FFN #43: Crafting Winning Proposals to Attract Top Tier Clients

⏰ How Much Time Should I Spend?

The amount of time you spend will heavily depend on what the project scope is. If it’s four blog posts then you probably wouldn’t be spending as much time crafting your proposal versus if you were writing a proposal for a retainer client. For longer projects or retainer clients, I like to spend an hour to three drafting the proposal as I will touch on several different stages of the work.

📚 They Might Read a Book by its Cover

When crafting your proposal, first impressions are crucial. Include a neat cover letter that introduces yourself, thanks them for the opportunity and then outlines briefly what they can expect in your proposal. The way you sound can greatly affect how people perceive you as a professional. When I’m crafting proposals I think who I am speaking to, a young tech start-up up will likely have a different tone of voice to a seasoned bank client. 

✍🏼 Time for Specifics

Once you’ve written your executive summary, it’s time to get down to the specifics. This is where you tell the client exactly what you’re proposing, deliverables, timeline and exact responsibilities. Think of it as a job description for those of you who used to be corporate girlies. The aim of this section is that there is no doubt from the client of what you’re here to do. It’s a great place to set boundaries. I like to format this section into bullet points so that it’s easier for the reader to digest. For example, if you were a freelance writer you would split your proposal into; researching topics and content, writing an outline, SEO content writing, editing and uploading.

✨‍ The Final Touches    

It’s not all about money - until it is. Whether we like it or not pricing is sometimes the most important decision in some client’s hiring process. This doesn’t mean dropping your prices, what I mean is most clients are looking for a great return on investment. It’s crucial to show them you’re running a professional freelance business. You can do this by clearly outlining your rate, as well as providing social proof through testimonials and case studies. Include an honest about me or why you should work with me section. While your proposal, executive summary and pricing need to be detailed and professional, your about me section can speak directly to the client. Focus on what makes you unique and explain where you see a connection between you and the client’s project. Don’t be afraid to make a joke or two. Speak honestly and tell them why you’re the perfect person to solve the client’s problem.

Unreal

You might be thinking, okay but they’re just chocolate-covered pretzels. Hear us out because they’re really good chocolate-covered pretzels. Like, eat an entire pack instead of dinner type of good. They’re made with perfectly crisp, lightly salted grain-free mini pretzels, and they’re covered in actual fair-trade chocolate rather than some kind of chalky chocolate-flavoured candy coating.