10 Easy Ways to Make Your Freelance Proposal More Effective

What is your proposal acceptance rate? How many of the proposals you send out to prospective clients are actually accepted?

It takes a lot of work to put together a proposal. And you only get paid for that work if the prospect becomes a client. If a proposal is rejected, you don't get paid.

Unfortunately, some freelancers don't know how to create an effective proposal. They may dash something off too quickly. They may use a boilerplate that they never adjust. Or, they may forget to explain how the proposal benefits the client.

Do you need to improve your proposal acceptance rate? If so, this post is for you.

How to Make Your Proposals More Effective

Most freelance clients like to receive an organized proposal like the work agreements that you can create through Osmosis. So, if you're using the Osmosis tool for client intake and work agreement generation, you're already ahead of the game.

However, it's important to remember that your proposal only becomes a work agreement after the client has signed off on it. If they reject your work agreement, it remains a proposal.

In our earlier post, How to Create an Effective Work Agreement to Protect Your Freelancing Business, Caroline examined the types of clauses that you can include in a work agreement to protect the interests of your freelancing business.

In this post, we discuss how to make your proposals more persuasive and and (hopefully) increase the number of proposals that are accepted. Of course, you can include the clauses in your work agreement that will protect your business and still have an effective proposal.

Here are some tips to help you make your proposal more effective.

1. Provide an overview. Start your proposal with a short overview. Two or three sentences is often enough. The overview is important for two reasons. First, your overview is the first thing that clients read. It sets the tone for the rest your proposal. Second, your prospect is very busy. They may scan those first few sentences quickly. If they don't like what they see, they may reject the proposal without reading anything else.
2. Highlight the benefits. Your proposal needs to have a terms of service section, but put that at the end of the proposal. After your overview, remind the client of how the project will benefit them. Use the information that you gathered in your client intake questionnaire to remind the client of why they need to hire you for this project.
3. Speak the client's language. While having a library of pre-written proposal sections available to help you create your proposal is a huge timesaver, be sure to customize those sections for each individual client. If appropriate, replace generic terminology with client or industry specific terminology. Pay attention to the phrases the client used when they filled out their questionnaire.
4. Use active voice. The active voice is more persuasive than the passive voice. The overview and benefits section, in particular, should be in active voice. If you are not sure what active voice is, Mignon Fogarty has published a helpful post, Active Voice Versus Passive Voice, on the QuickAndDirtyTips.com blog.
5. Make it scannable. Osmosis can help you organize the information you put into your work agreement. Use HTML to create bold or italicized text and bulleted lists. Or create a table, import images, or add a video. Whatever you do, don't write long paragraphs without any formatting.
6. Make it time sensitive. Putting an expiration date on the proposal can give a client an incentive to make a decision quickly. Use a phrase like, "this proposal is good for 30 days (or whatever time period you choose)." Including this in your proposal also prevents a client from coming back years later and trying to hire you at your past rates.
7. Be specific, but don't make it too long. It's important to include enough detail in your proposals so that there are no questions later about the scope of the work or your terms of service. For a simple project, a five-page proposal may be long enough. Longer projects may require a slightly longer proposal.
8. Ask for the sale. A surprising number of freelancers send out their proposal, but forget to ask the client for the business. Enthusiasm can pay off. When you send a proposal to a client through Osmosis, the system prompts you to create an email that serves as a cover letter for the proposal. That email provides the perfect opportunity to let the client know you want the business. Include a phrase something like, "I'm excited about this project. I can get started as soon as you sign the agreement and send the initial deposit."
9. Send it out quickly. As soon as you receive a completed client intake questionnaire, it's time to start working on the proposal. Don't let too much time elapse between receiving the questionnaire and the time when you send the proposal. Even if you are busy, try to get it to them no later than the next business day. Remember, they may also be discussing the project with other freelancers.
10. Follow up. Once you've sent out the proposal out, don't assume that you've done everything you can do. If you don't hear from the prospect within a day or so, send a follow up email. Confirm that they received the proposal (sometimes your proposal may wind up in the prospect's spam filter or they may receive and not realize what it is). Ask if they have any questions. And re-emphasize how much you want to do business with them.

A Word About Lowering Your Price

If a prospect hasn't accepted your proposal, many new freelancers automatically assume that they need to lower their price. Don't fall into this trap!

While price may be an objection for some prospects, there are many other reasons why a prospect may be concerned about your proposal. The key is to start a dialog with them to discover their concerns.

Start by reviewing the client intake questionnaire to make sure that you didn't miss anything. If you find an answer you overlooked, contact the prospect to find out whether that is their concern. If it is, offer to adjust the proposal and apologize for the oversight. Sometimes this simple re-adjustment is enough to close the business.

If you can't find anything you overlooked, ask the prospect whether they have any concerns about the proposal. If they answer, you can address their issues.

What If It Is Price?

Occasionally, you'll encounter a good prospect who just can't afford your services. When this happens, you have three choices:

1. Negotiate the scope of the work. Let them know what you can do for them within their budget.
2. Refer them to another freelancer. You may know a reliable freelancer who is just starting out.
3. Realize they are not a true prospect for you. Unfortunately, some will try to get as much as they can and pay as little as possible.

Your Turn

Do you have any questions about making your freelancing proposals more effective?

If you would like to learn how Osmosis can save you time and make your proposal process more efficient, click here to sign up for a free trial.