33. A peek inside my proposals

Intro

Welcome to 15 Minute Freelancer, your snack-sized guide to being your own boss and building a business and life you love. I'm your host Louise Shanahan. My LinkedIn bio says I'm a freelance health copywriter. But for the next 15 minutes I'll be tickling your ears with practical strategies behind the scenes stories and nuggets of wisdom so you can create freelance business that works for you. Whether you're just starting out or you've been self-employed for a while, I'll be right here with you to help me navigate the ups and downs of freelancing life. So grab a coffee, relax and join me for 15 minutes of freelancing fun. Don't forget to hit subscribe. 

Hello everyone, I’m back after a couple of week’s break! Honestly, taking time off is one of the things I find hardest about freelancing. Somehow I just book in more projects and then another one and then something else comes up and then before I know it, it’s August and I haven’t had any time off since Christmas. I hope that doesn’t sound like a humblebrag because it really isn’t meant to be, I’m not proud of it. Of course it’s nice to be busy, but working non-stop is not why I started this business, even if I love it most of the time – getting better at taking time off and actually making the most of the freedom freelancing affords me is something I want to work at over the next few months. If you or someone you know has this nailed down, please let me know – I’d love to have them come on the podcast and chat about their secret strategies for taking bigger chunks of time off.

Anyway, I’m excited to be back. My head is bursting with ideas, I’m looking forward to getting stuck back in to work and this podcast, this is why I never take time off, ha. I’ve got several brilliant guests lined up, so keep an ear out for those.

Today I want to talk about proposals – specifically when to send them, what to put in them, when to follow up, and a sneaky trick to save a whole lot of time and effort by skipping proposals altogether and replacing them with an info kit. So if that sounds interesting to you, if you find proposals to be a total time suck, or if you've heard of info kits and are curious about how it works, hang around and I will give you a whistle-stop of my processes in the next 15 mins. I’m in a slightly noisy-ish room so apologies if there’s a bit of rumbling in the background. But done is better than perfect so here we go!

As you know, I am a copywriter, so the things I put in my proposals will be different to the kinds of things you might include if you're creating a proposal as a web designer or a strategy consultant or giving a quote as a landscape gardener or whatever. So as usual, ignore the bits that aren't relevant, and adapt as you see fit. But the principles I think will be pretty similar - the point in a proposal is to identify what an interested potential client needs and wants, tell them how you will deliver that, tell them how long it will take and tell them how much it will cost. Of course there are other bits and bobs, but those are the main elements.

So first of all, do you need to write a proposal? Couldn't you just jot all that down in an email, or chat it over on a phone call? Does it need to be a separate doc? Well, yeah, you can do all of those things. A proposal could be an email, a Google doc, a fancy pdf, or even a video! You could skip the proposal altogether and send a contract or statement of work for the client to sign. Whatever works for you. Whatever makes it easiest for you to communicate your approach so the client can say yes.

For me, usually I send a proposal or info kit in pdf format, and then the contract comes next. I use templates for both so it’s pretty quick.

I've covered contracts before on the podcast, so I won’t get into that today. Not all freelancers use contracts but I definitely recommend it. I think you need to have some written record of what you and the client expect the project to look like, so you're both clear on what your respective responsibilities are and you’re protected to a degree if things go belly up, which hopefully they won’t.

Proposals serve two functions in my view. One is to secure the sale. They persuade and reassure the prospective client that you can deliver what they need and make them feel excited to work with you. And the second function is to set some expectations around your working style. You'll include some of the terms that will appear in the contract, give a sense of how you like to work, and set some boundaries. Note that unless your proposal includes a dotted line for the client to sign and even a link to payment, you're not held to the terms of a proposal in the same way as a contract of course. You might tweak some of the details, but it does help to set the tone for how you’re going to work together.

OK, all that said, when do you send a proposal? I send it after the intro call, if that call has gone well and we think we're a good fit. I’ll tell them on the call that I’m going to send it and when they should expect it. Usually this is within 24-48 hrs. Some say it’s fine to send a proposal within 7 days, but I saw a study that suggested proposals sent within a couple of days convert higher, so it’s good to strike while the iron is hot. Depends how busy you are and how much detail you create from scratch in your proposal.

When you wouldn’t send a proposal? Well, obviously if you don't want to work with them! I also wouldn’t bother sending a proposal if you've already worked together and you can cover the details in an email.

Now, what goes in the proposal? The key thing to remember with a proposal is that you are showing the client you understand what problem they need you to solve. So, it might help to shift your mindset from selling your services to solving their problem. If you do that, you'll have a much more effective proposal.

So the first section in my proposals is usually titled The Need or The Challenge or something like that. I use a template, and this is pretty much the only part that gets written from scratch. I'll be trying to repeat exactly what they said on the intro call so they know I was listening. How did they describe the problem? They may have said they need their home page rewritten, but hopefully I did a bit of digging on the call into why they want that. Is it to get more conversions or sales? Is it because they don't feel the page reflects how their business has evolved? What’s the real driver here? 

The next section is, logically, how I can solve that problem for them. This section is a really high-level description of what I do, my expertise and experience, and how I will use that to solve their problem. It's just a couple of paragraphs or bullet points.

