers, at first there is enough knowledge about two types of CP.
How to structure a business proposal
Kompred has a lot in common with an ordinary selling text. If you have experience writing similar materials, it will not be difficult for you to master a similar direction. And the first thing you need to start with is getting to know the structure.
Another helpful post:
The structure of the CP is simple, clear and unambiguous. This is the moment when it is better not to reinvent the wheel. Practice shows that following simple rules helps to collect more responses than unbridled creativity. Therefore, let's look at how to make a commercial offer as complete and effective as possible.
1. Title.
The importance of the title cannot be overestimated. It creates the first impression of any text. A person, looking at the name, immediately decides what to do next - to read with interest, or to click the red cross in the upper right corner. Therefore, you should add the best that you have in store to this short phrase.
Experienced copywriters are advised to indicate benefits in the title. This applies not only to compreds, but also to other marketing texts. Another idea is to add intrigue to the title, which will immediately hook you and won't let go until the end. However, this is not suitable for everyone. If you feel that your creativity or sense of humor is not enough, it is better to stop at the first option.
2. Lead (first paragraph).
World-famous copywriter Joseph Sugarman taught us the slippery slide method. Its essence is to instantly arouse the reader's interest, and then maintain it until he literally begins to fly through the text. Based on this principle, the first line should be the strongest, and the rest of the sentences are designed to accompany it.
A commercial offer lead is a great option to practice creating a slippery slide. Start with the strongest possible argument, and then throw in less significant, but no less interesting phrases.
Most often, a lead starts with:
- description of the problem (“Have you tried a dozen shampoos, and the dandruff is still not gone?”);
- a direct indication of a solution to the problem (“Our methodology helped 200 new IT specialists find a job in two weeks!”);
Sometimes the first paragraph is based on the answer to some objection, but more often this point is left for last. It is also rare for a lead to start with emotional passages. To use the last technique to its full potential, you need to feel the mood of the audience very subtly. If you have little experience so far, use more proven and stable options.
3. Offer.
The most important, but at the same time, the most difficult part of the compred. An offer or is literally an offer for a client. The response to the CP depends on how far it hits the point.
Most often, the offer focuses on the following things:
- favorable ratio "price-quality";
- additional free service;
- discount or gift that comes with the purchase
It would seem much more banal. However, finding out the pains of your target audience is not such an easy task. First you need to create an image of an average client. What is his gender? How old is he? How much does he earn? What is he interested in? What do you want to get from cooperation? Don't skimp on the details. Such a psychological profile will help you understand what hypothetically can arouse interest in this person, and how you can move on. For example, you will not tempt a top manager with the lowest prices in the city, and a simple housewife with the elite brand.
By the way, here you can connect real people. For example, if the average representative of your target audience is a woman aged 45+, talk about the advertised product with your mom. Believe me, you will learn a lot of interesting information firsthand.
If you want to delve deeper into the topic, read:
4. Benefits.
For that matter, some copywriters don't set aside a separate block for benefits. They casually mention them in the title, lead, offer - and this is enough to captivate the client. However, if you feel like you didn't say everything you wanted to say, put it in a separate paragraph. You can directly and title it: "Benefits from cooperation." Or: "What do you get from working with us." And then write the statement in a numbered or bulleted list.
5. Working out objections.
Every client wants to know that his money was not wasted. Alas, among them, only a few have time to meticulously check every fact from the life of a particular company. Most will close the link at the first sign of distrust. To prevent this from happening, give readers what they want.
Objection handling usually involves:
- enumeration of regalia;
- availability of documentary evidence of success (diplomas, diplomas, certificates, etc.);
- answers to burning questions that may arise;
- justification of the reasons why people should take advantage of your offer
To correctly answer all questions, rely only on the facts. Do not fantasize, do not sing praises to yourself and do not “yak” - this scares off.
6. Call to action.
As a rule, the call to action does not contain anything special. Just invite you to call back, write an e-mail or contact in another convenient way. Do not insist on ordering or buying - it's not time yet. A CV is just a step towards business communication, so at first do not demand much from the client.
By the way, since you are calling a person to something, do it boldly. Forget about the words "may", "would" and "maybe". Such weak constructions show that you yourself are not sure that you should be contacted. Write "call the number back", not "you can call back".
From this article, you will learn how to correctly compose, write and correctly execute a commercial offer. We will help you create truly beautiful and effective sales texts that will provide you with a steady increase in profits and sales. So let's get started!
What is a commercial offer
A commercial offer is a selling text, the main purpose of which is to get the desired action from the client - call your company, write a letter, register on the site, etc.Before drawing up a commercial offer, you must determine:
Who is your client;
What do you offer him?
What should he do after reading.
In this article, we will talk more about the structure and design of commercial proposals.
Types of commercial offers
First of all, it should be noted that there are two types of commercial proposals: "Cold" commercial proposal (sent to a "cold" or unprepared client who does not expect it from you), and "Hot" commercial proposal (sent to a client with whom negotiations have already been conducted, and his needs were clarified).
