Freelancing is more than getting the job done; it entails putting other things in place to make sure your career as a freelancer progresses rather than getting stuck or regressing. Thus, it is vital that you get yourself used to the business side of freelancing, even if it is not part of you right from time. The all-inclusive nature of freelancing means you must be familiar with finances, a bit of accounting stuff, transacting with clients, and creating documents, among others. You probably wish you have other people to do all these for you, but unfortunately, freelancing is a one-person band. One of the documents you need to develop a good knowledge of is your quotation. A quotation means a business offer that you give to a client for specific services at certain prices and on set conditions and terms. A quotation is a proposal containing such information as to how much you will be charging and what specific tasks you would handle in the course of completing the job. Other quotation must-haves include the duration of the project and what results to offer at the end. Your chances of landing a freelance task depend on, among others, how clear, concise and courteous your quotation is. Thus, in this piece, we will be discussing some important tips you can use in drafting killer quotations that will win the job for you. Read on.

1. Understand the project details
If you do not understand what the project entails fully, there is no how you will be sure if you can really work on such a project. Identify the client’s needs, peruse the project brief to have a clear idea of what is expected of you, and how long it will take you to have such completed. You must include a time frame in your final quote; hence it is vital that you understand all the details of the project. In the event where you think you will not be able to meet up with the project demands, do not quote such projects.

2. Know the budget
Most clients are secretive about your budget, mostly because they want the best prices and that is why they ask you for a quote instead. However, some clients would be willing to tell you how much they have for a project, and with this, you can decide on how much to charge. If the budget is way lower than what you should charge for such a project, do not quote the project.

3. Know your rates
Know how much you will charge for a particular project. Consider such vital things as hours to be spent, resources needed and others. Thus, you can conveniently quote without fears, and even make your client see you as ready and fit for the project. If your rates are specific and clear, you can easily get bonuses on extra hours or resources invested in such a project from your client.

4. Identify your competitors
When you know your competitors and what their rates are will assist you in creating guidelines for what you should charge. Note that you are not doing this to scout your competitors’ clients or engage in unnecessary competition. The goal should be offering quality service at better rates.

5. Increase the price a bit
Remember this is an estimate; there could be extra efforts or hours more than what is agreed in the quote, and you deserve to be paid for these as well. Also, upping your price gives room to offer insistent clients some level of discount, making it easy for you to get the job.

6. Maintain Professionalism
Your communications and writings must exude professionalism; clients prefer to work with people who know their onions in business transactions and all forms of communication. So, from the first step to the delivery, ensure your professionalism never fades.

7. Make the important details obvious
Your contact information, name and company name, logo and related data must be present in your quote. Such details get clients settled, and they will develop considerable confidence and trust in you.

8. Match your quotation with a great proposal
Don’t submit a quotation without a proposal; show your interest in the project strongly by combining the two. The combination also offers in-depth information on what the client should expect, and speeds up things between you and the clients.

9. Ensure transparency
Fine-tune every detail, including project specifications, a breakdown of your charges and what the client will get at the end. Such detailed description translates to transparency and the client will know his money is all worth it, while preventing you from future troubles.

10. State Conditions and Clarify Payment Schedules
Explain how much you will charge per every segment of the project completed, or over a certain time. You can get the final payment when the job is done. Thus, settle all issues on dates and payments with your clients before proceeding on the project. Also, set the right conditions to ensure a smooth run of the project – number of revisions, extra payments for extra tasks or hours and perhaps, other things that you are not responsible for, e.g. printing or publishing (if you are a writer). These are the vital things you need to take note in writing and making your quotations. To make things easier, you can create just one great quotation and tailor it each time to quote for specific projects. With this, you save time and more work.

By: Taskleads