Proposals & Contracts

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Lesson Overview

In this lesson, we’ll discuss 2 important documents to send to your clients when taking on new work:

1. Proposals That Impress
2. Contracts That Clarify

Lesson Transcription

• Welcome! I’m Leighton, your webmaster. In today’s lesson, let’s discuss 2 important documents to send to your clients when taking on new work: Proposals and Contracts. These documents make you look more professional, more polished, and ultimately encourage higher-value clients. I’m sharing these document templates in the Resources section of this Lesson, so be sure to do your homework by downloading them to your computer.

1. Proposals That Impress — So you might be thinking, isn’t that a quote??  Is that what you’re thinking?  Because if so, you are correct! Proposals act as quotes, but in this case, I’m introducing you to the #1 best advice I can give you to landing higher-value projects: It’s all in the Proposal. Email-based quotes will land you $1000 or $2000 projects, but a well-written, value-packed Proposal will help you earn $5000, $10000, $15000 clients. If you ever come across a clickbait article promising to help you land $10k+ web design clients, they’re probably referring to a killer proposal. Let me show you what I’m referring to with an example of one of my 15-page proposals I attached to a quote email for a business.
   (DEMONSTRATE A&W Compressor Proposal)
   So what was your impression of that proposal?  What did it suggest about the person who prepared it?  If you owned a successful business and had a decent marketing budget, would that proposal impress you?  What is it about that proposal that’s impressive?  First off, the amount of content. 15 pages worth! That tells the client, you put a lot of thought into this… Next, the professionalism. It’s not a friendly, informal, email… it’s a professional, polished, high-end PDF document that you could even print and bind if you preferred. Finally, the content is packed with value. I break down every bit of the initial design quote as well as the abundance of value in the Website Care Service. I’ve had several of these proposals accepted, and this is the #1 best way to double, triple, even quadruple your quotes. And, for you, I’m sharing this template. In the Resources section of this Lesson, I have a template that you can personalize for your business. When you’re ready to prepare one for a client, make a copy of the template, input the pertinent information, export as a PDF, and attach it in an email as your quote. You’ll thank me later! Takeaway #1: Proposals That Impress are the absolute best way to increase your prices and land higher-value clients.
2. Contracts That Clarify — Contracts aren’t always the most fun conversation. As a consumer, do you like contracts?  Probably not. So based on that response, what opportunity do you have as a business owner?  To make your contract as enjoyable and least stressful as possible! Now first off, you should know that a contract is optional. Plenty of web designers serve clients without a contract, and that’s fine. I didn’t have one for years. Then, as my business grew, I grew into a contract. To be clear, as of today, no one has ever fought me or sued me to the point where my contract was enforced or contested. Hopefully you and I never have to go through that! Side point: that’s why we vet and interview clients thoroughly before taking them on! Anyways, with all that being said, what’s the point of a contract if we aren’t in court??  Can you think of any reasons why this would come in handy?  Let me put it this way. A contract states the terms of your agreement. It clearly defines what you intend to do, for what price, your payment terms, cancellation policy and maintenance plan expectations. Why might that be helpful?  You guessed it. To set expectations and clear up any misunderstandings about your services. Once they read your Agreement and sign their name to it, they know exactly what to expect and they can’t later say, “I didn’t know there would be sales tax! Or, I didn’t know you would be putting my website on your portfolio! Or why isn’t my site on page 1? Why isn’t it bringing in any leads??” Well, in the contract, it’s clearly stated that we aren’t responsible for the amount of traffic the site gets, and we don’t guarantee rankings. See? Make that clear right out of the gate. So what’s involved in your contract?  Let me teach you by showing you mine.
   (DEMONSTRATE Agreement Template, available in the Materials tab above)
   So what’d you think?  Not too scary, right?  I tried really hard to make it easy-to-read and friendly as possible yet still legally binding. Still, I only present these to clients who are signing up for my Website Care Service and are therefore building a long-term relationship. And for you, I’m sharing my template. In the Resources section of this Lesson, I have a Contract template that you can personalize for your business. When you’re ready to prepare one for a client, make a copy of the template, input the pertinent information, export as a PDF, and attach it along with your proposal. And consult with a lawyer if you need additional support. Takeaway #2: Contracts That Clarify will set the expectations for your long-term relationship with a client.

RECAP: So what did we learn about these 2 documents?

1. Proposals That Impress are the absolute best way to increase your prices and land higher-value clients.
2. Contracts That Clarify will set the expectations for your long-term relationship with a client.

I’m Leighton, and now you know, How To Send Proposals & Contracts!

Lesson Homework

Download the Proposals That Impress and Contracts That Clarify Templates from the Materials tab. Personalize them for your business.