Steps to create an impactful graphic design proposal to close important deals

In this guide, I’m going to show you how to create a dynamic graphic design proposal template in a short amount of time and maximize your close rate with it.

Step 1: Begin by qualifying the prospect before pitching

It’s easy to fall for the mistake of chasing each lead that comes your way as you aim to expand your business. But remember all prospects are not created equal. 

And only after qualifying your potential lead, you’ll know whether it’s worth spending your time and energy on the process of proposal writing.  

Follow this checklist for the process of proposal creation

Step 2: Ask questions for better lead qualification

Questions help you seek the right information from the client. Below are the 3 main areas you should focus on when asking the questions for lead qualification.

1. Ideal Customer Profile

• How much they score in your ideal client profile?
• What kind of business are they running?
• How large is their organization?
• Do they match your ideal client geographical location?
• Which tools/services have they used in the past to solve the problem they are currently facing?

2. Customer Needs and Wants

• What they need and what results they are expecting to get?
• How those results are going to affect their goals, their team, and their business?

3. Customer’s Decision-making Process

• How do they make buying decisions?
• How many people are involved in their decision-making process?
• How does their typical buying process look like?
• How long do they usually take to buy any particular service/product?

Step 3: Structure your proposal 

All graphic design templates should include certain details in order to be clear and effective. Even though the exact format of graphic design proposals varies depending on the company and the project, the typical sections you should include in your proposal are these:

1. Front cover

You only get one chance to make a first impression and the cover page of your proposal is your only chance. A cover page of your graphic design proposal should look neat and should be easy to read. An ideal graphic design proposal template‘s good cover page typically includes,

• Name of applying organization and logo
• Project title
• Date
• Contact Information (personal contact name, address, country, phone, email, website)
• Name of the client you are applying to

2. Introductory Letter

The introductory letter in the process of proposal writing sets the tone for the rest. The best practice of writing an impressive pitch is using your prospective client’s words to them. This means simply describe the problem they are facing. Your introductory letter should include,

• Intro paragraph
• Reason for the pitch
• Highlight the challenges they are facing
• Key benefits 

3. Statement of Work

It’s easy to fall for the mistake of giving too many details about the solution. The key here is revealing details only about your approach. However, the details should only be about the approach and not about the solution.

• The key here is to give a rough sketch of the method you will use for the execution.
• Include the list of the specific graphic design services that are being offered without going into details.

4. Realistic Timeline

You must break down all the key steps and the timeline for your client in your proposal. Providing an accurate timeline with deliverables allows you to set the client’s expectations early.

• List of design activities to perform
• The dates on which the activities should be completed (start and end time)
• Expected duration required for each task

5. Interactive Pricing Table

Keep things short and to the point and use a pricing table with a range of options that let your prospect or customer edit the quantities, select the services that best fit their needs, and allow them to customize your solution.

• Standard package (includes all the services mentioned)
• Less expensive package (where a client can choose the services)
• Deluxe package (with extra services)

6. Why Work With Us

You can fill out this section of your business proposal template with the expertise you have, the awards you won, the big list of your happy clients.

• Name, faces, and credentials, background information of the people who will be working on the campaign
• Client benefits

7. Case Study/Testimonials

In this section, you can make your clients visualize themselves working with you by telling the past clients success stories with similar issues.

• Project goal
• Solution
• Result

8. Terms of Services

• Payment
• Warranty
• Termination 
• Agreement

9. Next Steps

It is where you need to explain in-depth what you want your client to do next to get things rolling. You can include something like,

• Sign the proposal (digitally with e-signature)
• The initial amount to be payable while signing the contract
• Schedule the next meeting call to discuss further steps.

Wrap Up

If you follow the process and the format above, you won’t face any challenges and you’ll find yourself writing a successful graphic design proposal template, the one that pulls together all the required information concisely and helps the prospect to make an informed buying decision.