How to Run a Pre-Proposal Review (and Why Most ERP Deals Skip It)
Most ERP deals don't die in the demo. They die after it—when the reseller sends a proposal to people who were never qualified, never engaged at the right level, and never aligned on why they're buying.
A pre-proposal review is a short, structured checkpoint before you issue pricing. Not a CRM tick-box. A deliberate decision: propose now, fix gaps first, or walk away.
Most resellers skip it because proposals feel like progress. They're not. A proposal sent too early is expensive hope.
What a pre-proposal review is
Twenty to thirty minutes where you stop selling and interrogate the deal. You review what you know, what you're assuming, and what's missing.
The output isn't a longer deck. It's clarity on authority, timing, money, risk, and value. If you can't articulate those five things, you're not ready to propose—you're ready to be ghosted.
Why deals stall when you skip it
When you skip the review:
- Proposals land with someone who can't sign
- Timelines were never tested against real approval
- Budget was assumed, not confirmed
- Blockers stayed hidden until after pricing went out
- Value was never agreed—only features were demoed
The prospect goes quiet not because your price is wrong. Because the deal was never qualified to survive a proposal.
Five questions you must answer before you issue a proposal
Validate these with your champion before you send anything.
1. Who signs off — and do we have them engaged?
Name the economic buyer. A person, a role, and evidence they've participated: exec briefing, workshop, or direct alignment on scope.
If only middle management has seen your solution, you're not proposing. You're fishing.
2. What is the decision timeline?
Get specific: board date, budget cycle, go-live target. Work backwards from their deadline to proposal, legal, and project start.
If they can't give a date, ask what must happen first. No timeline usually means no urgency.
3. Is there a budget confirmed or assumed?
Confirmed means a number, a source, and an approval path. Assumed means you're creating sticker shock.
Be direct: "What budget range is set aside, and who releases it?" If the answer is vague, you're running a pricing experiment at your own cost.
4. What would stop this deal going ahead?
Force the negatives out: status quo, competitor, internal build, failed past implementation, change fatigue.
If you can't name two real risks, you haven't asked hard enough. Every deal has them. Strong sellers surface them before the proposal.
5. Have we confirmed the commercial value justifies the investment?
Buyers don't sign for modules. They sign because staying as they are costs more than changing.
Before you propose, state their problem in their language with agreed impact: wasted hours, stock errors, reporting delays, margin leakage. No documented value means your proposal is a price list. Price lists get compared. Value gets funded.
How to run it in practice
- Internal huddle — Seller and presales walk the five questions. Red-flag anything "probably fine."
- Champion call — Close the gaps. Don't use the proposal as a discovery tool.
- Go / no-go — Propose, pause, or disqualify. Pausing feels slow. It's faster than an eight-week chase to nowhere.
Final thought
Average resellers measure demos and proposals sent. Strong ones measure deals qualified before pricing went out.
A pre-proposal review won't win every deal. It will stop you wasting time on deals that were never going to close—and sharpen the ones you do send.
Skip it, and you're not accelerating the sale. You're delaying the no.
