6 Tips on How to Write an Effective Quote

Most small businesses get clients easier because they have a particular edge. They know how to position themselves in the business. In the process, they edge out competitions and render them useless. Communicating effectively in quotes and contracts is a key component in this.

While most businesses provide estimates, wise businesses are providing value-based quotes or proposals. An estimate presents the clients what needs to be done and how much will it cost them. A value-based quote, on the other hand, is a persuasive document that presents the price, but focuses on telling the clients that you understand their business and where they are coming from. Yet, it’s not lengthy in nature like a formal proposal.

According to research, average quote proposals get 47 percent chances of winning compared to the 35 percent chance of estimates. Writing lengthy documents to clients will overwhelm and confuse them. So, how do you edge out the competition with persuasive quotes proposals? How do you write a quote proposal?

Here are 6 tips in writing an effective quote:

1)     Summarize the problem.

Write 1-2 sentences about the problem the customer is facing. The problem can include what the issue is and it affects a company, an organization or an agency. Always remember that a good quote should be focused what the issue is and the value you are providing. Bullet point can also help to keep things structured and easy to read.

2)     Provide solution.

It’s important to effectively present solutions to the existing problem. Look at every aspect of the situation that may cause or contribute to the problem and derive possible solutions from it. Emphasize the need for an immediate solution to prevent the problem from getting worse.

3)     Make practical suggestion.

Itemize or list out all the services needed to address the problem. A good quote should address the issues one by one, but do not take advantage of the non-expert clients. Do not add solutions that are not really needed for the sake of adding cost. Many businesses and freelancers are guilty of this. Besides the fact that it is unethical, it is also a waste of time, effort, and resources.

4)     Present the process and its benefits.

Show how you will solve the problem by presenting to your clients your process and the timeline on how plan to attain their business goals or objectives. A good quote provides the client a perspective on how the problems will be solved step by step. This can easily be captured in line items with descriptions.

This makes it easier for the client to understand what will be done and how it will be done. It will also be useful for your clients to easily track the progress of your work to solve the problem. Also, present the benefits they can get from the solutions you suggest.

5)     Provide pricing.

Present the price of each of your itemized solution. The quote will give your clients a view of the total cost of the services to be done, or the product to be purchased.

Pricing is a clincher in every deal. Some clients will contact different services and competitors especially if they do not found the pricing reasonable. Thus, it’s important to make sure that your prices match the services you offer. Be prepared to answer client's questions when it comes to pricing too.

6)     Include sample reference.

Provide your clients with previous deals for their reference. You can include use cases, resume, diagrams, and other sample works to give your clients an opportunity to assess your qualification in doing the project. These should be attached to the quote. It’s only supplementary information for their reference.

If you are not confident in creating the best quotes and contracts, there are web applications that can help you deal with it. Mosspaper is a quote and management tool that provides easy, safe and efficient quotes and contracts to sell your expertise and experience anywhere. You can now create digitally signed quote and contracts and manage them effortlessly with this quote and contract management tool. For more information about Mosspaper, visit www.mosspaper.com.

Source: 6 Tips on How to Write an Effective Quote

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For more articles like this, check out our small business blog:

• Reasons Why You Should Go Paperless

• Value-Based Quotes that Win More business

About Mosspaper

With Mosspaper anyone can create, sign, track and accept quotes and contracts anywhere. Mosspaper provides a streamlined paperless quote and contract renewal SaaS solution from creation to sales renewals, allowing users to monitor and track work.  The company offers a quote creator tool, paperless approval process, centralized customer communications, e-signature, payment integration, real-time notifications, and data analytics for small businesses.

To learn more more information about Mosspaper and how Mosspaper works, please visit our website.