Your proposal process could be the only barrier between you and a promising new client. Let’s face it - most agencies don’t use one. And if it’s not great, your proposal workflow is disrupted, due to a lack of alignment in team, messaging or terms, generating even one proposal can be a daunting task.
One way to get it right, is to consider using a proposal software. It will add process to pitching, will give you consistency so you can improve your win rate, and most importantly will save your time. Oh, and there is one other advantage you might encounter - it might actually make it fun (disclaimer - nerd alert).
The software you use to create proposals and respond to requests for proposal (RFPs) should be an ally rather than a cumbersome, time-consuming and error-prone adversary.
In this post, we'll review the top proposal software solutions that can help you create a seamless client proposal process, improve your win rate, and help you head to the bar/beach/slopes quicker :-).
Better Proposals
Our team uses Better Proposals software to increase our chances of winning deals. This tool offers a range of features that we find very useful. For instance, the proposal editor is simple and elegant, while the content library provides over 160 templates, making it easy to build a repeatable proposal process. Additionally, the software allows you to send proposals in more than 22 languages.
Better Proposals is a mature sales proposal automation tool, ideal for modern agencies and sales teams. Its intelligent pricing feature includes an optional upsell called the "Bolt-On" feature, and live chat is also available. The e-signature and payment integration make it easy for clients to pay directly from the proposal.
Best suited for: Mid-to-large agencies and sales teams that prioritize functionality, elegance, and integrations.
Integrates: Yes with many major CRMs, such as Salesforce, Pipedrive, and HubSpot, and most major live chats like Drift and Intercom. With Zapier, it connects to over 2,000 apps.
Templates: Yes.
Cons: Lacks audit trail or version control features. Zapier integration is only available with bigger plans.
Pricing: Starts at $19 per user per month.
Get Accept
Get Accept is an impressive tool that can help increase your chances of winning deals by delivering relevant content, engaging stakeholders, and providing a seamless buying experience. It offers prospects the option to receive the contract via email or SMS and sign it on any device, anywhere, and at any time. What sets Get Accept apart is its ability to identify new stakeholders, track their interactions with your content, and collaborate with buyers through its chat feature to seal the deal.
This platform is well-suited for professional service companies and seamlessly integrates with your CRM and over 500 other tools.
Best suited for: Small- to medium-sized agencies and sales teams who value a smooth and intuitive customer journey.
Integrations: Yes (QuickBooks, Stripe, PayPal, major CRMs like Salesforce, Pipedrive, and HubSpot; and popular collaboration tools like Slack, Dropbox, Google, and Microsoft Suites).
Templates: Yes.
Cons: Some integrations (such as the Microsoft suite) require additional fees, and branding options are limited on lower-priced plans.
Pricing: Starts at $15 per user per month.
PandaDoc
PandaDoc has established itself as a prominent player in the proposal and CPQ software market, catering to a wide range of clients, from individuals to enterprise-level sales teams. Its doc-based, drag-and-drop proposal editor allows teams to create visually stunning proposals that seamlessly incorporate terms negotiation and adjustment in real-time with clients.
Moreover, PandaDoc provides options to collect legally binding e-signatures, live chat with clients, set highly nuanced pricing terms, and track customer engagement. With integrations to various payment and CRM platforms, storage apps, and a Zapier connector to over 2K+ apps, PandaDoc ensures seamless workflow and ease of use.
Best suited for: A wide range of clients from individuals to enterprise-level sales teams.
Integrations: Yes (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Quickbooks Payments, Authorize.net; most major CRMs including Salesforce, Pipedrive, and HubSpot; storage apps like Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive; plus Zapier connects it to 2K+ apps).
Templates: Yes.
Cons: Some users may face challenges in data integration from CRMs or having proposals marked as spam.
Pricing: The e-sign functionality is free, and plans start at $9 per user per month.
Quoters
Quoters is a software that enables users to quickly create, monitor, and electronically sign high-converting proposals and contracts. This tool offers all the essential features required to expedite the proposal process and avoid common errors found in other proposal software.
Quoters boasts of an intuitive proposal editor, version control, reusable sections, and customizable white-label branding. Users can create custom URLs and leverage the rate library to simplify pricing tables. Additionally, the tool is device-agnostic and allows for uploads from platforms like Unsplash, Google Drive, and YouTube.
Best suited for: Freelancers, agencies, and sales teams seeking fast, repeatable proposal software.
Integrations: Yes (Zapier can integrate with various apps).
Templates: Yes.
Cons: It is a newer product, with fewer analytics capabilities, but the company plans to add more in the future.
Pricing: Plans start at $6 per user per month.
Nusii
Nusii is a proposal-building tool designed specifically for creative teams who need to quickly generate impressive proposals while saving content. With its user-friendly proposal editor, Nusii allows you to customize and personalize your proposals. The platform also includes proposal notifications, allowing you to see when clients open proposals, and generate client reports for ongoing customers.
Nusii stands out with its unique templates that are story-like in nature, allowing creatives to effectively convey who they are and why they are the perfect fit for the project, before moving on to e-signatures and other business-related matters.
Best suited for: Creative agencies and freelancers.
Integrations: Yes, Nusii is integrated with Drift, Highrise, Stripe, and can also be connected to over 2,000 apps via Zapier.
Templates: Yes, including free downloadable templates.
Cons: Some users feel that Nusii is too simplistic, while others struggle with the pricing configurations.
