If you’re in B2B sales or running a go-to-market team, you know proposals can be a nightmare. Messy docs, version mix-ups, and chasing signatures—it’s enough to make anyone want to hide under their desk. Tools like Proposify promise to fix all that. But let’s be real: not every feature they wave in front of you is worth your time. If you’re wondering what actually matters when picking Proposify as your proposal platform, this guide is for you.
I’ll walk you through the features that aren’t just nice-to-have, but actually move the needle—and call out the ones you can probably skip. Whether you’re the one building proposals or the one chasing down revenue, you’ll get practical advice, not marketing fluff.
Who Should Care About This?
- Sales leaders who want their team to spend less time on paperwork and more time closing.
- RevOps folks trying to wrangle process chaos into something repeatable.
- Anyone tired of proposals lost in email or stuck in “legal limbo.”
If you’re sending proposals for deals big enough to matter, but not so custom you need a consultant every time, keep reading.
1. Proposal Creation: Templates, Editor, and Flexibility
Why It Matters
Fast, repeatable proposals are the foundation of scaling B2B sales. If your team is rebuilding from scratch every time, you’re wasting hours and introducing risk.
What to Look For
- Templates: Can you create reusable, on-brand templates for different deal types? Good templates mean new reps can build a solid proposal in minutes, not hours.
- Editor Experience: Is the editor intuitive, or will your team need a tutorial every time? Drag-and-drop is good, but too many bells and whistles slow things down.
- Content Library: Storing (and reusing) approved snippets—case studies, T&Cs, pricing tables—saves grief and keeps messaging consistent.
- Brand Control: Can you lock down fonts, logos, and colors? If not, expect “creative” proposals that make your brand team cringe.
What’s Overhyped
- Design Tricks: Animated GIFs and fancy backgrounds look cool in demos, but most clients just want clarity. Don’t get distracted.
Pro tip: Before you buy, have your least tech-savvy rep build a sample proposal. If they get stuck, your rollout will be painful.
2. Collaboration and Workflow
Why It Matters
B2B proposals are rarely solo projects. You’ll need input from legal, finance, and maybe a manager who’s never seen the inside of a proposal tool.
What to Look For
- Internal Comments/Approvals: Can your team annotate, suggest edits, and request approvals without endless email chains?
- Roles and Permissions: Not everyone needs to edit pricing. Make sure you can control who does what.
- Version Control: If you’ve ever sent the wrong draft to a client, you know how important this is.
What’s Overhyped
- Real-Time Editing: It’s handy, but most teams don’t need Google Docs-level collaboration. As long as you can track changes and comments, you’re set.
Pro tip: Look for a clear audit trail. When deals go sideways, you’ll want to know who changed what, and when.
3. E-Signatures and Deal Closing
Why It Matters
You want to move deals forward, not play “find the PDF” with your clients. Built-in e-signature is the difference between closing in hours versus days.
What to Look For
- Legally Binding E-Signatures: Not all e-signatures are created equal. Make sure Proposify’s comply with regulations in your country.
- Multi-Signer Support: Can more than one person sign, in the right order? This is huge for complex deals.
- Notifications: You want a ping when your client opens, signs, or (let’s be honest) ignores your proposal.
What’s Overhyped
- Signature Animation: Yes, it’s neat that the signature animates on screen. No, it doesn’t help you close the deal.
Pro tip: Test the signing experience with someone outside your company. If it feels clunky, clients will drag their feet.
4. CRM and Workflow Integrations
Why It Matters
Your proposal tool should talk to the rest of your stack. If it doesn’t, you’re back to copy-paste hell.
What to Look For
- Direct CRM Integration: Does Proposify connect with Salesforce, HubSpot, or whatever CRM you actually use? Automatic deal updates save headaches.
- Two-Way Sync: Not just pushing data one way. Can updates in your CRM flow back into Proposify?
- Calendar and Email: Can you send proposals from your own email address, or is it some weird “noreply” domain?
- API Access: If you have custom workflows, an open API is a must. Beware of “integrations” that just export a CSV.
What’s Overhyped
- Zapier Connectors: Zapier is handy, but it’s not a substitute for a native, well-built integration.
Pro tip: Connect a test CRM and run through a full proposal cycle before you commit. Bugs show up fast when real data is involved.
5. Analytics and Tracking
Why It Matters
You can’t improve what you can’t see. Good proposal analytics tell you which deals are moving and which are dead in the water.
What to Look For
- Proposal View Notifications: Get alerts when your prospect opens, forwards, or lingers on a section.
- Deal Stage Tracking: See exactly where proposals get stuck—pricing, legal, whatever.
- Performance Dashboards: Can you spot patterns across your team? Which templates close fastest? Where do deals die?
What’s Overhyped
- Heatmaps: Knowing someone stared at page 4 for 30 seconds isn’t actionable for most teams. Focus on the basics: opened, viewed, signed.
Pro tip: Use analytics to coach reps. If you see everyone getting stuck on the same section, it’s time to rewrite it.
6. Security, Compliance, and Access Controls
Why It Matters
If you’re sending out pricing or contracts, you need to keep that info safe. Period.
What to Look For
- Granular Permissions: Lock down sensitive info. You don’t want interns editing pricing tables.
- Data Residency/Compliance: If you’re in a regulated industry or work with EU clients, check for GDPR and other compliance basics.
- Audit Logs: If something goes wrong, you’ll want the receipts.
What’s Overhyped
- Military-Grade Security: Everyone says this. What matters is: Is there 2FA? Is data encrypted at rest? Are access logs easy to review?
Pro tip: Ask your IT/security lead to review Proposify’s documentation before rolling it out company-wide.
7. Customer Support and Onboarding
Why It Matters
Even the best tools break, or at least confuse people. If support is slow or useless, small problems turn into big ones.
What to Look For
- Live Chat and Human Support: Waiting days for a response isn’t an option when a deal’s on the line.
- Onboarding Help: Look for walkthroughs, guides, and someone you can actually talk to if you get stuck.
- Community and Resources: Sometimes user forums save the day.
What’s Overhyped
- AI Chatbots: They’re fine for FAQs. For anything complex, you want a real human.
Pro tip: Reach out to support with a fake issue before you buy. You’ll get a taste of what to expect under pressure.
Features You Can (Usually) Ignore
Not every shiny feature is worth your attention. Here’s what’s safe to skip—at least until the basics are humming:
- Video Embeds: Unless your deals are super consultative, videos in proposals don’t move the needle.
- Mobile Editing: Would you really build a proposal on your phone? Reading, maybe. Editing, probably not.
- “AI Proposal Writing”: Early days. If you can’t trust it with real numbers or strategy, don’t use it for client-facing docs.
Wrap Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Get Distracted
You don’t need every feature under the sun. Get proposal basics right—templates, e-signatures, CRM sync, analytics—and you’ll save your team hours and close deals faster. Ignore the flash, focus on usability, and test with your actual workflows before rolling out.
Start simple. Once you’re comfortable, add more bells and whistles as you need them. The best B2B proposal process is the one your team actually uses—so keep it practical, keep it clean, and keep moving deals forward.