A great proposal is the key to winning over potential clients. The competition is fierce these days so it’s imperative that you cover every angle and aspect of your pitch. When you construct a solid proposal, you’ll stand out compared to your competition which is awesome when it comes to build a customer base.
The one who crosses the finish line first is usually the one with the most creative and unique proposal. Be fearless and thorough in your attempt to win over potential clients and illustrate your competitive edge.
Now let’s look at what makes a great proposal. I will like to hear your feedback afterwards so I can know what you guys think is the main ingredient when building a proposal. Let’s get started.
Customize Your Template
A potential client needs to know that you stand behind them 100% because this will show loyalty when they need it most. They probably have dealt with several companies who didn’t give them the respect they deserve. Customized templates show clients that you are willing, and able to put forth every effort to launch their campaigns. This also gives them a wide range of choices, and options.
Modifying your template design can be as simple as adding the customer’s logo or utilizing a title slide with its own unique flair. Being creative and innovative is fundamental in your proposal. A word of caution: Avoid using filler text or adding just the client URL. A client is looking for a bit more in your proposal and it’s your job to provide a customized experience.
This strategy has been effective for me going forward because many times clients think you are sending them a universal proposal. By creating a custom template, you are showing them it’s been catered to them.
Social Proof
Presentation is the name of the game when it comes to selling a client on your SEO firm. Your proposal must treat each reader as if they had virgin ears and were learning about your company for the first time. This means the devil is in the details.
Great proposals include a corporate biography which highlights both the company philosophy and facets of company culture particular to your organization. Here is where you gain the wow factor and draw clients in by establishing how your company will stand out, and make their experience memorable.
Another tool which is fundamental to your success is the inclusion of logos. Much like a portfolio which showcases an artist’s work, logos of companies that have enlisted your services can help clients to see the breadth of your experience and success. Nothing predicts future success like past successes. Companies both large and small will be assured that you can deliver on your promises due to the reputation you have already created so don’t be afraid to let it show.
It’s a great idea showing potential clients how well you have performed with other contracts. I would ask each of my clients to write a testimonial or even review so others can see. This will help me attract new customers, and help me on social networks.
Here are some – Problems to Conquer
Sometimes you need to tear things down before you can build them back up. This is a very productive process and can add immeasurable value to your services.
Dissecting a client’s site involves scrutinizing all the factors which are under par, and thus creating a list of problems to be tackled. A thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of your client’s site can include factors unrelated to SEO itself.
Here you can show examples, URLs and screenshots which will pinpoint specific issues in a very direct manner.
After, you can provide them with an expert solution going forward. For example,
Solutions are the bread and butter of your proposal. Detailed and action-oriented lists of multiple solutions will help clients understand exactly what actions must be undertaken. Here it is vital to be very specific in your examples. Clients can then choose to take your suggestions and run with them by themselves or hire you to implement the changes. Nine times out of ten they will pick the latter. As you are well versed in their applications it will be much easier and less time consuming for a client just to give you the go ahead. A great proposal focusing heavily on solutions will lead to a significant increase in leads and ultimately boost your business exponentially.
Here are some common problems I’ve seen clients need help with –
Blog – The client needs to build back their blog, and require you build it up from the ground up. This means creating a new template, adding content, and optimizing titles, URL’s, and tags.
Target Keywords – I’ve ran into so many customers who don’t know what keywords to use with your site, and content. Helping them research the right keywords is a great way to jump ahead. You can provide them with a list of keywords they can choose from to focus on at a later time.
Social Media – Many of the clients have NO social media accounts, and this means they are NO attracting visitors from different channels. It’s a good idea to provide them with a social media overview, and how you will help them going forward. For example, focus on Facebook, Twitter, and Google + showing them what setting up an account can do for them.
Split Testing – Depending on what the clients are trying to accomplish you might want to implement a split testing strategy so will help them figure out what works best for them. This way you can tell them what they should be focusing on when trying to build their SEO organic rankings.
Scope and Deliverables
Multiple plans open the playing field and creates choices. Offering a variety of different levels to your plans beginning primarily with the basics enables your customer to pick and choose from a gamut of different solutions. The basics encompasses their initial request at their target budget point. Offering the client options at different price variables can elicit a greater response as the client can begin to understand the scope of what you are prepared to offer them.
Just follow what everyone else is doing, and you’ll notice options are always great. No matter what product or service you are looking to purchase, you’ll always have different plans and prices to work with. This just lets people try what you offer without putting a huge investment up front. Next, they might just need some of what you are offering, and NOT all.
Case Studies
Case studies are an excellent conclusion to punctuate your proposal. They serve to highlight an example of a company that was suffering under a relevant difficulty. Utilizing case studies helps companies to infer parallels to their current situation. It’s imperative to include actions that were initialized and the subsequent results. Testimonials add legitimacy to the equation and allow potential clients to envision possible solutions to their own business dilemmas.
You also know how much value case studies add in almost every niche. For example, they are as clean cut as they get because they provide nothing, but the best value to customers. They show everything from point A-to-point B.
Personalize
Customers are banking that their projects will garnish the attention of experienced personnel. A section primarily dedicated to the associates biography and resume is a nice way to showcase the talent working behind the scenes to create an exceptional product. Keeping it short and sweet will allow it to be perused in a timely manner and let the customer get back to the bones of the proposal.
When applying for a job, you know how much value experience adds to your bottom line. This is way having a resume about you, and your team will always help make a sale. Let them know when they hire you, they are getting the best class of workers. That’s the bottom line.
Conclusion
A Great Proposal has many different components as we have just witnessed. From customized templates to creative and detail-oriented solutions, a proposal must grab the client’s attention. My closing rate increased threefold by incorporating these steps into my processes. Switching from generic to detailed proposals allowed my company to grow and prosper and it can do the same for you too. I started to do things differently which others were not doing, and you know it’s all about standing out compared to others. However, I’m surprised at the amount of people who still continue to miss out on the MOST important elements of a solid proposal.
Construction jobs provide rough estimates to their customers to assist them in understanding projected costs and expenses. This is another feature you can implement to your proposal which will enhance the value and help you to secure more business opportunities. When sending rough estimates, you don’t have to make this a tedious process because this is just providing them with a rough quote. However, if they decide to continue with your pricing then you can start to put a custom proposal together for them.
Adding levels and more expensive options to the services you provide increases the chances that consumers will upgrade and the depth of your business will explode.
As you can see, a great proposal is multi-faceted and incredibly important to your business. Being seen in the marketplace means you must know who you are and what you have to offer. Take the time to look at your proposal from every angle. Pretend you are the customer and see it from their perspective. What would you be looking for as a potential client? That is the question you must answer. The best place to start is with a great proposal. Here is a roadmap, now off you go.
What can you do next?
If you are a company who provides or will be providing SEO packages, then it’s important to keep these fundamentals in your mind. They will help you attract the best clients, especially those which will stay with you long term. Here are a few bonus things you might want to consider adding to your packages.
Content writing- many people find it hard to write high value content. You might want to offer this feature within your packages too.
Content marketing – this is a new breed of marketing which is growing in popularity. This is something you can add to your premium packages going forward.
Social media marketing – You might want to consider offering clients a social media package. Many people have avoided building huge social channels, and they are missing out on loads of free targeted traffic. Consider adding this to your packages for an added cost so you can stand out compared to others who are offering the same product or service.
Outreach – Depending on how long you’ve been in the industry you probably have people who you’ve worked with that are authorities within your niche. You can offer for guest posting, outreach, etc with your SEO packages. Your selling point should be high authority links coming from genuine sites which can drive target traffic to your blog.
