How to Write a Winning Upwork Job Proposal in 2024

Summary

Danny from freelancetowin.com discusses the key elements of a winning freelance proposal on Upwork for 2021 and beyond. He outlines strategies to stand out to clients, prove your expertise, and prompt responses. Danny shares his personal success on Upwork, emphasizing the importance of a succinct proposal that initiates a conversation rather than a hard sell. He provides actionable tips on crafting an introduction, showcasing relevant work, and ending with a clear call to action, all aimed at securing more freelance opportunities.

Takeaways

• 😀 The presenter emphasizes the importance of writing great proposals for success on Upwork.
• 🔍 The presentation aims to teach how to stand out, show fit for a project, position as an authority, and answer screening questions effectively.
• 🏆 The speaker has earned significant income on Upwork and shares strategies from personal experience and a popular blog.
• 🔑 The strategies are designed to be applicable across various work categories, not just writing.
• 📈 Clients are busier with more choices and higher expectations, presenting both challenges and opportunities for freelancers.
• 💡 A winning proposal should be powerful, succinct, and aim to start a conversation rather than close a deal immediately.
• 📝 The proposal is part of a broader process to acquire new clients, focusing on initiating dialogue.
• 👋 A brief introduction in the proposal should grab attention, build rapport, and show the client's job post was read.
• 🔑 Showing relevant work examples is crucial to demonstrate capability and alleviate client concerns about project fit.
• 🤝 Tour guiding clients through your work helps position you as an authority and sets expectations for the work you'll deliver.
• ☎️ A clear call to action in proposals, like asking a question or suggesting a call, prompts client responses and moves the conversation forward.

Q & A

What are the key elements of a winning proposal according to Danny from freelancetowin.com?

The key elements of a winning proposal are a brief introduction to grab attention, proof that you can do a great job by showing relevant work examples, and a clear call to action to prompt client response.

How can a freelancer stand out to clients even if new to Upwork?

A freelancer can stand out by crafting a personalized brief introduction, showcasing relevant work examples, and demonstrating expertise in the field, regardless of being new to Upwork.

What is the purpose of a brief introduction in a proposal?

The purpose of a brief introduction in a proposal is to get the client's attention, start building rapport, and show the client that you have read and understood their job post.

How does Danny suggest using personal connection introductions in proposals?

Danny suggests using personal connection introductions by making spontaneous, unique statements related to the client or situation, such as genuine compliments or shared experiences, to serve as conversation starters.

What is the affirmation approach mentioned by Danny?

The affirmation approach is a method where you repeat back the client's stated needs from their job post as a way to introduce yourself and show that you understand their requirements.

Why is showing relevant work examples important in a proposal?

Showing relevant work examples is important because it tangibly demonstrates your skills, alleviates the client's concerns about your ability to perform on their specific project, and helps you stand out from other freelancers who may not provide such examples.

How can freelancers who are new to Upwork or freelancing show their capabilities if they lack a portfolio?

New freelancers can create hypothetical work samples relevant to the job they're applying for, such as writing landing page copy for a fictitious app, to demonstrate their capabilities even without a traditional portfolio.

What is 'tour guiding' as described by Danny, and why is it beneficial?

'Tour guiding' is the process of walking the client through your work, explaining its relevance and highlighting its key points and quality. It's beneficial as it increases the perceived value of your work, positions you as an authority, and sets expectations for the client.

How should freelancers handle proposals if they can't show relevant work examples?

If unable to show relevant work examples, freelancers should discuss relevant work experiences, share knowledge or expertise, offer helpful suggestions for the project, and use testimonials to back up their claims.

What are the two main types of clear call to actions that Danny recommends to end a proposal?

The two main types of clear call to actions are asking a question about the project to prompt a response or inviting the client to a brief call to discuss the project further.

Why does Danny advise against discussing details like timeline or scheduling in the initial proposal?

