Crafting the offer
Your offer is what you pitch to companies. Going to a prospective lead and saying, “I’ll design a landing page for you,” will not get you much business. You need to tell them what you’re going to do and why it will get results.
Based on your market definition, you should know which problems you solve and who you solve them for. Now, your job is to compile a valuable offer that will make clients give you money.
An excellent offer explains the services you will provide professionally and thoroughly, and it should give the client the impression that you will provide a high-quality service. This approach will allow you to charge higher fees for your work.
Core elements of an excellent offer:
Cover letter
Executive summary
Solutions outline
Testimonials
Pricing breakdown
Agreement and CTA
Cover letter
The cover letter does not have to be a part of the offer; you can provide it as a separate document.
Nonetheless, it is the first thing a prospective client will read. It’s brief and to the point and can offer people an excellent sense of who you are and how you do business.
Try to keep the cover letter conversational – introduce yourself, thank them for the opportunity, and quickly explain what they should expect while reading your offer.
Here’s an excellent example of a cover letter for a freelancer:
Hi [client name],
I’m sure you’re busy, so I’ll keep it short&sweet.
You’re looking to solve a specific problem, and I have the necessary skills and tools.
Given my substantial experience with data-heavy platforms for [specific niche], I’m confident I can deliver top-notch UI/UX design within your deadline.
Enclosed, you will find my proposal for [project] based on my estimation of your needs. In short, the proposal will show you the following:
• Suggested solution
• Examples of similar work
• Pricing
The proposal is based on my careful analysis of the market, your business, and the latest design trends. If you have any questions and/or suggestions, feel free to reach out, my contact information is included below.
Looking forward to working with you,
[your name]
While seeking a job may be your top priority, never get personal.
Clients want honesty, but they don’t appreciate fake stories. They’re searching for someone to do the job and aren’t aiming to gain extra karma points by hiring you.
Executive summary
We’ve arrived at the “meat” of your offer. An executive summary is a place to set the tone for the rest of the proposal: introduce yourself and provide an overview of what the client may expect in the following sections.
This section should provide the clients with enough information to understand who you are and what you offer without reading anything else.
Writing an executive summary can make or break the deal. So make sure to put more effort into this section.
Here is a brief executive summary example:
With over 11 years of experience in UI/UX design, I’ve been helping large brands, and enterprises such as [client names] build web and mobile products.
I’m focused on driving impactful solutions that solve customer problems and move business metrics. I’m comfortable leading complex projects, shaping the team’s roadmap, and able to architect solutions to support the desired outcome.
• Helped [company name] get a 24% increase in sales in two months
• Increased [company name] retention rate by 2.1% in the period between June and November 2022
• Set up, managed, and got [company name] design system to be adopted in 5 fully-fledged products under 12 months period
Remember, focus on specific information, not fluff!
Don’t use general statistics for your application. In the example above, I state how I helped my former clients succeed.
Clients are aware of the data of their industries. They are not seeking someone to provide available information. They want to know how YOU can improve their business.
Solutions outline
Now is the time to get specific and tell the client what you’re proposing. What are your deliverables, timeline, and exact responsibilities?
Consider this your job description: given your skill set and knowledge, you’ll be doing this for the client. After reading this section, the client should not worry about what they’re paying for.
Tip: if you’re applying to a job/project where the client has requirements — use them to make your solutions fit better. Find commonalities between what they were asking for in the job description and what you’re offering.
It’s a good practice to put this section as a table, bulleted list, or timeline. You outline your solutions briefly in the executive summary and then expand on them in this section.
Here is an example from a freelance proposal (from my dear friend who provides freelance writing services):
1. Topic and content research
In the first stage, I will research to examine the most relevant content on related topics that have already been written. In collaboration with your SEO professional, I will create a content writing plan for each post that includes subjects, keywords, and deadlines.
2. Create an outline
Once a topic has been approved, I will draft an outline that includes the complete article and its sections. The outline’s purpose is to reduce editing time and agree on the structure of the piece before writing.
3. SEO Content Creation
I will use SEO writing tools to create optimized material that will rank high for specific keywords. Your SEO or outreach specialists will determine the number of inbound/outbound links. All content will be 100% original and based on credible sources.
4. Revision
Following the first draft, I will make all necessary edits to ensure the article is of the highest quality and meets your expectations. I will do three rounds of free editing before charging for each additional revision.
5. Uploading
The completed content will be submitted to your preferred task management application and shared with the entire team.
See how clear and well-organized the list above is. If you were to write it as long blocks of text without any formatting elements, it would be cumbersome to read.
Testimonials
Recommendations and reviews are an excellent approach to demonstrate to prospective clients that you are skilled in your field.
There’s a reason why LinkedIn, Upwork, Fiverr, and other business platforms spend entire sections on recommendations.
Clients believe the recommendations of other clients, same as internet consumers examine their friends and online reviews before making a purchase.
Include direct customer quotes or videos in your proposal to show your client that you have a long list of completed and successful projects.
Pricing breakdown
To demonstrate to potential clients that you run a legitimate freelance business, you must have a clear and precise pricing list.
This entails tracking every deliverable and leaving no stone untouched. Your client should know the cost of your services and how much they pay you for each task component.
Tip: Use the outline of your solutions as a reference for your pricing.
Agreement and CTA
This section is not always necessary if you’re creating an Upwork proposal. However, if you work directly with a client, you need this part.
An agreement and CTA section is a technical, often legal, part towards the end of your proposal document.
This section aims to either engage in a contract, describe your terms and conditions, or write any other technical or legal summary. You’re getting into an agreement if you require your clients to sign the paper.
An agreement might look like this:
Signing the below fields signifies the acceptance of this document’s proposed terms and conditions. Your signature automatically starts a contractual agreement beginning on the date below.
Summary
You can use these examples to create your offer based on your skill; make sure it has all those elements.
The next step is creating a fundamental pitch from that offer. One way I like to do this is by coming up with a one or two-sentence summary that’s interesting, benefits-focused, and makes a claim.
Here are a few examples:
I will double your organic search traffic in 12 months or less.
I take six-figure businesses to seven-figures with smart Facebook ads scaling.
My website redesign will raise your conversion rates or your money back.
Make sure you focus on client benefits and make it as persuasive as possible. A great way to do this is by writing down why it is valuable to the client. Your market research will come in handy here.
Next, add a unique element to your pitch, make a claim with exact numbers, and provide a guarantee. Those aren’t essential, but they make a more attractive offer.
You can then take that list and make it into a loose sales script. I’m not a big fan of sales scripts, but they have their place in the service business world. Additionally, this list of value propositions is something you’ll come back to again and again.
You don’t have to have a scripted conversation to get value from having everything in the same place.
Note #1: Your offer is for people you find through cold contact. When working on job boards, you conform to what the client wants.
If I find a client through cold email, I will likely be the one pitching. If I find a client on Upwork who has a specific thing they want, they’ll do more talking, and I’ll fit my pitch to what they need.
Additionally, your offer will depend on the size of the company you’re talking to.
For example, if they have 100,000 people using the product, charging $50,000 for building a design system is feasible. If they have 100 people using the product, I’d want to either not work with them or adjust my offer to something more valuable, such as a landing page redesign.
Note #2: Eventually, you want to get down to one offer. Rather than doing multiple things at multiple levels, your service business will be much simpler if you do one thing for one type of customer.
At the start, I recommend doing what you can to find those first clients and dollars. After that, either execute your one offer or do the occasional different job.