1. Get to know your potential customer
First, try to get as much information as possible about your potential customer. What is their business? How many offices and employees they have? Who are their main customers? Who are their main competitors?
2. Set clear and measurable goals
Make sure you discuss with them and agree upon very specific goals. What is it that they expect as a result of this SEO project? Help them understand what is realistic and what not. Discuss with them what the real goals are and if necessary redefine them (e.g. not all customers are knowledgeble when and how to use logtail keywords). Set clear measures for every goal.
3. Define the project's scope and duration
When defining the projects' scope be as specific as possible. Many SEO projects fail because of mismatch in expectations. Define what you will do and by when.
4. Plan your resources
Make sure you have all the necessary resources. Or if you don't, be sure to be able to mobilize them without geopardizing the project. Do you need additional people? Do you have the time? Do you have all the necessary skills? When planning your resources, plan for unforeseen circumstances. Plan for some extra time. If something goes wrong, you will need it. If there are too many uncertainties you may even do scenario planning.
5. Carefully calculate your fees
Calculate your fees based on two criteria. First, calculate what would be your cost. That includes the hours you plan to spend multiplied by a reasonable hourly fee, plus the fees you might have to pay to other people involved in the project, plus other expenses like rent, transportation, utilities, consumables, equipment depreciation, etc. Once you have that figure, compare it with what you think the customer will be willing to spend (if you have any idea). Sometimes they have a budget and you know what's their spending limit. Don't take a project if you are below cost, but also don't try to go for a huge profit. Your proposal will probably be compared to other competitive proposals and you may lose on price.
6. Prepare a state-of-the-art proposal
No matter how professional you are in your SEO work, you will be judged by how professional your proposal is. Only with a state-of-the-art proposal you will get the chance to show them how good you are in what you do. Besides the proposal, corporate clients will give you extra credit if you are ready with your own mutual NDA, and a draft agreement. If you don't have your own, you should get ready-made document templates like
these.
7. Set a meeting to present your proposal
Don't just email them your proposal. Try to set a meeting (or a conference call) so that you can walk them through and answer any questions they might have. Try to find out who will attend the meeting on their side and have printed copies of your proposal for everyone. Look professional and be confident.
