When you send a proposal out to your leads, you need something that can seal the deal. A good proposal should answer all their questions, help them trust you, and clearly express the process and deliverables they can expect from working with you. Too often, entrepreneurs don’t make the most of their proposals and end up losing clients.
This doesn’t have to be the case though. With a little guidance and the help of a CRM (customer relationship management software), you can create proposals that look beautiful and make the client feel supported and trusting of your process and services.
What Are Dubsado Proposals?
Dubsado is a CRM that allows you to manage your customers and build automation and workflows to help you stay on top of the administrative side of your business. One of Dubsado’s features is the ability to create proposal templates and add information that will help your client connect with your offers and services.
These proposals can be manually sent out by you when you have a lead, but the power of Dubsado is you can automate sending proposals as well. You can set up a workflow that has a proposal sent out after a specific action or upon completion of a discovery call. You can also go in and adjust your template as needed if you want to customize a proposal for a specific client’s need. Templates can also have smart fields that automatically include the client’s name or business name in the correct place on the template.
Let’s unpack what makes a great Dubsado proposal and how you can make sure you’re giving your clients what they’re looking for with your proposals.
10 Must-Have Components Of a Dubsado Proposal
Your proposal is such an important part of securing a lead and so many entrepreneurs don’t use their proposals to their full potential. As a Dubsado specialist, here are my 10 things to add to your Dubsado proposals to ensure your clients say YES every time!
Header
The header on your Dubsado proposal is kind of like the header on your website or your LinkedIn page. It’s a graphic that introduces your business and has a little blurb about what you do.
These are usually pre-created graphics that are created by a branding team, a graphic designer, or you may have made your own in Canva. Either way, this should match your brand and set the tone for you and your business.
Introductions
After your header, your introduction welcomes your client to the proposal. You can tell them how excited you are to work with them or how you’re looking forward to helping them with their problem.
It will often thank them for considering working with you and for coming to you to solve their problem. It’s usually short and sweet but can be a great place to add smart fields to make the proposal feel personalized with their name or the name of their business.
About Me
The About Me is a great place to connect with your clients more deeply than on your website. Showing empathy for how challenging their needs can be and showing how you’re more than up for the challenge in supporting them is a great way to build trust and connection with your client.
This is also the place to toot your own horn a little bit. Tell them why you’re the best choice to solve their problem. You can talk about your experience, your qualifications, anything that shows you’re the right choice for them.
Be sure to include a headshot of you, so your clients know there’s a real person behind the service that cares about them and wants to help.
What To Expect/Process/Timeline
This is a key piece of the proposal. Clients want to work with a professional and professionals have processes. Yes, you say you can take them from A to B, but they want to know HOW! Having a clearly outlined process that shows clients each step of the way helps them trust that you truly can get them from A to B.
Managing client expectations up front makes sure both you and the client are on the same page from the start and makes the entire process more enjoyable. When clients know exactly what you provide, how you provide it, and the timeline for completion, they feel more confident in their choice of working with you and have more trust in your process.
Packages + Add-On Options
Here is where you go into the deep details of your offers and deliverables. If you have different packages, make sure every feature of the package is outlined here. You need to include what service this package provides, every deliverable the client will receive, and the pricing of each package.
If you offer add-ons, you should list them after the full packages. Be as detailed about what’s included in the add-ons as you were for the base packages. This helps with selling your add-ons but also makes it very clear that these services are not included in the base packages. Add-ons are a great way to deliver additional value to your client and increase the scope of work for you.
This is also where you should include any details about your payment process. Do you require all fees upfront? Is there an initial deposit and then the remaining funds paid after a certain milestone? Make sure your client is crystal clear on how much they’ll be paying and when those funds will be due.
Testimonials
You want to continue to build trust throughout your proposal. Testimonials and social proof are a great way to assure your client’s you’re the right choice for them. After the packages is a great place to add a testimonial as your client just saw the total investment and may need an extra push to get over the pricing hurdle.
Both you and your client know you’re worth the cost, but that doesn’t mean the cold, hard numbers don’t sting a little. Reassure them that their money is being well spent with strong testimonials that show how valuable working with you is.
FAQs
I highly recommend having a “frequently asked questions” section on your proposal. You want to bring up any objections that clients might have and address them proactively. This shows the client you know what they’re worried about and you already have a plan for that.
It also shows clients that you really do know what you’re doing. When you can answer their questions about what they need to do, what they should expect, how to communicate, and what happens if something goes wrong, you’ve clearly done this before and have a plan and process for any occurrence.
If you have multiple services, make sure your FAQs are tailored to the service this proposal is offering. You also don’t want to add too many FAQs as it can start to feel like the process may be overwhelming if there are 15 extra things they need to know. Keep it to the truly most frequently asked ones and the rest can be addressed as they come up if needed.
Next Steps (i.e. complete proposal, sign contract, pay invoice)
You outlined your process, you built trust, you showcased all the amazing things they get in your packages, you gave social proof about how great your offer is, and you answered all their questions. You did it. You sold them. DON’T LEAVE THEM HANGING!
Clients need to know what to do next. They need one clear call to action that shows them how to get started. Let them know in extremely clear terms what they have to do next and what they can expect from you after that.
If they need to select a package, tell them that. Ensure the process is clear that once they select their desired package, input their personal and/or business details, and accept the proposal they’ll easily move to the next step which includes signing the contract & paying their deposit.
Be SUPER clear on this. Clients are about to give you a lot of money. They need to know what will happen or they either won’t complete the proposal, or they’ll start working with you but have a slight lack of trust going in which leads to troublesome clients and negative kick-offs.
Be kind to your clients, show them every step of the way so they never feel left out of the process.
Client Details
You’ll also want to add a section to your Dubsado proposal that allows you to collect your new client’s details using form fields. As mentioned above, this is usually the second last step before they move to the contract and invoice. For maximum efficiency, the form fields should be pre-mapped with “smart fields” which will allow Dubsado to automatically store their information in the correct locations in their profile. This allows your contract, invoice, and other important documents to be pre-filled with the details they enter in your initial proposal. Cool, right?
Footer
Finally, the footer. Like the header, this is usually a graphic that thanks them for their interest in working with you and tells them how excited you are to work on their project. This should also include links to your social media accounts, and ways for them to contact you if they have any questions.
Like What You See? Let’s Chat!
And there you have it! A beautiful, thoughtful proposal that will have clients dying to get started working with you.
If after reading this you’re ready to hide under a rock because your current proposal is missing one (or many) of the sections above, I’d love to help you build out Dubsado proposals that you can’t wait to share with your clients.
Let me streamline your proposals and your business with my Dubsado VIP day or VIP week (if you’re looking for a full Dubsado setup).
Or if you’re a bit of a DIYer, you can try Dubsado out on your own for 30% off with my affiliate code “martine30”.