Danny advises against discussing details like timeline or scheduling in the initial proposal because the focus should be on starting a conversation and determining if there's a good fit, rather than getting into specifics too early.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Introduction to Winning Proposals on Upwork

Danny from freelancetowin.com introduces the topic of crafting winning proposals on Upwork, emphasizing its importance for success on the platform. He outlines the learning objectives, which include standing out to clients, demonstrating project fit, establishing authority, answering screening questions, and taking action. Danny shares his credentials, having earned significant income on Upwork and being featured in major publications, to establish his expertise. He also discusses the changing landscape of freelancing, noting increased client expectations and choices, and positions a well-crafted proposal as a key to standing out.

05:02

📝 Crafting the Perfect Proposal Introduction

The second paragraph delves into the first element of a winning proposal: a brief introduction. The goal is to grab the client's attention, start building rapport, and show that the job post was read. Danny suggests two approaches: the personal connection introduction, which is a unique statement related to the client or situation, and the affirmation approach, which involves reiterating the client's needs from their job post. He provides examples of both and advises keeping the introduction simple and not to force a connection if it doesn't feel natural.

10:04

🔍 Demonstrating Your Ability with Relevant Work Examples

Danny discusses the power of showcasing relevant work examples in proposals to demonstrate capability and alleviate client concerns. He explains that work examples can be from any source, not just Upwork, and that they provide a tangible preview of potential results. He addresses the concern of new freelancers with limited portfolios, suggesting creating work samples for the purpose of building a portfolio. The paragraph also includes examples of how professionals from various fields can demonstrate their work to clients.

15:05

🗣️ Tour Guiding Clients Through Your Work

This paragraph introduces the concept of 'tour guiding' clients through your work, which involves explaining the relevance and unique aspects of a work example to the client's needs. Danny provides a proposal example where he tours a client through his work, highlighting its relevance and showcasing his expertise. He also offers questions freelancers can ask themselves to effectively tour guide clients, emphasizing the importance of positioning oneself as an authority and setting expectations for the work.

20:06

💬 The Art of the Call to Action in Proposals

Danny explains the third element of a winning proposal: a clear call to action. He outlines the benefits of using a call to action, such as increasing the likelihood of a client response and moving the conversation forward. He suggests two approaches: asking a clarifying question about the project or inviting the client to a call. The paragraph includes examples of effective calls to action and provides guidelines for keeping them concise and relevant to the project.

25:07

✅ Recap and Best Practices for Proposals

The final paragraph recaps the three elements of a winning proposal: a brief introduction, proof of capability through work examples, and a clear call to action. Danny emphasizes the importance of keeping proposals succinct and focused on starting a conversation rather than discussing details like timeline or scheduling. He also mentions that his proposals do not typically include offers to do the work immediately, as he prefers to determine a good fit through conversation before discussing specifics.

Keywords

💡Proposal

A proposal in the context of the video refers to a formal presentation of ideas, qualifications, or plans to a potential client, with the aim of securing a contract or project. It is a key tool for freelancers on platforms like Upwork to demonstrate their suitability for a job. The video emphasizes the importance of crafting compelling proposals that stand out and initiate a conversation with the client, rather than merely serving as a closing argument.

💡Upwork

Upwork is an online platform where freelancers and clients connect for various projects. In the video, Upwork serves as the backdrop for discussing how to write effective proposals to win projects. The speaker shares personal success stories and strategies specifically tailored to the dynamics of this platform, highlighting the competitive nature of freelancing on Upwork.

💡Freelancer

A freelancer is an individual who is self-employed and offers services to clients on a project-by-project basis, often without long-term contracts. The video is primarily aimed at freelancers, providing them with insights on how to enhance their proposal writing skills to be more competitive in the marketplace. The term is used extensively throughout the script to address the target audience directly.

💡Portfolio

A portfolio in this context refers to a collection of a freelancer's past work, which they can showcase to potential clients to demonstrate their skills and experience. The video suggests that even those with limited portfolios can still present themselves effectively by creating relevant work samples or by showcasing other forms of professional experience.

