So I have been talking with and am getting ready to begin working with a well established, family owned/word of mouth based chocolate company. While I plan my direction for  their social strategy, I would like to present my services and vision well enough to assure them they are making the right choice in bringing me on board, especially since they are pretty unfamiliar with the social media space we love so much.

Does anybody have any tips in creating such a business proposal? Any specifics on what to include? If not and you’re a small biz owner yourself, what would you like to see be presented by a freelancer like myself?

Any tips are appreciated! Please and thank you!

Always, ALWAYS, do a 6 month retainer, otherwise you put too much stress on yourself. You become more focused on the increase in traffic and likes and not on the content and engagement. I do not care if you have 50,000 likes if only 250 of those actually lead to sales. 6 months and then payment is totally up to you. We have some clients that are a monthly retainer of X amount and then it replenishes each month, or I think the best way is a monthly fee for the 6 months then re-negotiate. Because the first 3 months will be a lot of time and then second 3 months will be more maintenance. You will still be doing a lot but once it is a routine it wont take you as long, but you do not want to decrease your income because you became more efficient. 

@ericbrekher

I like to start with a (paid) strategic review, where we match up a plan with their business goals. It acts as a road map for what we do later.

Other paid work includes social media optimization (FB design, backgrounds, profile reviews, etc.)

Like @ryrussel, we also require a retainer where we work w/a client for a minimum of 6 mos.

@jasonwiser I like that you used the word commitment. I know  @rich-brooks thinks the same way as I do. Marketing is an investment not an expense. Businesses that see it as an expense and are uncomfortable or unsure will not see the results. The businesses that say I am going to invest $1000, $5000, $10,000….. into marketing and then I will see a return down the road and are committed to it, those are the ones that WILL see the return. Commitment is the number one piece to marketing. Commitment and consistency are the trick to a successful campaign. Absolutely, need to collect some sort of payment right away, it ensures they have some skin in the game, and it makes it more likely to go with your services. 
Even if: You say I will meet with you for a 1hr consultation at (Rate of PAY) and then if you decide to go with my services we will credit that money to your retainer. It makes it easier for you if your not comfortable with upfront payment on preliminary business before the contract is signed, and it already invests them with you.  

@ericbrekher I’m going to wear my small business owner cap on this one. If you were presenting to me: 

1) I want to see that you really understand what my business is about and that what you are proposing aligns with or improves on my existing values / marketing goals.  2) I want to know that the costs are manageable & the extent of commitment ( 3 or 6 months). Monthly billing is always preferred because of cash flow.

3) I want a brief overview of how you will implement the social media strategy, what mediums you will use and why and how each one aligns to the overall strategy.  4) I want to roles to be clearly defined. What are you going to do, and what do I need to do. eg: Do I need to tweek my sales system or provide content for blogs?   

5) I want to know specifics of what you think is attainable in terms of results. Don’t spew empty promises and general benefits. What are realistic achievements and what return on investment can be expected? 

6) Provide me with independently verifiable references or case studies. If you are an expert in this area you should be able to provide feedback on what you have achieved for other clients. 
7) Provide some kind of guarantee. If you know your stuff, I’ll never have to use it so there’s a low risk for you and it will give me peace of mind that my hard earned Dollars are well spent. 

Hope this helps. Not saying this would be true of all your clients, these are just questions that come to my mind.  

@cherelleleong Good outline from the client perspective, Cherelle. Though most new clients don’t have a clue as to how social media and internet marketing differs from traditional offline marketing. So I would add another step… Find a good analogy or word/picture to describe any abstract concepts that I need to understand in order to make competent decisons regarding my account. In other words, help me understand what I don’t already understand, without making my head explode!

One analogy I use is comparing traditional offline marketing strategies to the sport of football, where competitors are clearly seen, with clearly marked goals, within defined timelines, with a recognized point system, and a clear winner at the end of the game.

Online marketing and social media goals, however, are more like the competitive team sport of Track & Field. There are recognizable teams vying for the few top spots, with numerous individual events with their own scoring systems, all competing at the same time so you can’t watch them all at any given moment to see how well your team (company) is doing without a complicated system of tracking results and a good coach to help interpret the results in real time so strategic decisions can be made before the meet is over. Bottom line… you’re the coach, you’re the real-time expert concentrating on what matters at the moment while balancing all the various needs and demands of the myriad events that must happen in a coordinated fashion, and you’re the saviour who willingly takes on this insane, demanding, repetitious, multifarious coaching job of bringing new customers and new profits to your client so your client stays stress and worry free all through the game, knowing their team/company will win in the end once all the internet scorecards are tallied. 

Kinda long-winded, but the Football Game vs. Track/Field Competition is something they can easily picture in their mind. Seeing you as their coach calling the shots for the big win over time also helps them understand that for every moment they waste of your time, they’re really shooting themseles in the foot. Also makes them NOT want to play this game alone.

Robin Carlisle

@cherelleleong That is great feedback from a small business point of view.

Thanks!Lynne Wilson

I believe in Hubspot’s marketing advice. Stop writing proposals.

They are teaching a different way to close agreements . . . kind of a step-by-step agreement process, leading directly to a six-month minimum retainer. Look up their abundant training material on their web site. It is good thinking. Time well spent studying their method.