Proposals are hard!
I remember my first proposal. It was for a 100-hour market research project and it took me 40 hours to write the proposal! 40 hours to write a proposal for 100 hours of work??? Houston, we have a problem…
Proposals are really hard at first but I promise they will get easier. It’s worth investing time at the beginning and then you can draw on the early work for later proposals. I’m lucky in my practice because I write proposals for less than 10% of my projects.
I typically provide quite a bit of detail in my proposals. It is an opportunity to demonstrate the quality of my work. I also provide quite a bit of detail in my fees. I want the client to have confidence that I really understand what they need and can deliver results.
First determine the activities required to accomplish the engagement objectives.
- Outline the required activities. You may need to do a little discovery work with your prospective client in order to surface these.
- Determine hours and due dates for milestones. I usually do both a bottom up and top down version. A little juggling will make everything come together nicely. Using both approaches forces you to consider different details which results in a more complete proposal.
- Try to do something measurable within the first 30-60 days. This is especially important with a first-time client. Once you deliver something concrete, everyone relaxes and then it’s easier to crank out the work.
Next you need to decide how to structure your pricing.
- Will your proposal be time and materials, fixed bid, not to exceed or some combination?
- A “not to exceed” clause says that if the project will take longer than the estimated hours for unexpected reasons or scope changes then you will revisit the budget and timeline. I also tell the client that “not to exceed” pricing means that if the project takes less time than estimated then they pay less. This way the cost/benefit swings both ways.
- Can you structure some or all of the compensation as value pricing?
- I did an inventory reduction project with a colleague. We structured part of the compensation as a percentage of the inventory reduction. We made far more than our usual hourly target rate but the client also won.
- Can you include a performance bonus to share the risk and increase your upside?
Other financial considerations
- Will you require some of the project fees in advance?
- On a fixed bid project, I typically request 25-50% of the project cost at kick-off
- I sometimes require a retainer for a time and materials project. It depends on the client and relationship. I typically request a retainer equivalent to one month’s hours.
- Will you invoice once a month or every two weeks? I work with a lot of start-ups so sometimes every two weeks makes the invoice dollar amount easier to swallow. I have learned that $10,000 is a magic number for smaller companies so I try to keep invoices under $10,000 for these clients. This may mean invoicing more than once a month. Larger companies may dictate monthly invoicing.
- Will you take a portion of your pay in equity? I rarely take more than 30% of my fees in equity but it can have some nice upside.
- Will you defer a portion of your fees for a start-up awaiting funding? I don’t risk a lot of money on this but it can be a great way to build client loyalty. I won one of my best clients because I deferred a couple thousand dollars until he got funded. Just be careful about the partners you choose for this.
Remember that your proposal is
- First, a sales document
- Second, the beginning of your project should you win the engagement
- Third, the basis of your contract
Still need someone to ask you for a proposal?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. The best way to get started as a consultant is to dive in. This free email course will walk you through three action steps to generate revenue now. If you start right away, you can be writing a proposal as soon as next week. Following these three action steps gives you the best possible chance of landing a consulting project. It works for me and I see it work for others, over and over again. Take control and take the plunge!