💡Personal Connection Introduction

This concept refers to a personalized opening statement in a proposal that aims to establish an immediate connection with the client. It could be a genuine compliment, a shared experience, or a relevant observation. The video provides examples of such introductions, emphasizing their effectiveness in capturing a client's attention and setting a proposal apart.

💡Affirmation Approach

The affirmation approach is a method of introduction in a proposal where the freelancer reiterates the client's needs as stated in the job post. This approach is highlighted in the video as a simple yet effective way to show the client that their job post was read and understood, which can be a differentiator in a crowded field of applicants.

💡Tour Guiding

Tour guiding, as used in the video, is the act of walking the client through a piece of work, explaining its relevance, and highlighting its key aspects. This strategy is recommended for showcasing a freelancer's expertise and the quality of their work, thereby positioning them as an authority in their field and increasing their chances of being hired.

💡Call to Action

A call to action in the video refers to a concluding statement in a proposal that prompts the client to respond or engage further. It could be a question or an invitation to a call to discuss the project. The video stresses the importance of clear calls to action in moving the conversation forward and increasing the likelihood of a response from the client.

💡Screening Questions

Screening questions are specific queries that clients may require freelancers to answer as part of their proposal on Upwork. The video provides guidance on how to effectively answer these questions, using them as opportunities to demonstrate expertise, share relevant experiences, and provide concrete examples of work, thus enhancing the proposal's impact.

💡Paradox of Choice

The paradox of choice is a concept mentioned in the video to describe a situation where having too many options can lead to higher expectations and sometimes indecision. In the context of freelancing, this concept is used to explain why clients have higher expectations due to the vast number of freelancers available on platforms like Upwork.

Highlights

The importance of writing great proposals for success on Upwork.

How to stand out and get clients to notice your proposal even as a new Upwork user.

Strategies to show clients you're a good fit for their project as a beginner.

Positioning yourself as an authority on the type of work you're doing.

Expertly answering screening questions on Upwork.

The presenter's personal success earning hundreds of thousands of dollars on Upwork.

The presenter's work featured in major publications like Inc and Bloomberg.

The paradox of choice and its impact on client expectations and freelancer opportunities.

The proposal as a conversation starter rather than a deal closer.

The three basic elements of a winning proposal: introduction, proof of capability, and call to action.

Creating a brief introduction that draws the client in and builds rapport.

Using the personal connection introduction to make a unique statement about the client or situation.

The affirmation approach to reiterate the client's needs in the introduction.

Guidelines for writing an effective brief introduction.

The power of showing relevant work examples in your proposal.

How to tour guide clients through your work to highlight its relevance and quality.

Alternative strategies for writing proposals when you can't show relevant work examples.

Using a clear call to action to prompt clients to respond to your proposal.

The benefits of using a clear call to action in your proposals.

Guidelines for crafting effective calls to action in proposals.

Recap of the three elements of a winning proposal and how they work together.

Transcripts

(upbeat music)

- Hi, everyone. Danny here from freelancetowin.com.

And today I'm going to be talking to you about

the elements of a winning proposal in 2021 and beyond.

Now, this is a very exciting topic for me.

It's one of my favorite things to talk about

because I believe that being able to write great proposals

is absolutely key to your success on Upwork.

Now, first and foremost,

let's briefly go over

what you're going to learn in this presentation.

One, I'll show you how to stand out

and get clients to notice your proposal,

even if you're new to Upwork.

Two, you'll also learn how to show clients

you're a good fit for their project.

And again, that's even if you're a beginner here on Upwork.

Three, how to position yourself

as an authority on the type of work you're doing,

including those of you

who may not have a big portfolio just yet.

Four, I'll show you how to

expertly answer screening questions.

And if you're still new to Upwork

and you aren't quite sure what those are,

don't worry, I'll be explaining that too.

And finally, I'll even show you some next steps

that will help you put this knowledge into action.

