Building the winning proposal
The estimate is for you; the proposal is for the client. A clean proposal often beats a lower price, because it makes you look like the pro who won't surprise them.
In this series
What the proposal is for
Your estimate is for you. The proposal is for the client. It takes your final price and wraps it in enough clarity and confidence that they say yes.
What a winning proposal includes
- A clear scope of work: exactly what's included
- The price, and whether it's fixed, cost-plus, or carries allowances
- What's excluded, which prevents half your future disputes
- A payment schedule tied to milestones
- Timeline, and your license and insurance details
- A friendly, plain-English tone. You're a person they'll trust in their home
Every line on that list is answering a question the client would otherwise answer for themselves, usually in their favour and at your expense.
Where the allowances go
Anything you priced as an allowance in Contingency and allowances belongs on the face of the proposal, named and with its dollar figure showing. A client who can see the tile allowance knows what happens when they pick the expensive tile.
- Chapter 8 of 13
Contingency and allowances
No job is fully known when you bid it. Two tools let you price the unknown honestly instead of gambling on it.
- Chapter 12 of 13
Putting it together — one full bid
The whole pipeline on one small job, a deck, with illustrative numbers — so you can see exactly how a takeoff becomes a price.
