Like most things, project proposals present their own unique challenges. It’s not easy to do it all.
Producing a clean, comprehensive proposal for a client while you’re still fresh in their mind can put a great amount of undue pressure to have your pitch ready quickly.
Even when time is tight, there are some things you can do to prevent any last-minute crunch and still elevate your proposal. We promise!
Read on for IG’s top tips below…
1 – Do as Much Work As You Can Up Front
By that, we mean your standardised slides. The slides you’re going to be using again and again.
Make sure they’re as good as they can possibly be. If they are, when you go slot these in, you don’t have to spend a lot of time revisiting them.
This might include creating different variations of standardised slides, specific to certain kinds of projects. Having a bank of relevant case study slides, for example, allows you to simply slot them in and out depending on the project.
With other standardised slides, it may be the case that content does need to change from time to time. But the layout will be the same in terms of the team working on the project. This leads onto IG’s second piece of advice…
2 – Don’t Reinvent The Wheel
Often, even for proposals for entirely different types of projects, there will still be slides that you can reuse from one proposal to the next; frameworks, layouts, project plans, approaches.
Rather than having to rummage through dozens of previous project proposals, create that bank of previous slides which might be relevant for future projects.
Put these slides into your proposal template. Formatted and with the design nailed. So, when you need them, you know exactly where they are.
3 – Tailor The Structure Of The Proposal To The Client
Think about how your proposal is going to be presented.
Are you exhibiting this to somebody you’ve already discussed the project with at length? Or will your proposal be shared more widely around the business? To people who might never have met you?
Your answer to the above will dictate whether you need to lead with your intro cred slides or whether you can get straight into the details. Outlining the client’s problem, followed by your solution, thereby leaving the introductions for the Appendix.
If you’re having an in-person session with the client, and you’re able to talk through the slides, it can be more helpful to move the nitty-gritty details of the project (along with the niceties already mentioned), into the Appendix.
Once structured appropriately for your audience, anyone who’s coming to the proposal fresh still has a chance to become familiar with you.
4 – Consider Incorporating Elements Of The Client’s Branding Into Your Proposal
Nowadays, it’s become standard to put the client’s logo on proposal covers. You can take it one step further and introduce elements of their brand colours, as secondary colours, into your proposal.
Of course, this may not be appropriate for everyone. But it can help show that you’re creating something bespoke and customised, as opposed to rattling off another standardised deck to sell a solution.
Subconsciously, it also shows you’re approaching this as a partnership rather than presenting yourself as just another outside consultant. Food for thought!
If you’ve got an important proposal coming up and you’d benefit from some support, let us know! Whether it’s simply elevating the design or giving you back a few more evening meals with the family, IG would love to help. You can get in touch here.