All right, we're about to get into it,

but first real quick, for those of you who may not know me,

here's a brief overview of my work.

I've personally earned

hundreds of thousands of dollars here on Upwork,

including over $100,000 in just 12 months.

And I don't say that to brag,

but just to let you know that I'm no stranger to this stuff.

My work has also been featured by many major publications,

including Inc, Bloomberg and many others.

I also have a popular blog called Freelance To Win

where I share Upwork related strategies and tips with

hundreds of thousands of freelancers each year

from all over the world and from different backgrounds,

industries and experience levels.

So I really believe that these strategies I'm gonna show you

will be widely applicable.

I'm a writer,

yet these strategies properly applied and adopted

can be effective in any work category.

Okay, so given that this talk is about

how to write a winning proposal in 2021 and beyond,

let's talk briefly about

what we can expect in 2021 and beyond.

Well, it's a safe bet to assume

that clients will be busier than ever before.

We also know clients today have unprecedented choices

when it comes to hiring freelancers.

There are more people freelancing right now than ever before

and we can expect that trend to continue as well.

And finally, when it comes to hiring freelancers,

clients have higher expectations than they did in the past.

How do we know that?

Because as people are given more choices,

they also begin to naturally expect

better results from those choices.

This is sometimes known as the paradox of choice.

Now, and this is very important,

there's also a tremendous upside to these trends

because there are also more clients, more projects

and more excellent opportunities than ever before,

including more opportunities for us

to stand out and impress clients.

And I believe the best way to do that

is with a powerful, succinct proposal.

One of the best things about

the approaches I'm going to show you is that

they're fairly easy to learn and implement

as some approaches that used to work well

may not be as effective going forward,

again, given the unprecedented level

of busyness and expectations clients now have.

Now, in the next slide,

we're going to get right into it

and I'll show you how I actually write proposals.

But first, in order for it to make the most sense,

I want to set some context for you.

So here you can see my big picture game plan

because my proposal isn't just a proposal,

it's actually a part of an overall process I have

for acquiring new clients here on Upwork.

Specifically, my proposals are not designed

to be deal closers.

In other words, I'm not trying to get hired

off my proposal alone.

Rather, my proposals are designed to start a conversation

and then hopefully get a response from the client.

And assuming all goes well,

I will then go into further discussion with them

about the project.

I liked this approach for a couple of reasons.

One is that I can't really know

if the project is a good fit for me and vice versa

until I talk to the client.

So it wouldn't make sense for me to go into a hard sell

where I try to get hired right there in my proposal

when what I really need to do

is to explore if there's even a good fit.

And the other reason I liked this approach is that

it's really a modern approach in that

I'm able to keep my proposals

very succinct, very streamlined,

which works nicely

with those conditions we discussed earlier

of clients being busier than ever,

having more choices than ever before and so on.

All right, now let's talk about

the specific elements of a winning proposal.

You can see I've broken it down

into just three basic elements.

One, a brief introduction.

This is going to be your icebreaker.

Something that draws the client in

so they read the rest of your proposal.

The second element,

proof that you can do a great job for the client.

This is going to be the real meat of your proposal.

The part that really makes the client say, "Wow."

And three, a clear call to action,

which is a simple way to prompt clients

to respond to your proposal,

which again, is the main goal of my proposals.

Now, let's dive deeper

and take an in-depth look at each element

along with specific examples

and guidelines for how to put them into action.

We'll start naturally with the first element,

a brief introduction.

First, let's break down

the goals of your brief introduction.

So of course,

we wanna get the client attention, very important,

but we also wanna start building rapport.

We're really trying to make a connection.

And finally, and this is an underrated one,

we wanna show the client we read their job post

because a lot of freelancers,

believe it or not, don't do that.

They may copy and paste the generic proposal

that really has little or nothing to do

with the client's actual job posts.

And the client is going to wonder whether the freelancer

even read the job post before applying.

And in many cases, it seems like they did not.

