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Writing a Proposal
5:30How detailed should a proposal be? What goes into a proposal? In this video, Paul addresses various aspects and why a discussion with a client before preparing a proposal is necessary.
Another thing you have to do is part of the sales process is write proposals.
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Not very easy thing to do especially if really
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you're a designer or a developer at heart.
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But it's really important is your opportunity to standout from the crowd,
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it's your opportunity to grab the perspective client's attention.
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The first thing to do before you even start writing a proposal,
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is talk to the client, pick up the phone
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and have a chat with him before putting pen to paper.
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It's a chance to ask questions
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and a chance to show your expertise and start a conversation.
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It's a chance to build a relationship.
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Just receiving a printed document through is one thing
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but having a conversation with the client is quite another.
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It changes the whole dynamic of the relationship
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and increases the chances of you winning the work a hundredfold
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because you show that you care about the project,
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you ask intelligent questions, and you come across as the expert.
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You build a relationship.
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Don't be afraid to challenge the client when you have those conversations as well.
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Clients actually want you to provide alternative approaches.
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They don't want to spoon feed you. They want you to be the expert.
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So it's perfectly okay to may be suggest the old alternative approach to things.
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So, when it actually comes to writing the proposal,
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how detailed should that proposal be?
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Well the answer as with all things is it depends.
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It depends on the size of the project for a start.
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If it's a massive project, then they can expect the fairly detailed proposal.
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If on the other hand it's small piece of work,
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then really an email probably is enough.
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It doesn't just depend on the size of the project, however,
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it also depends on the depth of the brief that you've received.
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If you received an invitation to tender or request a proposal,
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whatever you want to call it and it's really detailed,
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then probably your proposal should be very detailed as well.
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If they've not included so much detail, then fine.
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You don't respond with this much detail.
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It's important to understand the aims of the proposal.
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Why are you creating one?
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Well, first is to demonstrate your expertise.
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It's about giving a sense that you know what you're talking about
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and a sense of what it would be like to work with you.
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Ultimately, it's all about providing confidence.
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A confidence to the client that you can deliver on their project.
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So what goes into a proposal?
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Well, there's so many things that could go into a proposal
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but they don't only to go in there for single one.
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Like I said, it depends but some other things would include
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a summary of the tasks.
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You need to write out what you're going to do for the client.
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Fairly obvious. Isn't it really?
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But you also need to cover your suitability.
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What makes you the right choice for the client?
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You need to talk about time scales. And don't be afraid to be honest here.
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You're better off saying if you're going to go over that time set scales
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rather making promises you can't keep.
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Clients are often very grateful for the honesty in the documentation.
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And if you are saying that it's going to take longer than your competitors,
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then they might begin to wonder what the competitors are up to
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but if you are going to go over on the time scale, you need to justify why that is,
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otherwise, they're not going to believe you.
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Then there is pricing. Of course, I've already mentioned that.
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That needs to be in your proposal as well.
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You also need to cover things like project management.
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How often is the client going to hear from you?
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How is the relationship going to work?
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Is it going to be via email? Will there be meetings? What's going on there?
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You need some back testing. What devices are you going to test on?
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Set some kind of parameters there;
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otherwise, they're going to be wondering why their website
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isn't working in all sense.
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Hosting, we need to talk about that as well. That's a really important thing.
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Are they going to be hosting it or are you going to be doing that.
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Who's going to be managing that process
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and what costs that are associated with that?
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Discuss technologies as well.
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That's a really important area because you don't want to suggest the technology
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that their hosting environment can't support.
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Most proposals also should include references. That's a really important thing.
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So that the client can go and talk to your existing customers
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and find out whether you're really as good as you claim.
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Finally, try and say a little bit about the team
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that would be working on the project.
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Why those people are suitable?
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If it's you--Why you are a great web designer? What makes you different?
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If it's with other people, make sure you show exactly
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who's going to be working on the project.
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Most of all, make sure your proposal is well written and visually engaging.
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Put as much work into your proposals as you do into your website.
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It is massively important that these documents are really, really good.
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Get somebody else to check it as well because that makes a huge difference.
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Ultimately, a proposal is your page.
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It's how you're presenting yourself to the client.
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So it needs a lot of time and lot of intention.
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