Pricing: Nusii's pricing starts at $29 per month,
Loopio
Loopio is a software designed to automate the time-consuming RFP response process for large teams. Customers praise its user interface, ease of use, and customer support. Loopio offers automated answer suggestions from your content library to kickstart the process. It also ensures the library's content is up-to-date with automated content freshness scores and answer updates.
Moreover, you can save attachments in a library and work in multiple languages. The Chrome Extension also enables access and delivery of saved content wherever you're working. Loopio allows you to work collaboratively and efficiently to send RFPs out faster.
Best suited for: Large companies and agencies that focus on responding to RFPs, RFIs, DDQs, and security questionnaires.
Integrations: Yes (Salesforce, Slack, Okta, Centrify, Microsoft, Auth0, and more).
Templates: Not provided.
Cons: No e-signature feature, some users may face challenges in formatting images in proposals.
Pricing: Not provided.
Quotient
Quotient is a unique quoting software that distinguishes itself from other tools in this list. Its simplicity is worth mentioning. You can easily add your offerings, generate a link, share it, chat with your customers on each proposal, and allow them to accept terms. This straightforward approach is quite refreshing.
The software allows customers to select from optional or multiple-choice line items. Furthermore, the feature-packed dashboard comes with advanced open-rate tracking and analytics.
Best suited for: service businesses, freelancers, small agencies, and boutique/niche businesses.
Integrations: Yes with Xero, Quickbooks, Mailchimp, Zapier, Capsule, Insightly, Highrise, and Webhooks API, and templates to facilitate your workflow.
Templates: Yes.
Cons: Does not support e-signatures and lacks the deposit capability. However, it is still a fantastic tool for generating quotes.
Pricing: Starts at $25 per user per month.
Propfire
If you are seeking a software solution to create and embed template proposals like landing pages on your website, consider Propfire. This tool is ideal for businesses that have productized their services and want to streamline the communication process with potential clients. Propfire is accessible on all devices, making it a great choice for agencies, freelancers, or web specialists who want to create and view proposals on-the-go.
Propfire offers templates, although some customization may be required. While the tool's integrations are unclear, it is designed for single-user use and has limited integrations.
Best suited for: Small to mid-sized agencies, freelancers, or web specialists who want to embed proposals on their website.
Integrations: Unclear.
Templates: Yes, but some customization may be required.
Cons: Not intended for multi-user use, limited integrations.
Pricing: Starts at $8 per month.
Qwirl
Your sales and marketing papers, such as proposals and presentations, can be converted into interactive web pages using the state-of-the-art software Qwilr. You can utilize simple-to-use "blocks" to make proposals that are visually attractive. Additionally, Qwilr offers interactive pricing features that let customers easily alter quotes, choose options, e-sign documents, and make payments.
Real-time editing on Qwilr facilitates collaboration while giving admins control over who can make changes. When clients open proposals via email or Slack, the software notifies you. You can update shared documents at any time. The audit trail tool also offers comprehensive analytics about the effectiveness of your sales staff.
Best suited for: Teams looking for more flexibility beyond traditional proposal software
Integrations: Yes.
Templates: Yes.
Cons: Some users find the mobile functionality limited, and the block editor can be limiting at times.
Pricing: starts at $66 per month for 3 users.
Proposify
Proposify is a proposal software tool that offers exceptional branding. This software tool enables you to create contemporary proposals, contracts, agreements, and quotes with e-signatures, ensuring that you remain organized and compliant. Additionally, Proposify focuses on workflow automation by providing various integrations to accelerate your work processes.
With Proposify, you can keep up-to-date with in-depth notifications about proposal metrics, including how long a client viewed a specific proposal section. Also, you can add interactive fee tables and establish a content library for pre-approved descriptions and sections for each proposal.
Best suited for: Sales teams, larger agencies, and enterprises.
Integrations: Yes.
Templates: Yes.
Cons: Some users complain about the proposal editor's inflexibility and slowness, while the middle-tier plan comes with a quarterly pricing model.
Pricing: Starts at $19 per user per month.
DIY Proposals with Free Templates
If you prefer, you can create proposals from scratch using various software such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Canva, Apple Pages, Adobe Spark, InDesign, or Notion. Simply choose a template and upload it to your preferred software, then export it to PDF and send it to your client. While this option may not be as sophisticated, automated, or feature-rich, it can still get the job done. Some software like Notion, Adobe Spark, and Apple Pages have visually appealing templates for creating proposals. Additionally, Canva offers various templates to choose from.
Most of these templates are free, but you may choose to purchase a template or license software that suits your needs. To track proposals, you can use a free CRM like HubSpot to monitor whether clients have opened emails. Moreover, add-ons like SmartDocs for Word provide plug-and-play content library functionality.
Best suited for: Agencies with a limited budget, beginners, and those who require quick proposal turnaround times.
Integrations: Partially available.
Templates: Refer above.
Cons: Lacks auto-acceptance, payment integrations, analytics, or live chat. Visual appeal may also depend on the software and individual preferences.
Pricing: Varies - depends on whether the software is free, licensed or subscription-based.
Summary
Let’s admit it - a well-defined proposal workflow is crucial for the success of an agency. Having a streamlined process in place can help you impress potential clients and win their business with ease. On the other hand, being disorganized and unprepared can be extremely stressful and may cause you to lose important clients. Besides, it reduces your freedom.
Don't risk missing out on valuable opportunities. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the abundance of proposal software available, we've compiled a list to help you narrow down your options. Define your goals, consider your budget and use cases, and choose the proposal software that will help you achieve the streamlined process you need to succeed.