So showing the client you read their posts

is a small gesture that can actually go a long way.

So those are the main goals we're trying to squeeze

out of this brief introduction.

And I've got a couple of simple,

elegant ways to do that

that only take a few seconds to implement.

Okay, so the first is something I call

the personal connection introduction.

I'll show you examples in just a second,

but basically, the personal connection introduction

is a spontaneous statement

that's unique to the client or situation.

Think of it as a kind of conversation starter.

For example, it can be a genuine compliment,

a statement of empathy,

talking about something you have in common

or really anything along those lines.

Here you can see some real examples.

The first one is from a proposal

where I was responding to a job post

from a client who was about to do a product launch.

The second one was shown to me on LinkedIn

by an IT professional,

who was writing to a client

whose website had unfortunately been hacked.

And the third one is my standard intro

whenever I'm responding to a job invite from a client.

Notice how these are really brief and straightforward

yet they do work quite well.

Now, sometimes there just isn't an opportunity

to use the personal connection introduction

because not every job post is conducive to it.

When that's the case,

I have another go-to intro I like to use.

I call this the affirmation approach.

The affirmation approach is even simpler

because you basically just repeat back

whatever the client said they needed in their job posts.

In addition to being simple and easy,

it takes just about 10 seconds to do.

It's also universally applicable.

Unlike the personal connection,

you can use it in any situation.

It's not quite as powerful as the personal connection intro,

but it is a solid backup.

Okay, now here you can see some examples

of the affirmation approach in action.

"Hi, I see you're looking for a developer proficient

in Ruby on Rails and AngularJS

to complete an existing project."

"Hi, I see you're looking for an editor

to tighten up your manuscript."

"Hi, I see you need help setting up Zapier automations."

Again, as you can see,

this is a very straightforward approach,

yet it doesn't work well.

Okay, let's walk through some quick guidelines

to help you when you're writing your brief introduction.

As you can see from my examples,

I generally try to keep my introductions short.

I keep it simple.

And it's also important not to try too hard.

Sometimes I'll see freelancers try to use these approaches

and they get too fancy with it.

For example, they may try to force

some sort of personal connection

when there really isn't an opportunity for it.

And it can come off as unnatural or worse disingenuous.

I also sometimes see people try to get too fancy

with their affirmation approach.

For example, they may go too far

and put words in the client's mouth,

instead of just pretty much repeating back

what the client has asked for.

Another thing I'll sometimes see is

people trying to combine these two approaches.

And that just doesn't work either.

So remember to keep it simple.

Okay, let's move on

to the second element of a winning proposal,

proof you can do a great job.

The best, most effective way I know

of to do that is to show clients

one or more relevant examples of your work

right in your proposal.

Showing an example of relevant work

is so powerful for several reasons.

First of all, it instantly shows off

your skills in a tangible way

compared to simply telling the client

that you're qualified to work on their job.

It also alleviates one of the client's biggest concerns

because clients are always wondering,

can this freelancer do a good job, not just on any project,

but on my project in particular?

And so when you show them an example of your work

that's relevant to their needs or similar to what they need,

it's almost like letting them look into a crystal ball

and predict the future

because they can see the results you achieved

on a similar piece of work.

And finally, showing a relevant example of work

helps you stand out because in my experience,

most freelancers don't do it.

So the client will really appreciate

seeing that relevant work example from you,

especially if they've already read through

a bunch of proposals that did not contain one.

Now, sometimes when I talk about this subject,

people will put up a little protest.

They'll say,

"But Danny, I'm new to Upwork

or I'm new to freelancing altogether

and I don't have a big portfolio to work with."

And to that I say, first of all,

the work you show

does not have to be work you've done for clients on Upwork.

In fact, it doesn't even have

to be work you've done for clients at all.

It can be something you did for a friend,

relative, a nonprofit

or it can even be something you just did for yourself,

even something you did for fun

or just something you did for the purpose

of building up your portfolio.

