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Freelance Pricing Part 2 - Quoting To Win!
The Proposal
Now that you’ve completed the estimation worksheet, you’re ready to begin to write your proposal. Keep in mind that a good proposal demonstrates your complete understanding of the client's needs, your ability to satisfy those needs, and the action that you are going to take in order to achieve those needs. Every proposal should contain these elements:
- A Cover Letter
- The Proposal
- Any Supporting Documentation
Cover Letter
The cover letter summarizes:
- Why you’re sending the proposal
- What the proposal is for
- What will be done next and when
- Any differences between what the client asked for, and what you have proposed
Proposal
The proposal is the meat and potatoes of the package. Aim for a concise yet powerful and persuasive document. Make sure your proposal is easy to understand, is arranged in a logical order, and answers these questions:
- What will you do?
- Why will you do it this way?
- How will you do it?
- How much will you do it for?
- When will you do it?
Every proposal should begin with an introductory paragraph. Summarize any information that has already been discussed in conversations or correspondence with the client, to convey that you understand the client's needs and wants. Next, summarize what the proposal will include.
The next few paragraphs will contain the solid content of the proposal. Include:
- A description of the actions you’ll take in order to meet the needs of the client, and what the outcome of this will be.
- An explanation of your skills and talents (as appropriate to the particular job), and why you’re perfect for this gig.
- An outline of the total cost of the project.
- An estimation of your time estimates for the project.
- Information on how you’d like to be paid, and what payment schedule you’d prefer.
Supporting Documentation
You might want to send some supporting documents along with the proposal package, such as:
- Your resume
- Information about your business
- Recent client list and testimonials
- Examples of projects
- Quotation Worksheet
Now that you’re ready to write the proposal, you might want to consider "dumbing it down" a little. Us computer geeks mightn't realize it, but not everyone knows what “cgi” or “asp” is. If you think a particular word might be over your client's head, don't use it, or explain what it means (but be sure not to insult your client's intelligence!).
Look at things from the client's perspective. You might even want to put yourself in his shoes and write a proposal that you think he would like to hear, however, never lie. It might be tempting to embellish your skills, talents, education, or experience, but this is illegal, as well as immoral.
Try to use a conversational yet professional tone in your proposal. Translate your services clearly into client benefits. All potential clients want to hear how you can raise their profit margin or cut the cost of something here or there. Take this approach throughout your proposal. Not only will it make you look knowledgeable, but it will also help justify in their minds that they need to hire you.
After you’ve written the proposal, review it carefully.
- Have you met all the criteria that the client will be sure to look for?
- Have you checked for spelling and grammatical mistakes?
- Is the proposal clear and concise?
- Have you addressed all major concerns?
- Have you outlined all the major benefits of hiring you?
- Is everything that you have written accurate?
Now, to help you begin work on your pitch, why not take a look at the following proposal template...