1 00:00:01,540 --> 00:00:02,970 Welcome to the next lesson. 2 00:00:02,980 --> 00:00:07,240 Now we were going to be discussing sending proposals as a developer. 3 00:00:07,870 --> 00:00:11,110 If you never ask, the answer is always going to be no. 4 00:00:11,110 --> 00:00:16,720 So once you find jobs that you'd like to apply to, then it's up to you to start sending proposals out 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,080 in job applications on a consistent basis. 6 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:25,660 So even if you don't feel 100% ready or you know, every single thing in the job description, it's 7 00:00:25,660 --> 00:00:28,690 up to you to get started because you have to start somewhere. 8 00:00:28,690 --> 00:00:33,010 And that's the only way you're ever going to learn to grow and to move forward. 9 00:00:33,010 --> 00:00:38,440 Everyone on Upwork, every single top rated freelancer, everyone who's ever created a business had 10 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:39,700 to start from zero. 11 00:00:39,700 --> 00:00:40,870 So remember that. 12 00:00:40,870 --> 00:00:46,630 Put yourself in those people's shoes and that will help you get started sending out proposals on a consistent 13 00:00:46,630 --> 00:00:47,380 basis. 14 00:00:48,250 --> 00:00:54,430 A job application or a business proposal are different terms that are used to describe all of the files 15 00:00:54,430 --> 00:00:58,960 that you send to a client to apply for the job that they posted online. 16 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:05,140 It typically will consist of your cover letter, your resume, past work experience, and any other 17 00:01:05,140 --> 00:01:10,420 attachments or questions you have as it relates to the job that the client has listed. 18 00:01:11,190 --> 00:01:16,620 In your development and engineer proposals, you will want to ensure that they each contain the following 19 00:01:16,620 --> 00:01:17,370 sections. 20 00:01:17,610 --> 00:01:19,790 The first is a project overview. 21 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:26,010 You always want to include an executive summary or an overview of sorts at the beginning of the proposal. 22 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:31,140 This is helpful because it helps summarise the clients requirements, the services that you are offering 23 00:01:31,140 --> 00:01:34,690 and why you are qualified to handle all of those tasks. 24 00:01:34,710 --> 00:01:38,100 Underline any of the key benefits that the client will receive. 25 00:01:38,130 --> 00:01:43,260 For instance, will this new website, let's say you're working on for them, help the client benefit 26 00:01:43,260 --> 00:01:48,120 from a gap in a prospective niche or position themselves for higher profits? 27 00:01:48,150 --> 00:01:53,910 If so, you want to put that in the overview because that is the benefit the client is going to be getting 28 00:01:53,910 --> 00:01:57,600 and of course the problem that you are going to be solving for them. 29 00:01:57,930 --> 00:02:01,080 Next, you also want to include a project outline. 30 00:02:01,110 --> 00:02:07,710 A project outline clearly should define the client's problem and elaborate in detail how you are going 31 00:02:07,710 --> 00:02:08,460 to solve it. 32 00:02:08,490 --> 00:02:14,070 This is a critical part of your proposal because it shows the client that you understand their major 33 00:02:14,070 --> 00:02:17,760 problems and that they can trust you to get to the root of those. 34 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:23,880 Some of the best proposals focus on the main problem, referencing it over and over to show why you 35 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,850 as the freelancer are the right fit to help solve that problem. 36 00:02:27,210 --> 00:02:33,630 It's all up to you to outline the project so the client feels a level of trust that you know exactly 37 00:02:33,660 --> 00:02:39,330 what you were doing and you are hitting on all the important parts of the project so you can link the 38 00:02:39,330 --> 00:02:45,210 services that you offer to how they meet the needs of the client, while also maintaining the clarity 39 00:02:45,210 --> 00:02:51,210 in that project outline so they understand all of the requirements and exactly what is going to be needed 40 00:02:51,210 --> 00:02:52,620 to get the job done. 41 00:02:53,450 --> 00:02:57,550 You also want to include the scope of work and be very clear with this. 42 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:02,960 We went over this a few times now, but it is very important to not only outline the scope of work, 43 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:09,350 but also outline the deliverables exactly what you are going to be providing the client so they know 44 00:03:09,350 --> 00:03:10,220 what to expect. 45 00:03:10,220 --> 00:03:12,380 And there's no misunderstandings there. 46 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,050 After that, you want to include timeline in phases of the project. 47 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,350 This goes over how long the project is expected to take. 48 00:03:20,380 --> 00:03:26,080 Again, this section needs to be very well defined, including estimated dates and times, and also 49 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,900 breaking down the project the best you can. 50 00:03:28,930 --> 00:03:34,930 This will help create an understanding of where the project is likely going to go in each of the phases. 51 00:03:34,930 --> 00:03:38,260 So keep in mind that the timeline is is tentative. 