Yes, that is allowed.

For example, last year,

I noticed there were lots of jobs being posted

for copywriters who could write landing pages for apps.

So I looked through my portfolio and guess what?

I'd never written a landing page for an app before.

So can you guess what I did?

I wrote a landing page for an app.

I came up with the idea for an app

and I wrote some landing page copy about it.

The app does not actually exist,

at least not outside of my own mind,

but the landing page copy I wrote is very real

and I used it to get quite a few jobs.

So this is really something anyone can do

and you do not need a big portfolio to pull it off.

Another thing some people will say to me

regarding showing a relevant example of work is they'll say,

"Danny, I can see how this would work

for creative types like writers or designers,

but I'm neither of those things.

So what should I do?"

And my answer to that is I have helped freelancers

in just about every category of work imaginable

and I have yet to discover a profession

where it is not possible to show clients

a tangible relevant example of your work.

You can see a few specific examples on the screen here

and there are many more examples.

I could spend all day making a list of them,

but this should at least spark some ideas for you.

So for example,

a social media manager can show screenshots of posts

that are relevant to what a client is looking for.

A marketing professional could create a marketing funnel

and show that to clients.

I once saw a lawyer here on Upwork

who cleverly showed clients examples

of contracts she'd worked on.

And of course, she removed any personal info from those,

but clients were able to physically see her work,

which was great.

An Excel specialist could do something similar to that,

except of course with spreadsheets.

A proofreader can show

before and after examples of their work and on and on.

The list of ideas is truly never ending.

So by this point,

hopefully I've convinced you of the power of showing

relevant work examples in your proposals.

Now, let's talk about how I do it.

First of all, I do not just tell clients

to check out my portfolio.

Instead, I actually go ahead and pick out

one to three of my most relevant examples for them.

That makes it easier for the client,

which they will appreciate.

And it also makes it more likely

they'll see the specific pieces of work I want them to see.

I'll usually attach it to my proposal as a PDF

or if it's something that makes more sense to link to,

for example, a live blog post,

then I would go ahead and drop a link to that.

Now, quick side note.

Just make sure you never link clients to a page

that they can contact you from

since that is against Upwork's terms of use.

And finally, perhaps the most important guideline

I can give you is to not

just drop your work in a client's lap,

but to explain what makes the work relevant,

special or unique to the client's needs.

I call this process tour guiding clients through your work.

Okay, here you can see a proposal I wrote

that got me an excellent client by the way.

And you can see how

not only did I include a relevant example of work,

but I actually use a significant portion of my proposal

to tour guide the client through that piece of work.

Notice also that I did not just point out

random things about my work,

I kept it highly relevant to what the client needed,

which was an email series to help him sell an online course.

This has some tremendous benefits.

It increases the perceived value of your work

because guess what?

This stuff may not be obvious to clients

when they see your work.

You are a professional at what you do,

but they probably don't have

the same knowledge and expertise you do.

And in any case,

clients will appreciate the fact

that you went out of your way

to highlight some key points for them.

And they'll also be very happy

to see how knowledgeable you are

about the work they need done.

So tour guiding really helps you position yourself

as an authority on the work you're doing,

which is a very attractive quality clients are looking for.

And finally, tour guiding gives clients a better idea

of the type of work they can expect from you

assuming they hire you.

So this really sets you up for success in terms of

delivering on their expectations once you're hired.

Now, once you get used to tour guiding,

it really becomes second nature.

But in the meantime,

when you're sitting there writing your proposal,

here are some questions you can ask yourself

that will help you tour guide clients most effectively.

One, what makes this work relevant to the client?

Two, what did you learn from working on it?

Three, what makes it a quality piece of work?

Four, is there anything that makes it unique or stand out?

Five, did it achieve any specific result?

And know that this can even be an intangible result

like the client loved it so much.

They immediately rehired me for another project.

And finally, did someone else say something good about it?

If so, you can use that as a testimonial for your work.