"Cold" commercial offer
It is important to remember that a "cold" sales pitch does not sell goods or services - it sells interest in them, so do not try to include the maximum amount of information in the sales proposal. On the contrary, it is important to focus on one, but a big advantage! The maximum size of the commercial offer, therefore, should not exceed the size of an A4 sheet.
A well-written commercial proposal should have a certain structure:
header
A strong headline is 80% of your ad's success. It should attract attention and match the request of a potential client. It should set you apart from your competitors and offer a benefit that is hard to pass up!
Here are a few typical heading patterns:
Title - Question
The question in the title subconsciously forces the person to answer it. And in order to answer the question, you need to comprehend it. Thus, the title forces the reader to pay attention to the problem, and if it is relevant for him, then to the text of the commercial offer.
Headlines beginning with the word “How” are the most popular. A common stereotype suggests that behind the word “how”, by default, there is a practical guide that is very, very useful, which is why readers have special confidence in this word.
For example: “How to earn $10,000. in a day?"
Title - Solving the problem (Question and answer to it)
In our opinion, this is the most effective heading option.
For example: “Are creditors annoyed? We file personal bankruptcy!
Title - Indication of the target audience
In the title, you can immediately indicate who your offer is for.
For example: “Are you an Internet business owner? Double your sales in 60 days. Guaranteed training.
Title - Personal experience
People always have more trust in those who have already done something, and not in those who just talk about how to do something.
For example: "How I lost 20 kg."
Title - Mystery, secret, intrigue
People simply love secrets and mysteries, especially if these secrets allow them to receive certain advantages.
For example: “Did you know what car Schumacher had”?
Heading - Numbers
The numbers in the headings act as a quantitative indicator of the material. In addition, the numbers help organize the content and are a good evidence base.
For example: "5 easy ways to lose weight."
Title - "Scary"
Fear is a very powerful motivating factor. But you need to use it wisely. Excessive intimidation of the client can have the opposite effect - your offer will provoke a negative reaction! Warranties work much better.
Title - Warranty
A guarantee, in fact, is a derivative of fear, only served under a different sauce. When a person feels secure, he becomes more loyal to the text he is reading.
For a "cold" commercial offer, we strongly do not recommend using "Commercial offer" as the heading, as the client will automatically send it to the wastebasket.
At the same time, for a "hot" commercial offer, such a headline is more than appropriate if the company name and the name of the recipient are indicated next.
After writing the title, ask yourself three questions:
Do you want to know the details after reading the title?
Do you like it?
You are not ashamed to publish text with such a title.
Introductory paragraph
The main task of the introductory paragraph is to maintain interest and reveal in more detail the topic of the commercial offer. The introductory paragraph should be a logical continuation of the heading so that the commercial offer looks solid and consistent.
An introductory paragraph can, like a heading, consist of questions or a statement.
Headline "How to quit smoking?"
An example of an introductory paragraph: “For a long time you want to quit smoking, but don’t know how? Have you tried everything but nothing worked? Congratulations! Finally you have found a solution!
The following information is not allowed in the introductory paragraph:
- story about your company;
- the history of your company;
- a story about your products and services;
- your regalia, titles, awards;
- properties and characteristics of your products and services.
Offer (offer)
Offer is the heart of your commercial offer, its essence. In it, you specifically tell the person what benefit you offer him and at the expense of what.
Wrong offer: "We invite you to attend a seminar."
The right offer: "We offer to increase your sales by 50% by attending our seminar!"
The offer should consist of one, maximum two sentences.
It makes sense to highlight the offer with a style or color.
Benefits - Benefits
After you have made a powerful offer, it's time to strengthen it with additional benefits. In this block, you tell the client how you are going to fulfill what you promised him in the offer. Here you can describe the benefits of your product / service in terms of benefits for the client.
Remember! By themselves, the properties of a product or service are of no interest to anyone - the only thing that matters is what the client will get from it!
The motive for the client can be both the benefit (profit) from your product or service, and the absence of losses! And losing for a client is always worse than gaining!
Provide a transparent and understandable explanation of how your proposal solves the client's problems or improves his life. Explain that the client does not spend money, but invests! There is no better investment than investing in yourself.
Always indicate the benefit in numerical form. For example, not just "big earnings", but "earnings of 200 thousand rubles."
Convert interest to rubles. For example, a 10% discount - 20,000 rubles!
Simplify all the hard-to-read numbers with comparisons. For example, is a 1000 MB computer hard drive a lot or a little? It would be much better to translate this figure into a more understandable plane for the client. For example, a hard drive for 10,000 photos or 50,000 songs or 100 movies.
A good technique is to compare the price of the product for each category of buyers with their standard of value. For example, for a student - "a book for the price of a hamburger", for a businessman - "a book for the cost of lunch", etc.
Use facts, research results and calculations as evidence. Numbers in practice look much more convincing than words.
Spreadsheets or charts are a great tool to prove growth dynamics.
Images - “better to see once than hear a hundred times”! Depending on the specifics of your offer, you can offer readers pictures, photographs or other images.
