I recently received a review copy of “The Winning Proposal” from its author, Juliet Du Preez, and finally made time to read it so I can give you a review.

Juliet came across one of my guides, “How to (Really) Make Money on Elance,” and thought that her ebook would be a good complement to it. After all, her ebook is all about winning proposals on bidding sites such as Elance.

The first thing that struck me about “The Winning Proposal” was the sheer volume of it. For an ebook about writing proposals, I didn’t expect 106 pages. But there’s good reason for that.

More Than Proposals

Juliet’s ebook is really thorough and actually goes beyond just putting together a winning proposal. For example, she includes tips for:

• creating an attractive profile
• putting together an impressive portfolio
• assessing a job description to decide if you really want it
• spotting scams
• screening potential clients
• sustaining your success – after you win the bid

How To Make Winning Proposals

Now, onto the meat of the ebook, which is the actual proposal. Juliet shows two ways to make a proposal: the long, formal proposal and the brief proposal.

Juliet goes through each of the parts of the proposal – what to include, how to write it, how to price your services. The ebook even includes a complete sample proposal, and a link to a downloadable template.

Although I don’t foresee myself needing Juliet’s format for a long proposal (unless I market my services to corporate clients, maybe), her advice is spot on for creating any type of proposal.

For example, I often have prospects contacting me requiring something that’s similar but not quite exactly the service packages I have on my freelance website. Or they inquire about my rates even though these are published on my site.

This is an opportunity for me to reiterate my qualifications and how I can help the prospect with their copywriting and/or marketing needs. Which is exactly what I would accomplish by following Juliet’s guidelines – even if I use my own proposal template or outline.

As for the brief proposal, Juliet presents four real-life examples of how not to create a brief proposal, and then she writes a brief proposal to demonstrate how to do it. The contrast is quite eye-opening.

The brief proposal is probably what I’ll use more, but with a few changes. For example, even if it is a brief proposal, I would add sub-titles to guide the prospective client along. Otherwise, Juliet’s letter format, composed of more than five paragraphs, could be difficult to skim.

As I said, Juliet is very thorough. She goes into a lot of detail, which is perfect for the new freelancer, or at least one who’s new to bidding sites.

She even has a system for monitoring the bids you make, your successes and “failures” (Juliet says there are no failures, only lessons to be learned), and how to keep improving your game. I’m not likely to do this, mainly because I loathe details. But if you’re more meticulous than I am and have the time, this exercise will certainly give you insights.

What You’ll Take Away From This Ebook

The principles Juliet teaches are applicable not only to bidding sites, but to any situation where we, freelancers, pitch our services to potential clients.

For example, Juliet emphasizes that we need to read and re-read the job description to make sure we understand what the client’s requirements are. We should contact the prospect with questions, if we have any. Understanding what our clients really want is key to being successful freelancers.

Juliet’s advice is certainly consistent with what Trish Lambert and I present in “How to (Really) Make Money on Elance” as well as in my ebook, “The Savvy Freelancer’s Website Secrets: How to Create a Client Magnet Online,” and various posts throughout TheSavvyFreelancer.com.

For a mere $12, “The Winning Proposal” is a small but worthwhile investment for any freelancer who’s serious about being successful. Juliet promises that, after reading and following the steps in the ebook, the reader will have:

• a top-notch profile
• at least one impressive proposal
• a stronger personal brand

Is It For You?

I recommend “The Winning Proposal” to any freelancer who would like to improve their marketing efforts – whether in freelance bidding sites or not. If you have all the clients you can handle, and you’re happy with the type of clients you have, then you probably don’t need this.

I’ll certainly be referring to this the next time I create a custom online marketing proposal for a client. Just to make sure I’ve made it well as I possibly could.

Find out more about “The Winning Proposal” here and download a sample chapter to decide if this is something that can help you. (Disclosure: Paid affiliate)

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