Please keep in mind,

these questions are only intended to spark your imagination.

You do not need to answer all of them,

even one or two can work quite well.

Now, with everything I've just told you,

if for whatever reason you are really truly absolutely

unable to show a client a relevant example of your work,

but you honestly believe you are qualified

to work on their project anyway,

I'm going to give you an alternative strategy

for writing a proposal in that case.

However, please note that this is not ideal

though it is something I may do from time to time.

And so what you can do in that case is to talk

about a relevant work experience instead.

Again, it doesn't work as well

and there is a bit of risk involved

because it lacks that glimpse into the future aspect

we talked about earlier

because the client isn't seeing

a completed piece of work you've done.

So they really don't know

exactly what to expect from you if they hire you.

So I consider this approach to be somewhat advanced

and you should really only use it

if you're extremely confident

that you can do a great job for the client if hired.

With that said, in the right situations,

it can work quite well and here are some ways to do it.

You can tell a story about your previous experience

or about a relevant piece of work you've done.

You can talk about a result you've achieved

or helped someone else achieve through your work.

You can use a testimonial

to back up your previous experience.

And these last two bullets.

Now, notice that I've bolded these

because I think these are really key

if you're going to use this approach

and these are sharing your knowledge or expertise

and offering one or more

helpful suggestions for the client's project.

And by that I mean,

preferably specific suggestions

for their situation and goals.

And I really liked those last two bullet points especially

because they do give some of that glimpse

into the future aspect to your proposal

because at least clients can see your thought process,

how you might approach their job.

You also have a chance to position yourself as an authority

because when you're sharing your knowledge

or offering helpful suggestions,

you're not just telling the client about your experience,

you're also showing them

that you know what you're talking about.

And by the way,

even if you do show a client

a relevant example of your work,

you can also combine that

with any of the approaches on this screen

to make it even more powerful.

Okay, now here is an example of a proposal

where I use this approach.

In this case, the client wanted someone

to write a few chatbots scripts for a car dealership.

Now, I had never written a chatbot script,

but I am a professional writer.

And I also have some relevant experience in this area

because I did use to work at a car dealership.

And one of my duties in that job

was actually doing live chat with customers

on the dealership's website.

So you can say that I was sort of a human chatbot.

And so I felt like I would be a perfect fit.

But of course, since I had never written a chatbot script,

I did not have any relevant examples of work

to show the client.

So I decided to talk about my relevant experience instead.

But notice, I didn't just say that I had experience,

I still proved it.

And I did that by sharing my specific knowledge

and expertise in this area

and by offering a specific suggestion.

So really, even though I did not show the client

any kind of relevant work example,

when he reads this,

he's gonna realize that I have a deep understanding

of what he is trying to accomplish

and how to make it happen.

This proposal did lead me to getting hired for the job

and I was able to do a great job for the client,

but it still would have been a better proposal

if I had been able to include a relevant example of my work.

Now, one thing that's very cool

about the techniques I've just shown you is that

in addition to using them

in your cover letter portion of your proposals,

you can also use them when writing your answers

to screening questions as well.

And real quick here,

in case you aren't familiar with screening questions,

these are questions that you're required

to answer on some proposals.

When a client posts a job,

it's up to them whether or not

to include screening questions.

And you can see an example here on the screen

of what it looks like when a job posts does include those.

So here is an example of a type of screening question

that tends to be fairly common

along with what I consider to be a very good answer.

And by the way,

this is from a proposal written by one of my students

who gave me permission to share it.

And this was a successful proposal,

meaning it resulted in my student getting hired.

So anyway, as you can see,

the client is asking basically,

do you have experience with this type of work?

And then my student handled it beautifully.

Not by just saying yes,

but also talking specifically about her experience,

sharing her knowledge,

showing a relevant example of work

and highlighting a specific achievement.

Here's another example

again, from one of my students

who also ended up being hired for this job.

And this one is a bit different.