Next, I get to the nitty gritty. I outline the process or steps I envisage in the project, with any key checkpoints for them so they know what the workflow will be. So for website copywriting, I'll specify my recommendations for research, drafting, wireframing and editing. I'll say how long each stage takes and what the total fee will be. I'll often write something like, based on our conversation, here's how I think we should approach your project. It's very clear, straight talking recommendations, no bells and whistles. It’s important to get the balance right here – it’s about what they want to know, not what you want to tell them, in the sense that it’s not just a case of listing all your impressive certifications or testimonials – it’s about how you’ll solve their problem. But at the same time, you don’t just tell them what they want to hear – don’t recommend something that isn’t going to serve them well or isn’t something you can actually deliver.

Sometimes I might offer 2 or 3 options, like a menu. In this case, usually I'll have a preferred option but they may have indicated on the call that they’re keen on a particular approach, or curious about what the next level option might be. I’ll frame these so they're drawn to the option that's really going to get them the best results and of course make most financial or energetic sense for me too. I don't include a breakdown of costs for different elements of the project unless those elements could stand alone or be removed, e.g. I won't price research separately because I can't write without research. And also just to note that most of the time I'm pricing by the project, not by the day or god forbid by the hour or the word. Focus on value. Occasionally I'll do a day rate if I think the project might need to grow as we go, and I'll give an estimated number of days.

Next, there are some samples, case studies and client testimonials, all relevant to project. I only include about 3, and I have templates where I can swap in the most relevant ones, that most closely match what I’m proposing for this client. Brand names the client may have mentioned or seemed impressed by or whatever. 

Then, there’s a what happens next page. How they book, do you want them to email, go to a payment page whatever. Explain the next steps to get started, pay deposit etc. Make it sound fun and easy.

Always add a date. You don’t want someone coming back 6 months later and expecting the same service for the same price.

And finally, I include an appendix with some of the standard terms from my contract. Oh, I forgot to mention, there's also a short section with a bit more on my background and working style, so they can get to know me a bit better. I mention my background in government, my Masters in Health Policy, and other training and certificates. It’s just a few bullets.

That might sound quite long. It’s actually not really. Does it need to be that long or that fancy? I know clients probably skip to the page with the price on it. But this is what helps me work through how I will deliver their project, means I know I've told them everything they need to know before working with me. It's a beautiful doc too, designed by my graphic designer. So I think it shows that I take this seriously, I’m reliable, I care about presentation. And it also gives them something to share with colleagues if hiring a copywriter is a team decision. This is often expected with more corporate clients. Perhaps less so with smaller clients or solo business owners. But I find it still gets them excited. I know that when I'm on the receiving end of a doc that someone I'm thinking of hiring has put a lot of care into, I feel excited about the project and about my business, more than I might with an email. But it's up to you of course. It depends on your clients. Don't make it longer than it needs to be. If your clients are happy to proceed on the basis of a 3-line email, do that. I’m using a template so it doesn’t take me more than 15-20 mins to complete.

Ok, so I mentioned info kits. This is basically a doc that's similar to a proposal, but it works for a standard service you provide. A productised service, if you like. Something that is the same process and same price regardless of the client. It's basically what it says on the label. I have an info kit for content writing, i.e. for writing articles where the process and price doesn’t need to be tailored to the client. If it does, I’ll do a bespoke proposal, but usually there's no need to create a new proposal for each person who inquires. I also don't need to do an intro call with every person who's interested, so this can be a good way to pre-qualify clients. You remember I've talked about this before. You don’t want to waste time doing sales calls or intro calls with people who are never in a million years going to be a good fit, so you can filter people beforehand by mentioning your availability, rates, services you do or don't do, and so on, on your website or in an email before you have the call. So I can just fire this off immediately, and the client still gets everything they need to make a decision and move the project forwards. 

I think this format works best if you have a productised or standardised service, as I mentioned, but you might include more services - could be like a menu of services, or a rates card where you include a little bit if bumf on a number of services, how much extra calls cost etc. Basically, it’s everything they need to know before working with you, in a handy doc, so you don’t need to keep repeating it to different clients.

Another alternative might be to have this as a sales page or hidden services page on your website, so instead of sending a pdf or a link to a pdf, you send a link to that Web page. So many ways to do this. 

And then finally, once you've sent the proposal or info kit or link to your secret service page, don’t forget to follow up! When do you follow up? If I've said I have availability until x date as long as they book by y, I'll get in touch the day before y, or otherwise I usually drop them an email to see if they've made a decision around a week later. 

I think that’s pretty much everything I can think of to say about proposals and info kits. If you have any questions, do give me a shout on Twitter or LinkedIn, or leave me a voice message on memo.fm/15.

And of course, if you enjoyed this or found it helpful, I would be eternally grateful if you’d share it with a friend, leave a review or subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you and see you next time!

Outro

You've been listening to 15 Minute Freelancer with me, Louise Shanahan, freelance health copywriter and content marketer at thecopyprescription.com. If you enjoyed this, please hit subscribe, leave a review or share it with a freelance friend. And if you've got a freelancing question you want answered on the podcast find me and say hi on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. Thanks, and until next time, happy freelancing!