PeoplePerHour Proposal Template & Tips to Win More Clients

A proposal on PeoplePerHour is an opportunity to introduce yourself, highlight the expertise and ask relevant questions to create a lasting impression in the mind of the client that you are the best-suited person to get the job done.

Once you can do all of those, price becomes irrelevant and you will be better off than the rest of the freelancers who are arguing to lower the price to win clients.

Believe me, crafting a custom proposal with a template isn’t as difficult as it may sound and one can do all of it with ease.

Why A Proposal Template on PPH?

Every client’s requirement is different and so one should never copy and paste the same proposal to multiple clients but it doesn’t mean one can’t use a template for a proposal.

In fact, a template always helps you to be consistent with your proposal and yet craft it in such a manner that it is different for each client. The template makes it easy for freelancers to craft a proposal that isn’t lengthy and yet asks relevant questions.

So here is an exact template that can be used for proposal on PeoplePerHour. Feel free to use the exact shell of the template or change as per your area of expertise.

Check out my Upwork Proposal Template.

1. Start With a Salutation

The PeoplePerHour proposal template should always start with a salutation note.

Hi,

The first line of a proposal is viewable to clients in any summary view and one has to make sure it intrigues clients to open the proposal and read it.

So here is a simple trick to make sure your client reads the proposal.

Everyone likes to be addressed by his or her name and if you can grab the name of the client, it immediately makes your proposal stand out from the rest.

“Hi Rob,” will always make the client wants to be reading your proposal than proposals that just say “Hi,”.

Try to get the client’s name from the job description where often clients at the end the requirements with their name. If they haven’t used their name, grab it from the sidebar.

2. Followed By A Thank Note

The next thing one should be adding in the PPH proposal template is thanking clients for his or her effort in posting the requirements at PeoplePerHour. Keep the thanks note short and sweet.

Thanks for sharing your XYZ requirement here on PeoplePerHour and I will be more than happy to help you. Let me share with you my expertise with XYZ and ABC.

One can use the same note for invites from the client.

Thanks for inviting me to your XYZ requirement here on PeoplePerHour and I will be more than happy to help you. Let me share with you my expertise with XYZ and ABC.

All I have to do is replace XYZ and ABC for the client’s requirements which can be as per the client’s requirement. In my case, ABC and XYZ are often a mix of vBulletin, WordPress, and XenForo.
Like

Thanks for inviting me to your vBulletin requirement here on PeoplePerHour and I will be more than happy to help you. Let me share with you my expertise with vBulletin and XenForo.

The idea is to keep the thanks note short and getting the client to continue reading the proposal and what he can expect in the upcoming paragraph.

3. Highlight Your Expertise

Getting the expertise paragraph right is the most important aspect of a PPH proposal. A new freelancer may find it difficult to add much to it but with 10+ years of experience, one can be tempted to include too much into it as well.

I like to keep it really short and relevant with a maximum of 3 samples. Remember the maximum of 3 which means never more than 3 but often 1 or 2 of the most relevant samples is enough. The focus word is most relevant.

This is something you have to come up with on your own.

For vBulletin or XenForo I use the following:

I am owner of www.go4expert.com for more than a decade now and have been doing a lot of XYZ development. Apart from my own forum, I have clients like ABC, DEF and GHI where I have been a developer recently. Needless to say but you can also see my PeoplePerHour profile for the feedback for XYZ jobs.

I like to highlight that I am into web development for a long time and have been freelancing which is like saying to the client I am not here to make quick money but be an asset to clients’ web development business.

Keeping it close to 100 words or less and highlight your experience and expertise relative to what the client is looking for. Spend some time to write it and edit as need be over an elongated period of time. Create your own PeoplePerHour proposal para to be used in the template

If I am applying for a WordPress project, I change the url of my site from go4expert to BizTips or even shabbir.in depending on the client’s requirement.

Or instead of sharing a sample, I may share my write-up as well. If a client is looking to optimize vBulletin, I share my article on BizTips.

Relevant samples to highlight your expertise in the area of what the client is looking for.

If you don’t have samples, it is better to build a few firsts.

4. Ask Questions or Offer Suggestions

The next part is completely custom to clients and the way requirements are framed.

• If a client has asked specific questions, answer it.
• The client is looking for suggestions, offer it.

If a client has asked questions in a particular order or as bullet points, reply them in that order.

Client shares milestone like

• Milestone X.
• Another Milestone Y.
• Milestone Z.

Keep the proposal as a list so a client can easily follow.

• I can do X.
• I have questions in Y and they are as follows:
  • Question 1
  • Question 2
• I can do Z but splitting Z into Z1 and Z2 can help us review things more often.

If a client isn’t very sure about the requirements on some part of this requirement, clarify your understanding.

Asking relevant questions will have many more chances to win more clients and projects.

5. The End

End the proposal with a client to have an action item. Include when can you start working with clients and anything that can impact the project timeline.

I can start on your project immediately and let me know if you want to discuss anything further with me.

Thanks
Shabbir Bhimani

But if you can’t start immediately, share a tentative time when you can start.

I can start on your project from the next week and look forward to working with you.

Thanks
Shabbir Bhimani

Or

I can start on your project from the 15th of next month and look forward to working with you.

Thanks
Shabbir Bhimani

Final Thoughts

PeoplePerHour proposals shouldn’t be very long and don’t be tempted to write long proposals or try to include unnecessary fluff. I have experimentation much such stuff and it never works. The above template has worked really well for me.