photo credit: JOE M500

Although a lot of business is won by who you know, I find that many freelancers gain the majority of their business by writing queries or proposals and submitting them to the right people. Some use freelancing sites like Guru.com or Elance.com. Some just mail out unsolicited proposals to target companies or magazines. There are different techniques like this that work for different people. But generally speaking, unless you’re networking first, your business is acquired through a written proposal.

Recently I was making some modifications to the boilerplate version of my written proposal and I was pondering this one key question (which I would encourage you to ponder frequently): “How can I get more people to say ‘yes’ to my proposal?”

I thought for a while and realized something that, I’m embarrassed to admit, I should have known for years but never thought about until just two months ago: When I submit a written proposal to a Request for Proposal (RFP), I win the project a certain percentage of the time. But when I submit a written proposal and the person I submitted the proposal to picks up the phone and calls me, that conversion rate triples. Yes, triples! (I do measure).

Why this works:

I don’t think it’s my phone voice, and I know it’s not my ability to sell over the phone. It’s simply the fact that the new client wants to feel assured that they are working with a competent professional. It’s sort of a last-minute gut-check for them. Not only that, it also works for another reason, too: When you convince someone to buy from you, you want them to take baby steps. Going from proposal to purchase is a big step. Going from proposal to phone call to purchase is two smaller steps, and they are much easier to take.

So what does this mean for me? The answer is obvious! I need to get the person to call me. That means my proposal’s call to action shouldn’t be “pick me” but instead it should be “pick up the phone and call me”.

I went back to my proposal to rework it. I didn’t take much out, because I still want them to have all the information on hand. Instead, I invited them to get in touch. (It also helps that I have a toll-free number). Result? I tried this out. And, in the last 6 days I’ve submitted 6 proposals and won 4 of the 6 projects, each within 24 hours of submitting my proposal. And of those 4 winning proposals, I spoke to 3 of them on the phone. That’s 50% of my proposals resulting in phone calls and it’s a 66% conversion rate.

And here’s what it means for you:

In your case, it might not be a phone call that converts more people. Perhaps it’s a couple of Twitter tweets. Maybe it’s a gift basket. Maybe you need to call them proactively. Maybe you should send them a gift copy of your book through Amazon. Maybe it’s something else. The point is: Think about the times that you won projects. What was the common factor among those projects? If it was a proposal, was there also something else? If it was networking, was there also something else? Think about what converts interested people to customers, and think about what converts those people more often; then incorporate those ideas into everything you do to acquire new projects.