❧ Describe, in your own words

Well, notes from a single slide, anyway. With maybe just a trace of hyperbole, I tweeted that the slide below brought tears to my eyes. A couple people asked for a clearer picture. I’ll try to do one better: what follows are the bullet points from the slides and the remarks I remember from each. I’m working from memory, so if you were there and can clarify these notes, please comment!

The slide reads…

Estimates/proposals vs. contracts are separate documents
ask clients right questions

• what are project parameters, specifications, and requirements?
• what will the client provide?
• what other firms are being considered or what # of firms?
• what is the selection criteria?
• what is approval process?
• what is timeline?
• what is your budget?

Context

Estimates/proposals vs. contracts are separate documents

Keep your contractual terms out of your proposal documents. These should be two separate documents. The purpose of the contract is to set terms and conditions. Also, contracts need to be user-friendly. Lose the lawyers. Write your contracts in a more conversational tone.

Ask clients right questions

Cohen stressed that while designers are great at asking about audiences, context, content—all the things that matter to the execution of the creative work—they tend to be pretty bad about asking fundamental questions about the project itself. She acknowledged that the questions that follow are basic, but they are crucial starting points and are often overlooked. Answers to these questions should help you decide whether to spend your valuable time bidding on the project.

what are project parameters, specifications, and requirements?

Quite simply, what do you need me to do? If you can’t get a clear answer, that’s a sign that you’ll need to contract with the client to figure out what exactly is needed.

what will the client provide?

As simple as it sounds: what assets be provided to the firm? If you need assets the client can’t provide, account for that in your estimate.

what other firms are being considered or what # of firms?

If more than 5 firms are in the running, consider whether writing a proposal is worth your time. Your chances are not great when there are more firms in the running.

what is the selection criteria?

This will help you determine whether there are criteria that will difficult for your firm to address. Knowing whether you can meet the client’s selection criteria helps you know whether it’s a good use of your time to bid on the project. As a sidenote, Cohen shared that she sees small design firms make way too big a deal out of their small size. No need to bring up size unless the client does.

what is approval process?
what is timeline?
what is your budget?

All three help you estimate how much time is available and how many resources need to be allocated to the project. While clients often do not disclose the budget, sometimes they do. It’s a fair question to ask, and a valuable piece of information to help you evaluate whether you want to write a proposal.

That’s it.

Cohen is an impressively lucid speaker, I would have been happy if it had gone twice as long.

Emily Ruth Cohen is a business consultant for design firms and creative professionals.