What to Include in a B2B PPC Proposal

Joe Vivolo
April 26, 2018

Updated July 2022

Nailing the B2B PPC proposal is crucial to growing your agency or marketing firm. Getting it right can be the difference between signing a new client or hearing they decided to “go in a different direction.”

It can be easy to fall into the trap of sending the same long-form statement of work to each potential prospect. In many cases, this may make sense. Most successful marketers have a solid roadmap that covers the services, platforms, technology, reporting, and analytics they deliver.

However, the B2B PPC space is getting smarter, faster, and more demanding. Marketers and brands are bombarded with potential advertising and technology partnerships. For B2B marketing decision-makers, it can be time-consuming (and often frustrating) to sift through multiple contracts and determine the best fit for their organization.

To help your proposal stand out, focus on the value you deliver and your organization’s core strengths, then customize your proposal to the potential client’s brand and goals.

Today, I’ll share the key elements of an excellent statement of work. Ultimately, every proposal should be tailored not only to your strengths but also to the objectives of the project. Here are key areas to include to improve your chances of landing your next PPC client.

Outline Goals & Objectives

Start by identifying the project’s goals and how your firm’s unique strengths fit into making those goals achievable. For example, do you have experience in their industry? Does your team have experience or insights other firms may not?

Key questions to answer include:

What are the program objectives?

Is it to generate awareness for a brand or specific initiative?
Is it to generate qualified leads?
Drive conversions?

What metrics will you use to define success and why?

Is it a cost-per-lead metric?
Is it the net number of marketing qualified leads?
Is it through program ROI?

Goals help you create a good faith agreement that frames program success. While there may be some instances where the client does not or can not accurately pinpoint this information, your proposal should be as clear and concise about program goals and objectives as possible. In some cases, you may list why specific metrics are a better fit based on the campaign’s overall goals and share brief statements about how you will help them achieve those goals.

Share the Onboarding Process

Once you’ve outlined the program’s goals, take the time to briefly explain the onboarding process. This will outline how you take custody of their advertising channels, how you’ll manage their PPC accounts, and what the pre-work auditing process looks like. It’s important to show how you will ensure a seamless transition and should also reflect a clear and deep insight into the client’s target audience.

Clearly list the advertising accounts and platforms you need access to. For example, if the program calls for the day-to-day management of a Google Ads account, the proposal should detail the steps of transferring the account into your client center, as well as set timeframe expectations of how long the process will take, and specifically, when or how long after transition you will be responsible for overseeing account activities.

Consider adding information about the impact of delays if you aren’t provided access in a timely manner.

Demonstrate Knowledge of the Client’s Business

A great proposal is more than just a contract; it is a tool that helps lead prospects through your sales funnel and provides an opportunity to further highlight your firm’s strengths and attention to detail. Use the proposal to show you understand their market and the audience you’ll be engaging with.

Consider including some of these data points:

Keyword search estimates (Google Keyword Planner is helpful here) for all major keyword themes. Include competitiveness, cost, and volume.
- Brainstorm possible keywords for the prospect that they may not currently be bidding on (use our Keyword List Generator tool).
Industry benchmark data or any industry-specific data points that influence strategic decision-making.
Target audience details demonstrate a strong understanding of the client’s key buyer personas. Describe the key audience, the types of tools or strategies you have to access that audience, and what (if any) experience your team has engaging similar personas. Sharing case studies can be helpful here, as well.

This last point is crucial. Not only does this succinctly convey your depth of knowledge of the client’s business, it will ultimately allow you to better target the audience through keyword selection, content channels, and advertising copy.

Your B2B PPC proposal is an opportunity to differentiate yourself from potential competitors by sharing all the ways you’ve engaged with a particular audience previously. This shows you are familiar with their audience and understand how to convince them to covert.

Share Ongoing Program Initiatives

The next part of your proposal should include ongoing initiatives and how they will impact the overall program.

Here are a few things to consider including:

What advertising channels will you utilize? What is the launch or roll-out schedule? Do you expect to have a slow burn and continue to explore new channels and platforms or will you begin day one with multiple platforms?
What does the feedback loop look like? Do you require client sign-off on ad creative changes?
How often will you have review meetings?
What deliverable items can the client expect to receive from you and at what frequency?

Reporting and Analysis Expectations

Defining and setting clear expectations on reporting and analysis within the proposal helps start the relationship off on the right foot. Offer direct and easy-to-comprehend timeframe expectations of reports and ongoing analysis. Key details to include:

How often will you provide reporting? Is it available via a real-time dashboard or delivered at a specific frequency?
What is the single source of truth for reporting? Do you integrate into the back-end or CRM for lead quality analysis?
What KPIs will you report regularly?
What type of executive reports will you provide? Will they be sent weekly, monthly, or at another frequency.
Will you deliver feedback via email or in a meeting? Who will be the point of contact for questions?

Sharing examples of past executive reports can be helpful at this stage. You may choose to include dummy data, but even a generic example can help the client understand what data they’ll receive and how the reports will look.

Stand Out With the Right B2B PPC Proposal

A B2B PPC proposal helps differentiate your firm from the dozens of others your prospective client could engage with. It should leave the client with an extremely clear understanding of what your team can do for them and how you will achieve the goal. Using a PPC proposal template can be useful to streamline the process; just make sure to adjust each proposal to the client and audience you’re targeting.