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Salescraft 101 – Creating a Road Map with your Proposal Toolkit

There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there. (Indira Gandhi)

One of the fun things about selling Search Engine Optimization service is that every sale is unique because every client has different requirements and needs. In SEO it is critical to be very specific about what your client wants to do and then how you will get them there and with what tools. This is your SEO Proposal Toolkit and it is as essential for closing the deal as it is to making it a successful deal. It requires time and effort that you may want to charge a fee for. In this post I want to talk about the why's and how's of creating a good proposal that your prospect will appreciate to the point that they become a client.

Educate, Educate, Educate

The biggest thing that you can do to separate your self and company from your competitors is to use the SEO proposal as an opportunity to educate your client. Peter Da Vanzo of SEOBook.com talks about crafing an SEO Proposal and mentions "giving a few morsels of valuable information away in the proposal, then even more valuable information will be forthcoming if they sign you. Demonstrate your mastery. If all you do is provide generic information at this point, then your proposal is less likely to stand out." This helps the client understand what you are proposing and it will also get them to realize they are talking with an expert. I will also give them a few resources to read like SEOBook.com or The Google Webmaster Central.

Some people worry that if you give too much away then they will just do it themselves and I can understand that concern. The side I like to think is more persuasive is that A) I am building trust by showing them some of my information and B) they get a clearer idea of what is entailed to make this work (Holy Crap,that's a lot of work!). I also like to recommend books like The Truth About Search Engine Optimization which educates in nice clear language.

Plan the Work, Work the Plan

Crafting a solid proposal for SEO work is essential for a number of reasons:

1. It gets the client to define what they want you to do for them.
2. You get a decent grasp on how much work is going to be required.
3. You can educate the client about SEO and how you do it.
4. It creates a defined plan and agreement so that both parties know what to expect.

Once you have created a proposal you will have framed the argument and aimed at the bulls-eye. Grant at SEO.com puts it best: "we do a disservice to our customers when we enter into a business relationship based on guesses."

Mapping it out

When it comes to putting the Proposal together you want to build something of substance but not a phone book. Once again Peter Da Vanzo at SEObook.com covers this part very well:

What is the ideal size?
One good way of presenting a proposal is to break it into three parts. The first part is a summary, including your client-specific solution and costs. Length can vary of course, but keep it succinct. No fat.
The second part is a case study or two. Again, keep them succinct. It's highly likely that the client won't actually read beyond this point.
Finally, add background information about you, your company, your history and the SEO business, all of which should be aimed at supporting the summary page and case studies. This final part can be generic and doesn't need to be re-written for each client. Clients may only flip through this section, but tend to find it reassuring that it exists.

ref -SEO Consulting: How To Construct Great Proposals

Personally I like to open with an Introduction that outlines what the client has conveyed about their business and what they are asking for. Then I may also add a Rank Checker result listing their ideal keywords and where they currently rank for them. After that I outline our services, solution, and costs in a few pages at most. I have background and then case studies. Each case study is just one page with a few lines of text and then services used and percentage results. Short and sweet.

I get these printed out on good quality paper in color and deliver them by hand. I have put too much time and effort into this to just email it to you. Plus if we are going to be working together we should start off by getting to know each other better. After all you are asking me to make your business more successful.

Conversation:

Please let me know what you think about Writing Proposals, this post, or how I can help you get the SEO results you are looking for. You can reach me, Roger Williams, by leaving a comment below or by calling me at 602-748-4385