Beyond Margins

The crux of the proposal process is reducing your sales time.

Rob has developed a system that allows him to give accurate quotes on the initial call and send out proposals within 15 minutes of getting off that call.

It's a system that saves a ton of time, and dramatically increase his profit per hour without changing the deliverable he’s actually providing to clients.

Key takeaways:

- A production proposal system that sets you to make a quick and accurate decision.
- Making it clear what you are selling and how much you are selling takes a lot of the stress out of selling.
- Instilling greater confidence in your client.
- Why profit per hour per client is the most important metric.
- Developing the business owner mindset.

Show Notes

What if instead of spending tons of time creating complicated proposals for prospective clients, you just didn't? 

Maybe you believe your complicated, customized proposals help win you more business. But there’s a good chance you’re sacrificing profit and efficiency--without truly seeing gains in real revenue.

All this month we are talking about opting out–choosing not to do certain things in your business as a tool for freeing up your time, money, and brain space for more important things. 

I started off by talking with Michelle Warner about how she focuses in on just a few services and opts out of selling all the things.

I chatted with Brittany Berger about setting boundaries around the expectations of how you work, both for yourself and for your clients. 

Today I’m talking proposals with Rob Howard, founder of web development agency Howard Development & Consulting and creator of Automatic Freelancer, a mentorship program for freelancers.

For Rob, the crux of the proposal process is reducing your sales time. 

You can quickly spend a ton of time, often unpaid time, preparing proposals to pitch projects to clients even if they never end up hiring you.

This time can really suck the profit out of any project. 

Rob has developed a system that allows him to give accurate quotes on the initial call and send out proposals within 15 minutes of getting off that call. 

It's a system that saves a ton of time, and dramatically increase his profit per hour without changing the deliverable he’s actually providing to clients.


On today’s episode:

  • How Rob’s 30-Minute Profitable Proposal System sets him up to make a quick and accurate decision resulting in a proposal that makes the most sense for the client 
  • How having a proposal process that makes clear what you are selling and how much you are selling it for takes away a lot of the stress of selling 
  • Why delivering a proposal to your client quickly instills a greater amount of confidence in your ability
  • How Rob breaks his proposals down in terms of the size of offer: small, medium, and large
  • Why profit per hour per client is the only metric Rob chooses to track on a regular basis
  • And how when you develop the mindset of an owner building a business, it sets you up for growth and success down the road

Links:

Creators & Guests

Host
Susan Boles
Speaker, Podcaster & Consultant at Beyond Margins | 15+ years of experience as both a CFO and COO

What is Beyond Margins?

Can you build a business based on… “calm?” On Beyond Margins, host Susan Boles looks beyond the usual metrics of success to help you build a business where calm is the new KPI. With over 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, CFO, and COO, Susan shares the business strategies that lead to a business with comfortable margins—financial, emotional, energetic, and scheduling margins. Join her and her guests as they counter the prevailing “wisdom” about business growth, productivity, and success to provide a framework for making choices that align with your values and true goals. Episode by episode, you’ll get a look at the team management, operations, financials, product development, and marketing of a calmer business.