Comments on: How to spend less time writing proposals (and still land the gig!)

By: Katherine Andes

Katherine Andes — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:21:36 +0000

Thanks, Heather. I need to do two estimates today for SEO copywriting and I’ve been dreading them. Not so much that I do long proposals, I learned that lesson a long time ago … I just still hate the pricing thang! I especially liked your #5,6,7 … I think I’m not doing what I should there, so I’ll print out your article before I do my estimates. Thanks, again.

By: Peter Wise

Peter Wise — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:32:40 +0000

Excellent points, thanks Heather. I also go for an initial chat first with a rough outline of possible costs…helps weed out the timewasters!

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:18:58 +0000

Nice – I love it! Thanks for your comment!

By: James Daniel

James Daniel — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:45:08 +0000

I’ve found it helps to give the proposal a title that matches a stated objective, e.g. “Increasing online sales through organic search traffic”. If it feels like a direct response to the brief (and it’s phrased to suit the reader’s way of talking) they’re generally more likely to give it the time of day.

By: Anderson Curry

Anderson Curry — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:32:30 +0000

Awesome post Heather..

By: Teresa

Teresa — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:22:04 +0000

Great post! Nothing was more frustrating that spending a hour+ writing a proposal only to get a no when I was first starting out! I think this is why the majority of people who start out give up.

By: craig wright

craig wright — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:12:13 +0000

Another great post. Maybe I am a bit unusual, but I don’t spend a lot of time on proposals at all! I just give a quick overview of what I think their existing site is failing to do, then mention of the benefits I can offer and the type of approach I will take. I don’t give too much away about what I am going to do and just keep things simple and honest. I’d say this is usually about 3-4 paragraphs. If the client wants more details, we can discuss those later.

This approach seems to appeal to clients who don’t want a hard sell or to hear lots of self-promotion from a copywriter.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:27:09 +0000

I’d flesh out point 3 a little bit more. In my view, it’s not just asking the prospect what s/he needs to see: it’s about identifying the prospect’s PROBLEM. WHY do they need to hire someone right now? What is causing them pain?

If you can identify these issues, and can explain how you will solve them, you’ve dramatically increased your chance of making a sale.

By: Lyena Solomon

Lyena Solomon — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:03:09 +0000

Heather,
You outlined some great points. It took me a while to figure out that, as you said, “proposal is not billable work”. The prospect of a new project gets us excited, we have all those ideas going, see potential… And end up working instead of offering our services. Some companies gather proposals just for that – ideas to give to their chosen company.
These days my proposals are mostly legal agreements. They protect me and protect my client. I include generic scope, what’s included (phone calls, emails, presentations, training, etc.) and that’s it. The rest I cover in the initial phone call.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:28:01 +0000

Hey Scott – I’m glad that you enjoyed the post! Let us know how your new approach works for you! May you land many new gigs…:)