52 00:03:38,260 --> 00:03:39,580 It's a projection. 53 00:03:39,580 --> 00:03:41,890 It's something that is susceptible to change. 54 00:03:41,890 --> 00:03:43,870 There are going to be hiccups along the way. 55 00:03:43,870 --> 00:03:48,850 So you do want to try to factor those in when you're giving your timeline estimates, but you also want 56 00:03:48,850 --> 00:03:54,250 to just be transparent and discuss all of the timeline in phases with the client before you actually 57 00:03:54,250 --> 00:03:55,240 finalize them. 58 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:01,570 Once you've noted the client's budget from your job description, your proposal should present the breakdown 59 00:04:01,570 --> 00:04:05,420 of costs in a clear and digestible way to your prospect. 60 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:10,750 It's often helpful to tie it back to the process that you're going to be going through, especially 61 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:14,500 if you're charging an hourly rate or a project fee that is based on hours. 62 00:04:14,530 --> 00:04:20,530 This makes it really easy for the client to understand how each of the different payment terms that 63 00:04:20,530 --> 00:04:24,220 you're presenting relates to the work that they are going to be receiving. 64 00:04:25,190 --> 00:04:26,000 After that. 65 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,480 Now that all the information is out there, it's time to include a call to action. 66 00:04:31,490 --> 00:04:36,410 You want to have the client interested in your proposal and then, of course, reach out to you to get 67 00:04:36,410 --> 00:04:41,960 in touch with you on a phone call or a video call so you can go through all of the client's questions, 68 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:48,800 you can clarify any specific points, and you can basically move the project from a prospective project 69 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,890 to a closed project where you begin to work on it. 70 00:04:51,890 --> 00:04:55,250 You get assign deal and you start to get money in your pocket. 71 00:04:56,690 --> 00:05:01,700 Here's an example of a Web development proposal broken down into each section. 72 00:05:01,730 --> 00:05:06,040 Feel free to pause any time you need to to actually read it in detail. 73 00:05:06,050 --> 00:05:11,480 But for the sake of just presenting this to you, I'm going to run through each section and describe 74 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:12,100 what it is. 75 00:05:12,110 --> 00:05:18,560 So first is the project overview and this is where you are going to describe exactly what the company 76 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:25,880 is that you are helping as well as the goals and what they need for the project next is outlining the 77 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,490 project and the solution in more detail. 78 00:05:28,490 --> 00:05:34,670 So this is where you go into what you are going to provide and how that is going to help solve the problem 79 00:05:34,670 --> 00:05:36,110 that the client has. 80 00:05:37,180 --> 00:05:37,900 After that. 81 00:05:37,900 --> 00:05:41,200 That is where you want to break down the scope of work and the timeline. 82 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:46,660 So this is where you are going to list all of the different deliverables in how long you estimate them 83 00:05:46,660 --> 00:05:47,200 to take. 84 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:53,410 So in this example, I included all of the different deliverables such as the goal session, discovery, 85 00:05:53,410 --> 00:05:57,940 period, strategy, wire framing, design, development and website launch. 86 00:05:57,940 --> 00:06:03,400 So based on the specific project, you also want to include a general time frame for how long you think 87 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,080 each of these are going to take? 88 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:11,040 It's also worth noting what is outside of the scope of work in the project. 89 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:17,040 So for example, submission of website to search engines, search engine optimization or design of other 90 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:18,990 branded assets such as logos. 91 00:06:18,990 --> 00:06:23,910 You want to also include what is not included in the scope of work to once again be as transparent as 92 00:06:23,910 --> 00:06:27,270 possible and to make sure that you're all on the same page. 93 00:06:28,470 --> 00:06:32,250 Then you can go into the timeline in the different phases like we discussed. 94 00:06:32,250 --> 00:06:36,030 So for this one, phase one would be the strategy and discovery period. 95 00:06:36,030 --> 00:06:40,680 Phase two would be designed in development period, and phase three would be website launch and training 96 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:41,310 period. 97 00:06:42,870 --> 00:06:45,420 After that, you want to list the compensation? 98 00:06:45,420 --> 00:06:52,890 In this example, I have the goal session broken out into 4 hours for a price of $100 an hour at $400. 99 00:06:52,890 --> 00:06:58,860 Discovery in strategy is at 6 hours wireframe and design is at 20 hours and development and launch is 100 00:06:58,860 --> 00:07:00,060 at 24 hours. 101 00:07:00,060 --> 00:07:05,400 So this is where you're giving the client an estimate of how many hours it's going to take for each 102 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:10,830 phase of the project, as well as an estimate of the total cost of the project, which I included at 103 00:07:10,830 --> 00:07:11,490 the bottom. 