![]() Most people don't use templates to guide them during the proposal-creation process. Instead, they just try to slog through it on their own. Without a proven framework to guide them, they waste countless hours creating bland, ineffective proposals. How To Write An RFP For Your 2015 Website Wednesday. Get Started On Your RFP. Ready for a new website? And download our free Website RFP Template. You walk into a web design firm and they ask you what you're looking for and you have no idea. Just a new website. To make the most out of your conversation with your potential design firm, put some ideas down so they don't have to start with the absolute basic questions. Writing an RFP (Request for Proposal) can be. We offer two sample Request For Proposal documents which you can download and adapt for your project: Basic Website RFP Sample –.doc file, 3 pages, best for very basic website projects. Are there new capabilities you would like the website to have such as polls, knowledge base or surveys? Download our free Website RFP Template and Website Request for Proposal Sample. RFPs developed by Web Developers will help you get the most from the web. ![]() No wonder why so many designers hate this part of doing business! The best clients expect to see proposals before they'll hire anyone. But the prospect of sitting down at your desk again to churn out yet another boring document is an absolute nightmare. A lot of web designers write what they think clients want to hear But the “proposals” they submit aren't really proposals at all. They're nothing more than glorified project estimates. The Key Difference Between Proposals and Estimates The first step in creating more persuasive proposals? Understanding the fundamental difference between a proposal and an estimate. An estimate is a simplistic document that rarely runs more than a few pages. It breaks down how much different aspects of the project will cost, and occasionally when the client can expect certain milestones to be completed. An estimate can work when you've already worked with a client before and they're well aware of the value you can deliver. We created the Website Design RFP Template to help create a request for proposal (RFP) for website design services. Sections include: Company Information, Statement of Work, Proposal Submission Procedure, Scope of Work & Business Requirements, Vendor Information, and Estimated Budget & Resources Required. It's suited for tiny, one-off projects where the client's predominant focus is cost. Landing lucrative design projects requires something more. A lot of designers submit a bare bones “proposal” that really functions like an estimate. Without persuasive language to accompany the price and service details, they leave potential clients with nothing more to go on than cost. This is an awful situation for most of us to be in. Because most of us can't run a sustainable business by offering the cheapest prices around, submitting estimates alone removes our competitive advantage. Why would anyone hire you if there's a cheaper estimate on their desk? An effective proposal, is a persuasive sales document. It doesn't just show potential clients how much things will cost or when they will get done. It also gives them plenty of reasons why you're the best web designer for their particular project. So, how much more persuasive is a proposal than an estimate? Found that 43% of proposals won the project. The success rate decreased to only 35% of estimates. The Elements of Creating an Effective Proposal To create a truly persuasive design proposal, include the following elements: • A Cover Page Letter ( only in certain situations) • Demonstrate you understand their problems with a Problem Statement • Explain your Recommended Solution • Explain the Benefits of your solution • Explain the Project Fees • End with a Call to Action to buy Every web design project is a bit different, but you can apply this framework to all of them. Doing so creates a persuasive structure designed to get – and keep – the client's interest. Then it's just a matter of adjusting the details to suit the particular project. Once you understand the purpose of each proposal element, it's a lot easier to know what to talk about and what to leave out. So let's run through those now: Cover Page Letter In some situations, you'll want to write up a short cover letter to kick off your proposal. You won't need them when submitting a bid on some projects – especially if they're straightforward and smaller in scope. The ideal circumstances to use a cover letter are when you are: 1) bidding on a long-term, complex project with lots of moving parts, 2) trying to land a large corporate client, or 3) both. A brief cover letter is the perfect way to connect with overwhelmed executives. Because so many corporations are used to complicated hierarchies and lots of red tape (many of them use cover letters in intraoffice memos), this communication style is something they're quite comfortable with. Notice the emphasis on brief. Do everything in your power to limit your cover letter to one page. What should a cover letter do? The mission is simple: get the reader's attention and convince them to engage with your full proposal.
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