You can see that in this case,

there's a personal connection introduction,

which is a pretty neat way to answer a screening question.

She then shares her knowledge and shows her expertise

while also highlighting relevant work experience.

Really excellent stuff.

Okay, moving along.

Let's dig into winning proposal element number three,

a clear call to action.

A call to action is simply a way to end your proposal

in a way that prompts clients to respond.

So instead of just hoping they'll respond,

it's better to actually give them a little nudge

that will make it more likely that they will respondent.

Now, there are two ways I usually do this.

One, I may ask a question about the project,

which when done right

will prompt the client to write back to me.

And the other approach I may use is that

I may invite the client to a brief call

to discuss the project further.

Now, this is one of the easier aspects

of writing a winning proposal,

but there are still a few important details

to pay attention to in order to get this right.

First, let's quickly go over

the benefits of using a clear call to action.

We've already discussed one of these,

which is simply that it makes it more likely

clients will respond to you proposals.

But there's more.

If you use a call to action

in the way I'm gonna show you,

you'll also be moving the conversation forward,

which is exactly where you want it to go.

I hear from a lot of freelancers

who maybe write a good proposal

and may even get some responses,

but they often tell me that

the conversation never seems to go anywhere.

That's because you need to move the conversation forward.

You can't just wait and hope the client will do it.

And a clear call to action is very helpful in doing that.

And finally, the two types of call to action

I just showed you either asking a clarifying question

or inviting the client to a call

to discuss the project in more detail.

Notice how they both convey your interest in the project.

And this is a very good thing because clients like it

when you're interested in their project.

In fact, all else being equal,

the freelancer who shows the most genuine interest

is the one who's most likely to get hired.

So here you can see a very simple example

of how I successfully put this approach into action

by asking a simple, clarifying question

that the client then responded to very quickly.

In this case,

I didn't wanna go straight for the call because

while I was potentially interested in this job,

I really needed to know a little more about it

before committing to a call.

And again, it ended up working out very well.

Some quick guidelines

that can help you with your calls to action.

First of all, I usually use just

one call to action per proposal.

I either ask a question or ask for the call. Not both.

Similarly, I also usually limit myself

to asking just one question.

Remember, as I mentioned earlier,

I'm just trying to start a conversation

and I don't wanna overwhelm the client

with tons of questions.

Though some people have told me

they do well with several questions.

So of course, you should always feel free

to go with whatever works best for you.

And don't be afraid to try different things.

Now, when I do ask clients a question,

I wanna make sure it's not something arbitrary.

Questions should aim to clarify

one or more aspects of the job.

And I like to make it something

that's fairly easy for the client to respond to.

Recall my question from the previous slide,

where I simply asked the client

what he was going to be selling.

Okay, so let's just do a quick recap

and take a bird's eye view of the three elements in action.

Notice again, how I begin with a simple brief introduction.

From there, I moved to sharing

a relevant piece of work I've done

to prove that I can do a great job.

I also tour guide the client through the work

explaining why it's relevant

and talking about it's key points

that I know he'll be interested in

and that show my expertise.

And of course that highlight the quality of the work.

Finally, I end with a clear call action,

in this case, a simple clarifying question.

Best of all,

this proposal took me just a few minutes to write

and it resulted in a win for both myself and the client.

Now, one thing you may have noticed is

what my proposals generally do not contain.

Specifically, I usually do not discuss details like

timeline or scheduling.

I generally do not offer to do the work.

For example, some freelancers will say,

"I can start on this right away."

I don't that because I don't really know

if there's a good fit yet at this point.

I mean, I may suspect there's a good fit,

but I don't really know until after I talked to the client.

So I'm not going to go into

nitty-gritty details about scheduling

and other kinds of fine print items in my proposal.

And this has a secondary benefit

of keeping my proposal succinct.

They've got stuff in there that clients love

without bogging them down with details

in this preliminary phase.

Once I get clients on a call, if I feel there's a good fit,

then we discuss the fine print