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Get the best out of your
Business Proposals in 2020

The report analyses over $1,480,000,000 of closed deals won through Better Proposals.

Knowledge is power

pc tablet and mobile devices
1.
What devices were your proposals first opened on?
The number of proposals opened first on mobile devices is increasing by the year. In 2020, 37.70% of all proposals were first opened on a mobile device, compared to 34% in 2019. In addition, 39.1% of all proposals were first opened on a PC in 2020, compared to 41.1% in 2019. The takeaway: make sure that you're using proposal software with proposals optimized for mobile devices.


report statistics
Make sure that you're using proposal software with proposals optimized for mobile devices.

2.
How many sections should your proposal have?
Compared to last year, the ideal number of sections for a business proposal has actually increased. The proposals that convert the best have an average of 7 sections total.
Proposals that convert the best have an average of 7 sections total.
business proposal sections

sections 2
2.
How many sections should your proposal have?
Compared to last year, the ideal number of sections for a business proposal has actually increased. The proposals that convert the best have an average of 7 sections total.
Proposals that convert the best have an average of 7 sections total.

proposal printing
3.
Does allowing your client to print your proposal help or not?
Printing is one of the worst things that someone can do with your proposal. Last year, we found out that a printed proposal means a 78% decrease in chances for conversion. This year, the stats are even worse - if someone prints your proposal, you are 84% less likely to win the job.
Avoid anything printed at all costs as it decreases your chances of winning the job by over 84%.

adding a cover
4.
Putting a cover on your proposal
If your proposal has a cover, you are 3.6% more likely to win the job. If that doesn't seem like much, it's probably because all of our proposal templates come with an included cover so the data is slightly skewed here.
If your proposal has a cover, you are 3.6% more likely to win the job.

5.
What should you call your pricing section?
What you call your pricing section matters quite a lot. Avoid calling it plain "pricing", "costs" or "fees" and instead use terms like "Investment", "ROI", "Your Investment" or something similar. Last year, more than half of all signed proposal had some variation of this word and it's no different this year. A landslide victory for Team Investment.
Use terms like "Investment", "ROI", "Your Investment" and similar on your pricing section.
pricing section and investment

pricing part 2
5.
What should you call your pricing section?
What you call your pricing section matters quite a lot. Avoid calling it plain "pricing", "costs" or "fees" and instead use terms like "Investment", "ROI", "Your Investment" or something similar. Last year, more than half of all signed proposal had some variation of this word and it's no different this year. A landslide victory for Team Investment.
Use terms like "Investment", "ROI", "Your Investment" and similar on your pricing section.

Percentage of proposals that got paid
6.
Percentage of proposals that got paid using Better Proposals
67% of all proposals that asked for a payment after signing, got it. They paid using the built-in payment integrations (Stripe, GoCardless or PayPal). This is a healthy increase compared to 52% from last year.
67% of all proposals that asked for a payment using one of our payment integrations, got it.

How long did it take to get paid
7.
How long did it take to get paid?
The average time to get paid through Better Proposals has decreased drastically compared to 2019. The average time it took from signing to getting paid in 2020 is 7 hours and 43 minutes compared to 12 hours and 17 minutes, which is impressive to say the least.
The average time it took from signing to getting paid in 2020 is 7 hours and 43 minutes.

8.
Giving your clients choices with packages and upsells
Traditional sales logic says that you should upsell your customers whenever you can. Putting your pricing in packages lets you increase the value of the individual offer and you can make more money from one customer. However, this does not hold true for business proposals.

Our research showed us that proposals with a single offer fare better. If you have just one choice without upsells or packages, you'll sell for a 16.30% higher fee for offers with initial costs. Moreover, you'll sell for a fee that is 28.50% higher with monthly fees. This is a slight decrease from 2019, from 20.6% and 33%, respectively.
Proposals with a single offer fare better. If you have just one choice without upsells or packages, you'll sell for a 16.30% higher fee.
choices with packages and upsells

choices with packages and upsells
8.
Giving your clients choices with packages and upsells
Traditional sales logic says that you should upsell your customers whenever you can. Putting your pricing in packages lets you increase the value of the individual offer and you can make more money from one customer. However, this does not hold true for business proposals.

Our research showed us that proposals with a single offer fare better. If you have just one choice without upsells or packages, you'll sell for a 16.30% higher fee for offers with initial costs. Moreover, you'll sell for a fee that is 28.50% higher with monthly fees. This is a slight decrease from 2019, from 20.6% and 33%, respectively.
Proposals with a single offer fare better. If you have just one choice without upsells or packages, you'll sell for a 16.30% higher fee.

Should you send your proposal quickly?
9.
Should you send your proposal quickly?
Some people like to wait a few days before sending a proposal in order not to look desperate in front of the client. While this could make sense if you're calling someone after a date, it does not hold true for business proposals as well. Our data says that if you send your proposal within 24 hours from talking to the client, you are 19.1% more likely to seal the deal. This is an improvement over 14% which we got in our research in 2019.
If you send your proposal within 24 hours from talking to the client, you are 19.1% more likely to win the job.

