Writing Proposals That Win You Projects

Today I’m kicking off a new mini-series on project management. I founded a PM app that has had me talk with literally thousands of people like you who manage client projects, and we don’t just talk about my software — I make it a point to learn as much about my clients’ businesses as I can.

You might say I’ve learned a lot over the last year and a half.

Working on a (successful) project involves a lot more than just writing code or designing. It can require:

Anyway, let’s move on to part 3 of my series on building up relationships automatically with your future clients.

In part 1, we talked about how to get people you meet at networking events onto a mailing list.

In part 2, we setup an editorial calendar for this list and went to work building our autoresponders.

Today, we’re going to focus on designing and writing your autoresponder emails with the goal of squeezing out the maximum amount of engagement.

Last week, we covered how to win over people you meet at networking events (read this first if you missed last week.)

Today, I want to cover how to cultivate these new relationships… automatically… while you’re off snoozing.

This is part 2 of 6, and we’ll culminate with getting Mary — the business owner we met last week at a networking event — to become a paying client (as if that wasn’t obvious!)

Did you know that by packaging your freelance services, you can greatly increase the number of clients you get and the profit you make per client? Today I want to showcase four steps you can take in your business to begin packaging up your freelancing services — whether you’re a web designer, developer, writer, or whatever it is you do.

Last week I fired my accountant. He wasn’t just my accountant — he’s also my father-in-law (make note I waited until AFTER the holidays.)

I’m not going to get into why I let Jeff go, but I want to tell you about why I ended up hiring Jason — and how you can apply the same exact technique Jason used to get me as his newest client.

My initial consultation with Jason was fantastic: he didn’t waste my time talking about tax law. He focused on my needs as a client. He asked me how I wanted my life as a business owner to change (for the better). He dug into why I was transitioning accountants, and wanted to know how the value Jeff delivered fell short of the cost. He was singularly focused on figuring out what I valued.

Going into my consultation, I had no idea what Jason charged. Like the other accountants I’d worked with, I figured he billed hourly. But a few days after our first consultation he presented three packages, each with a monthly price.

I didn’t even think about the cost, rather I thought about relative cost. “Option 1 is 3x the cost of Option 3…But is it three times more valuable to ME?”

You see, if you present one rate — like $100 an hour — clients will focus just on that number. But when you pitch a lineup of packages, the Science of Price Anchoring will kick in and people will naturally start comparing you with yourself (i.e., your other packages), instead of you against all of your competitors.

Productizing your services…

Can help you close more deals because you’ll be speaking directly to each client’s unique values and needs, instead of: “Buy me for $X”

Can make you more money per hour by pricing according to the value you’re delivering for your clients. Can you create a premium package that’s 3x as valuable to a client for 2x the time and effort?

Get started packaging your services:

1. Determine what your client values. Is it more time to hang out with their kids? The need to look more professional than their competitors? More customers?
2. Think of three packages that reflect these values, ranging from the lowest amount of value delivered to the highest. The accounting packages I was presented with ranged from “We’ll do it all for you” to “You’ll do most of the work” (Jason appealed to the fact that I value my time.)
3. How can you price these packages commensurate to the value they bring your client? My buddy Nathan wrote a great article on this that you should read.

Packaging is so effective that I’ve decided practice what I preach and use it to help sell my next book. A staggering 55% of all pre-sales revenue has been for the highest priced package.

Why? Checkout the packages I’m selling…

• Do-It-Yourself: Just the book. Learn the strategies and techniques, write your own headlines and copy, do your own peer research.
• Website Jumpstart: Learn the strategies and techniques, but get sample content that you can apply directly to your current website. No experimentation and creative copywriting required.
• Client Avalanche!: Read the book and arm yourself with the knowledge you need, but — let’s face it — your time is limited. You could be billing. You want more clients, but you don’t want to spend a lot of time getting that.

Can you see how I’ve developed packages that are directly aligned with the value buyers place on their time? After interviewing with hundreds of freelancers and consultants over the years, I knew “I don’t have the time” was a huge concern for many.

Next week on my newsletter I’ll dive into some actual packaging examples that you can use as a web designer, developer, or writer (sorry, accountants!) This is lifted directly from my upcoming book, so you won’t want to miss this.