Guarantees - specific guarantees (possibly extended and non-standard) can qualitatively improve the commercial offer.
Reviews
You can complete the description of the benefits and benefits for the client with the help of testimonials.
Can be used:
- Feedback from other customers. This proof can be called, perhaps, the most valuable. Especially if this client is quite famous and authoritative. It is very important that the buyer's response has the same meaning as the commercial offer itself. That is, he pointed to the benefit received by the client from using your product / service.
- Share your own success story. It should be a selling story that will really interest the buyer and encourage him to take some action.
- The list of clients is relevant if there are big names among them. The reader will assume that if you are trusted by such large companies, then you can do business with!
Price
This point of structure is missed by many. And in vain! The price must be included in your commercial offer. By specifying prices, you show the client that you are as open as possible, and he knows what to expect when contacting your company.
When prices for a product or service are not included in your commercial offer, the client feels this is a catch and most likely will not contact you.
Bonuses
Bonuses are optional for a commercial offer, but it works much better with them.
Bonus Rules:
The bonus complements the main product;
The bonus is useful, needed and in demand by customers;
The bonus has a certain value, including cash;
Several bonuses are much better than one;
The bonus should not be more valuable than the product itself;
Restrictions (Deadline)
Deadline (English deadline) - limiting the validity of the entire offer or bonus.
The deadline can be temporary or quantitative. Temporary - when the offer is valid until a certain date or time. Always indicate clear dates, for example, not in “June”, but “from June 1 to June 10”.
Quantitative deadline - when the quantity of a product is limited, for example, the balance in the warehouse or the product participating in the promotion.
If in the case of sending a “hot” commercial offer, the manager can call and remind about himself, then in the case of a “cold” commercial offer, the absence of a restriction kills more than half of sales.
Call to action
The best call to action is a verb in the imperative mood. For example: "Call", "Click", "Write", "Buy", "Place an order", "Order the first batch right now and get a 25% discount"!
By the way, it makes sense to make a call to action not only in a commercial offer, but also on a website, and on a business card, and in an email signature.
Contacts
Do not forget to include contact details: the sender's name and phone numbers, mail, website, depending on what action the client needs to take.
P.S
The final, and at the same time one of the most important elements of all "killer" commercial proposals, is a postscript (P.S.). When used correctly, a postscript becomes a very powerful motivating lever. Practice shows that people read postscripts most often (after the captions under the pictures). That is why, if you want to strengthen your commercial offer, then the cherished letters P.S. must be taken on board.
Mistakes in the preparation of commercial offers
Below is a list of the most common quotation making mistakes that can negatively impact customer experience.
- A detailed story about your company instead of talking about specific benefits for the client. Information about your company is not particularly interesting to anyone. You can talk about the company in one or two sentences, but not in the Offer section, Headline or Introductory paragraph. These sections are needed solely to resolve the issue of the client!
- Unnatural praise of the client. As you know, everything needs a measure, you can praise the client, but outright flattery, coupled with formulaic phrases, will only cause negativity and unwillingness to contact your company.
- The use of critical remarks towards the addressee. Obviously, explicit criticism will not cause positive emotions in the client and will not encourage them to contact your company. You can very gently question the convenience of using a competitive product for a client, but, nevertheless, it is better to talk about the benefits of your product!
- Intimidation of the client or the so-called "horror stories". In no case should you scare the consumer, tell him that something terrible can happen without your help. No negativity or stereotypes. It is worth highlighting the advantages of using products, casually comparing with what is now (use the words: more convenient, more profitable, more efficient), give only specific information.
- Abstruseness. Another common mistake is when a commercial offer is overloaded with an excess of information, and even in wording that is incomprehensible to the reader, which, by the way, includes foreign words and very highly specialized terminology.
Commercial offer design
The design of a commercial offer is based on the main idea - a competitive advantage. It is important that it be displayed visually, i.e. photo or picture. Images in a commercial offer are much more important than text. This is the case when it is better to see once than hear a hundred times.
The power of photos and images in the text is not inferior to the power of the title.
Most effective:
- Photos "before/before"
- The stronger the contrast between "was" and "became", the more attention the image attracts.
- Photos of the object of sale, services;
- Photos of the object of sale or service in use;
- Photos of satisfied customers with an object in their hands;
In addition to pictures and photographs, you must use "Icons" - symbolic designations of objects or actions, for example, a handset icon in front of a phone number, or an envelope icon in front of a form for sending a message or contacts.
Also, in the design of a commercial offer, it is necessary to use branded fonts, colors, graphics and logos.
Check the structure of your offer
Title - A description of the client's key problem or benefit from the collaboration.
Introductory Paragraph – Disclosing the key problem or benefit of the client in more detail.
Offer - a brief description of the solution to the client's key problem or a description of the client's benefit.
Product/service benefits translated into customer benefits. A detailed, point-by-point description of how the benefit of the product or service solves the customer's problem. The most important benefits come at the beginning. Better than 3 main ones, maximum - 6. Differences from competitors can be indicated.