How long does it take to get your proposal signed
10.
If you send it quickly, how long does it take to get your proposal signed?
When you send your proposals quickly, they also get signed sooner. If you send the proposal within 24 hours from meeting with your client, it will get signed within 6 days on average. On the other hand, if you take 3-4 days to send your business proposal, it almost doubles the time it takes for the proposal to get signed - to 11 days and 21 hours. This statistic is within 3 minutes of what it was last year.
If you send the proposal within 24 hours from meeting with client, it will get signed within 6 days on average.

11.
Does it matter what day of the week you send your proposal on?
It doesn't really matter which day you choose to send your business proposal. However, Monday does have a slight advantage as it gives you 1.1% higher chances of converting. It's closely followed by Tuesday. If you end up sending your proposals on the weekend, it won't make a significant difference for conversions either.
Monday does have a slight advantage as it gives you 1.1% higher chances of converting.
day of the week

day of the week
11.
Does it matter what day of the week you send your proposal on?
It doesn't really matter which day you choose to send your business proposal. However, Monday does have a slight advantage as it gives you 1.1% higher chances of converting. It's closely followed by Tuesday. If you end up sending your proposals on the weekend, it won't make a significant difference for conversions either.
Monday does have a slight advantage as it gives you 1.1% higher chances of converting.

avoid sending proposals on Fridays
12.
...and does that impact how long it takes to get it signed?
If you want to get your proposals signed quickly, there is one tip to keep in mind - avoid sending them on Fridays. Because the weekend, it will take an extra day on average to get them signed.
Avoid sending proposals on Fridays to get your proposals signed quickly.

Including video in your web based proposals
13.
Including video in your web based proposals?
Just like last year, adding a video to your business proposal does not make much of a difference for its performance. If your proposal has a video, it will convert 3.80% better than one without any video at all. While this is definitely an improvement over the 1.10% increase we saw in 2019, it is still not a very significant result considering the effort involved in creating it.
Adding a video to your business proposal does not make much of a difference for its convertion rate.

14.
Integrating Live Chat into your web based proposals
Live chat is something you should consider adding to your business proposals. In 2019, proposals that used this feature converted 13.20% better than those without them. This year, the proposals that have live chat as a feature converted 16.85% better. When using this feature, you're making sure you're there in the crucial moment as the client is reading the proposal.
This year, the proposals that have integrated Live Chat into their proposals converted 16.85% better.
Integrating Live Chat into your web based proposals

Integrating Live Chat into your web based proposals
14.
Integrating Live Chat into your web based proposals
Live chat is something you should consider adding to your business proposals. In 2019, proposals that used this feature converted 13.20% better than those without them. This year, the proposals that have live chat as a feature converted 16.85% better. When using this feature, you're making sure you're there in the crucial moment as the client is reading the proposal.
This year, the proposals that have integrated Live Chat into their proposals converted 16.85% better.

How important is branding?
15.
How important is branding?
Better Proposals has a feature where your proposals can appear like they are hosted on your website, such as www.example.com/proposal. That way, you have consistent branding and you'll appear even more professional. This feature increases your chances of winning the deal by as much as 13.40%, which is an improvement over the 7.20% increase we saw in 2019. Make sure to try this feature if you're not using it already.
Have consistent branding and you'll appear even more professional.

CRM integrated
16.
Can you create and send proposals faster with your CRM integrated?
Better Proposals integrates with all the most popular CRM applications in the market today. If you use these integrations, you'll be able to create and send proposals 83.6% faster compared to filling them out manually. This is a slight decrease compared to 86% from last year but it still signifies the importance of connecting your CRM with proposal software.
When you integrate your CRM you'll be able to create and send proposals 83.6% faster

17.
Which pages do people spend the most time on?
One thing that never seems to change is that people spend the most time on two sections in business proposals. In 2020, people who read business proposals on our platform spent 38.2% of the time on the introduction and 27% on the pricing page. That means that all other sections got only 34.8% of the total reading time. Takeaway: Spend extra time on these two sections and ensure they have all the key info on them.
38.2% of the time is spent on the introduction and 27% on the pricing page.
Which pages do people spend the most time on?

Which pages do people spend the most time on?
17.
Which pages do people spend the most time on?
One thing that never seems to change is that people spend the most time on two sections in business proposals. In 2020, people who read business proposals on our platform spent 38.2% of the time on the introduction and 27% on the pricing page. That means that all other sections got only 34.8% of the total reading time. Takeaway: Spend extra time on these two sections and ensure they have all the key info on them.
38.2% of the time is spent on the introduction and 27% on the pricing page.

In summary then...

Here are some simple tips you can use to ensure the next proposal you send is your best.

Make sure it'll look great on mobile
Keep it to 7 sections
Do not send it as a PDF
Put a cover on if it looks nice
Call your pricing page 'Investment'
Use Instant Payments in Better Proposals
Don't give your clients choices like upsells
Send your proposal within 24 hours
Doesn't matter what day you send but Monday is slightly better
Include video if you need to
Use Live Chat integrations within Better Proposals
Ensure your proposal URL is branded
Integrate your CRM with Better Proposals
Focus on introduction and pricing pages





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