November 8, 2026

Why I don’t present proposals live

Yesterday, I explained why presenting a proposal live won’t rescue a bad sales interview.

But even after a good sales interview, I still don’t present proposals live.

I email them.

Here are three reasons why:

It keeps me honest in the sales interview.

If I know I’m going to present the proposal live, I’ll be tempted to get lazy in the sales interview, knowing I’ll have a chance to clear things up during the presentation.

Writing proposals is not fun. I want to be completely done with discovery before I even decide whether I’m going to write a proposal.

I don’t want to negotiate the price live.

I’m a decent negotiator, but it’s not the main part of my job. Lots of savvy price buyers think on their feet faster than I do, so why walk onto a playing field where the odds are stacked against me?

Sending the proposal over via email avoids the possibility of getting into a real-time negotiation with someone who’s better at it than me and agreeing to something I might regret later.

I don’t like meetings.

Bottom line? I don’t like having meetings. So why would I have two when I only need one?

Here’s the thing...

Here’s the goal:

Do a good job in the first meeting, write a proposal that can stand on its own, and email it to the buyer.

It’s not easy, but it is simple.

Practice. You’ll get there.

Yours,

—J