We wrote a blog earlier this year about how we run into companies that are using Excel or Google Sheets as a sales funnel, which makes it hard for sales reps to share information, makes it hard to collaborate, and makes it hard for the sales manager or owner to see what is really in the funnel.
Some of the companies we have worked with have separate applications--or separate spreadsheets--that they use to create custom proposals for each prospect. These proposals can be quite elaborate, including multiple options, images, .discounting, branding, etc. But, as with the sales process, the proposals aren't centralized, they aren't shared, and they are hard to manage.
On a side note, some companies we run into have no standard proposals at all. Our partner, Jim, recently got three quotes for having his roof redone. Two of the quotes were verbal and one of the companies had to ask what they had quoted him.
If your company struggles to create and manage professional proposals, we'd love to chat to see if we can help. In many cases, we can build a custom proposal application that connects with your sales process and also feeds information into your accounting system