A compelling business proposal, one that makes the client feel awestruck with just the look of it is one of the best ways to gain new clients. After all, it is the ultimate sales document, it is a distilled version of all the value your solution adds to the problem, it is just like a piece of you speaking for you on paper, hence it is of utmost importance to write business proposals in such an effective way that clients won’t even have to think twice before accepting your proposal letter.

With that being said let’s quickly start with the steps which

1. Personal connection is the key

This is one skill my professors at JD Institute taught me and is the least talked about skill yet the most important one. Ever read a cold email or say a marketing email? yes, you would have, why do people mostly mark them as spam/ unsubscribe from them? because they are mostly auto-generated emails just selling things that do not intrigue the reader. If you want to catch someone’s attention, have a conversation with them to make them feel they belong here.

At the start of the article, I wrote “Hi, a warm welcome to all of you here in this article” why did I do so? could have started without this as well? yes, I could have but then would you be feeling the same way about reading this article, such small things mean a lot as when someone is reading your proposal letter the only form of you they are seeing is that letter it needs to be interactive to keep the person engaged and give details to make the person reading become interested in you.

2. Be Vocal

When I was a part of JD Institute the faculty always used to tell me to treat my client like I’d treat someone I like. Just like you tell the person you like little details also tell the client what you want from the beginning, be crystal clear about what you offer and your pricing as well send a list specifically curated for them with the services and the pricing offered this way they know beforehand what to expect and everyone is on the same page.

3. Samples

Whenever you ask someone to work with you or trust you with their work, you need to send samples of work you did or your portfolio this way the person is well aware of your creativity and skill set and also has an idea of what they expect, add the images in the best resolution possible and as a universally accepted jpeg file otherwise if someone finds difficulty in viewing your work that doesn’t make for an impressive first impression. A sample not only helps in getting to know the designer’s past work but also helps in knowing how the designer works, what attributes they possess, and the style of their work. Through a high-quality sample, it gets easier to land new clients as if they already like one’s work there seems to be a sense of mutual respect and understanding which often ends up in working together.

4. Timescales

One of the most important areas where deals either make or break in the fashion industry is the time taken to complete the work, put in the realistic time you would need to finish a certain piece of work so that the client knows what they are getting into, if not written they may ask for a stricter deadline which can cause a sense of panic leading to failing in delivering the project.

5. Coverage

Having amazing coverage is very important as that is the first thing one lays eyes on when they are going to read your proposal letter, a cover page should be curated keeping in mind both the client one is trying to approach and their likings a hint of it will please them and it should also contain a touch of the fashion designers identity so that when mixed the outcome will be what the client can expect for their project. 

6. Terms and conditions

Even though the fashion industry is very flexible and a person can go on to express themselves however everyone still has their terms and boundaries and It’s in everyone’s best interest that they are discussed beforehand as these conditions help in getting a better understanding of each other as well as decrease the chances of a conflict arising with the client in between of the project. 

7. Scope of work

Every successful engagement for an interior design project no matter how huge or small will start with a properly defined scope of work. It’s imperative that you don’t skip this step in your business proposal and that you work hard to capture and thoroughly document each relevant detail of the design and process execution. The scope of work will define exactly what you need to do for the client and during your engagement. Throughout the project, you can continually refer back to this scope of work as a mutual agreement about the services that would be provided and how much time will be invested in each phase.

8. Client Expectations

It is in the best interest of everyone involved that you share the expectations in advance regarding the communications, several revisions offered and many such things in advance this way you and the client both won’t face any difficulties when you start working together.

To win a client, one needs to create a very good first impression, and to do so the proposal letter should be framed in such a way that the person would want to call right away just after looking at the proposal letter. Skills like personally connecting to the client, being vocal about your own and the client’s expectations help a lot, also the sample and pricing make it clear beforehand and help clear any doubts in the start and are a must mention in a client-winning proposal letter, they emphasize the business skills of the fashion designer and help them get clients with whom they have wanted to work with. To win more clients in the future a fashion designer should adhere to these steps.