104 00:07:11,490 --> 00:07:14,130 Once again, this is all subject to change. 105 00:07:14,130 --> 00:07:19,680 So you do want to let the client know that and let's say you are on one of these different timelines 106 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:23,190 and you're in one of these phases and it's taking longer than needed. 107 00:07:23,190 --> 00:07:27,030 Make sure you bring that up to the client so they don't just get a surprise, Bill. 108 00:07:27,030 --> 00:07:32,440 But let's say you're in the discovery and strategy part of the project and you're already at about 5 109 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:34,980 hours and you know, there's some more stuff that needs to be done. 110 00:07:34,980 --> 00:07:39,720 You can bring that up to the client and just let them know, Hey, it looks like we're going over that 111 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:40,770 initial estimate. 112 00:07:40,770 --> 00:07:46,200 Do you want to try to expedite the process here or do we want to continue with this discovery and strategy 113 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:47,250 phase further? 114 00:07:47,250 --> 00:07:49,350 And of course, I will have to charge for that. 115 00:07:49,530 --> 00:07:55,230 So it's all about being as transparent as possible in laying out the project in as much detail so the 116 00:07:55,230 --> 00:07:58,920 client knows that they can trust you and that you have a plan of action. 117 00:08:00,230 --> 00:08:05,810 After that, you can include all of the terms and termination of the project, including copyright, 118 00:08:05,810 --> 00:08:12,500 scope of work, confidentiality disclosures, etc. This is all of the actual legal stuff that you want 119 00:08:12,500 --> 00:08:13,370 to include. 120 00:08:13,370 --> 00:08:19,220 And once again, you can look at other sample contracts based on the type of services that you are providing. 121 00:08:19,220 --> 00:08:25,340 But this is all in the effort to provide as much transparency as possible, as well as outline the terms 122 00:08:25,340 --> 00:08:26,120 of the agreement. 123 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:31,460 So when you want to get paid, how the project can be terminated if needed, etc., you want to include 124 00:08:31,460 --> 00:08:33,170 all of that to cover yourself. 125 00:08:33,470 --> 00:08:36,770 And lastly, of course, you need to have an agreement section. 126 00:08:36,770 --> 00:08:42,770 This is where you're asking for them to sign the document, to agree to it, or to get in touch with 127 00:08:42,770 --> 00:08:46,130 you so they can ask you any questions and you can clarify further. 128 00:08:47,650 --> 00:08:54,160 Another way you can take your proposals above and beyond is to create a web page for your proposal and 129 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:55,660 send that to the client. 130 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:01,150 This will help showcase some of your development and your design skills while also helping you stand 131 00:09:01,150 --> 00:09:02,170 out from the crowd. 132 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:07,840 Imagine that you are a client and you're looking to hire a freelancer for a development project, and 133 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:13,030 someone reaches out to you with a web page proposal that they built specifically for that job. 134 00:09:13,510 --> 00:09:18,760 Most likely, it will gain your attention and increase the likelihood that you will consider the proposal 135 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,010 and not just put it in the archive list. 136 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:26,590 So to do this, all you have to do is just include the link at the top of your cover letter and mention 137 00:09:26,590 --> 00:09:30,310 that you built a custom web page just for this job proposal. 138 00:09:30,340 --> 00:09:35,890 This can be something that can help you stand out from the competition, especially if you're just getting 139 00:09:35,890 --> 00:09:36,610 started out. 140 00:09:36,610 --> 00:09:38,470 You don't have a ton of experience. 141 00:09:38,470 --> 00:09:43,810 You want to take advantage of every differentiator you can so you can stand out from the competition, 142 00:09:43,810 --> 00:09:49,060 hear back from more clients, from the proposals and applications you send out, and of course, land 143 00:09:49,060 --> 00:09:50,950 more projects and make more money. 144 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:57,060 Also remember that this is a starting point and the whole goal is to get the client on the phone or 145 00:09:57,060 --> 00:10:00,930 preferably a video call, a Zoom meeting, or a Google Hangout. 146 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:06,780 This way you can go over the details and ensure that your proposal and your estimates and everything 147 00:10:06,780 --> 00:10:10,440 that you influenced are as accurate as possible. 148 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:15,450 If you get new information, once the client reaches out to you and you have a discussion, let them 149 00:10:15,450 --> 00:10:20,340 know that you are going to adjust your proposal based on what you just got clarified, and you will 150 00:10:20,340 --> 00:10:22,980 send that back over to them for them to review. 151 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,020 I'll see you in the next lesson.