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WHAT’S IN A PROPOSAL?



Are you a new freelancer? Have you cracked the code to getting a potential client interested in the services you have to offer? Well congratulations! It takes a lot of skill to make people want to work with you. There are a lot of basics you need to do right to convert their interest and strike a deal.



The first step is giving them a proposal. A proposal is a detailed report of the unique services you are going to be offering the clients. Make sure that when you write a proposal you highlight the fact that you have a good understanding of your potential clients. Define the client’s requirements in the proposal clearly.

Writing a good proposal is very important. Why you ask? In a proposal, there are a set of commitments you are making to the clients. Writing a good proposal ensures clarity in the deal you are trying to strike with your clients. You are putting down all the knowledge you possess about the deal. Therefore, keep in mind that it is important that you state everything clearly. So, when the deal comes into execution all the stakeholders are on the same page.

“Assumptions are made and most are wrong”

When making a deal, there are a lot of assumptions made on both ends. Make it a point to state the assumptions you are making; however trivial you consider it to be. Each client is unique, thus what you may take for granted with one client may not be the same with another. By stating the assumptions, you are giving an opportunity for your clients to correct you, and ensure a smooth functioning deal between the two stakeholders.

When writing a proposal state all the deliverables you are ready to offer to your client. The deliverables can be broken down by providing the clients a detailed plan of action. The plan of action provides the various milestones for the project. Ensure you include the time and cost you will take for each deliverable. By stating this in the proposal, you give a chance for discussion and a final agreement between both parties. Sometimes in a deal, there will be iterations which the client will want you to work on. Thus, include the costing of those in the proposal as well so there won’t be any assumptions about the costing of those.

The payment for the services you provide depends on the type of project you will be working on. Some projects have just one deliverable and are executed in a short duration of time. Whereas, others are projects which spill over months and sometimes years. In this case the clients will have different payment systems. For small projects the payment is usually made in one or two installments. Whereas for big projects which spill over a long duration the payments are made on the basis of deliverables being completed. Whatever the payment system, ensure a portion of it is made in terms of advance to bind the clients to the contract.

After the clients approve of the proposal, write a detailed contract and get it signed by the clients. Make sure that the contract has all the terms and conditions as well as clauses in the contract. This ensures smooth functioning on an everyday basis and good understanding between each other.

A proposal is the first step to creating an impression with a client. So, it comes down to how you motivate them and finally excite them to want to work with you. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!



A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!


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