A client told me my proposals were too long so I cut them down to 5 bullet points

I used to write 3 page proposals but a client straight up said I stop reading after the first paragraph. Now I keep it to 5 strong bullet points and a number at the bottom and my close rate went up 30 percent. Has anyone else had to totally rework how they pitch jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlie1984m ago

Funny how clients will just tell you straight up like that, good on them for being honest. @finley_roberts27 makes a solid point about getting to the heart of it, the format helps you focus but it's really about cutting the noise. Short and to the point just works better for everyone, saves time and gets you more work.

finley_roberts273h ago

Oh wow, that's a huge jump in close rate! I have to say though, I think you're crediting the bullet points a bit too much there. It's more likely that cutting the fluff forced you to really focus on what matters most to the client. Like, when I go to buy something online and see a product page with 10 paragraphs of features, I'm out. But if someone just tells me the three main reasons it's worth my money, I'm way more interested. So yeah, shorter pitches work, but it's about getting to the point, not just the format.