Building a Content Strategy Proposal: How to Move Straight to "Yes"
/Here’s a thought exercise for you.
It’s hot out and you decide you’d like to buy something tasty to cool you down.
You head to the neighborhood ice cream shop.
Scenario 1
The person helping you says “We have a banana split sundae with hot fudge for 4 people. Do you want it?”
Scenario 2
The person helping you says “We have a banana split sundae, a scoop on a cone, or a milkshake. Which do you want?”
Which would make you more likely to buy something?
If you said scenario two, you’re like a lot of buyers. When presented with a choice, you immediately bypass the question “Should I buy something?” Instead, you jump to asking “Which of these options should I buy?”
It’s the same when pitching content strategies.
This article was originally an issue of my newsletter. Sign up below.
THIS ARTICLE IN A SNAPSHOT
TOPIC
Help your prospects skip asking “Should I buy something at all?” right into “How should I work with this amazing consultant?” You’ll get a blueprint for applying this pitching concept and will walk away ready to give it a try.
TL;DR
Don’t be too quick to give prospects a proposal to react “yes” or “no” to. Instead, pull them in as scope-building partners. How? By presenting them with 3 directions first.
TOP RESOURCE
I include links to the templates I use to draft:
WHEN DO I PITCH MULTIPLE OPTIONS?
Often, prospective clients don’t know what they want from me.
To paraphrase:
👩🏽💻👨🏻💻“Hi Adrienne, nice to meet you. We really need to start using content.”
💁🏻♀️ “Great! Why?”
👩🏽💻👨🏻💻 “....I’m not sure. Because that’s what businesses need to do?”
💁🏻♀️“Ok, what kinds of content do you think will work best?”
👩🏽💻👨🏻💻 “...We were hoping you’d tell us.”
And so on and so forth.
It’s ok if a client doesn’t have a clear scope in mind.
When that happens, I adjust my pitching process accordingly. I don’t want to give the prospect one solution too quickly.
They need to understand their options.
So I pitch them 3 rough directions first, at 3 different price points.
We then work together to pick one option and expand it into a formal scope.
THE BENEFITS OF THIS METHOD
Straight to “yes”
Clients instantly bypass the question “Should I work with Adrienne?” Instead, their question becomes “Which option should I buy?”
Collaboration off the bat
Clients have a hand in picking and designing the scope that works best for their budget and their needs.
Partnership off the bat
We both get a feel for what working together would look like, before committing to a big project.
$$$
More often than not, clients pick the most expensive option or the middle option.
HOW I STRUCTURE MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR PROSPECTS
Don’t underestimate the power of having 3 options. One isn’t a choice at all, two is too few. Four and beyond, and you’re overwhelmed by options.
So yes, I create 3 options.
Each option includes a:
Rough scope with 2-3 sentences about what we’ll accomplish and how
Fee range. I don’t give a specific fee yet. I don’t have enough information!
Timeline range. See: Fee range.
Over the years, I’ve built a few go-to options that I turn to:
Quick roadmapping sprint, where a client doesn’t know where to start but feels intimidated by a full strategic project. Instead, they need a quarterly roadmap outlining how to set their content strategy and start creating content in 3 months. This takes about 2-3 weeks.
Mini content strategy for a client that has already tried creating content and has some research to look to. They need someone to help them make sense of their progress, and plan a strategic path forward. It takes 4-6 weeks.
Full content strategy for a client that hasn’t started any content marketing yet. They need all the help: Research, strategy setting, and activation. This takes about 6-8 weeks.
Over time, you’ll be able to construct your own go-to options.
SETTING PRICING, GOLDILOCKS STYLE
I’m going to refer you to Jonathan Stark’s pricing strategies as you price your options. (Jonathan is a favorite resource of mine on building a business based on your authority.)
He recommends a few options for pricing:
1x, 2.2x, 5x
Drives the buyer to option 2.
For when you don’t care whether you get the sale and can take a bigger risk.
1x, 1.5x, 1.75x
Drives the buyer to option 3.
For when you want to get the gig and play it safer.
For example, I typically price my 3 go-to options like this:
1x: Roadmapping
2.2x: Mini content strategy
5x: Full content strategy
Remember: I don’t give a specific fee and timeline yet. Rather, I give a range.
So I take those numbers mentioned above, and 1.3x each of them. That’s the range I give the prospect.
Once we nail down one specific scope together, I can give a set fee. But right now, I have questions like:
How slowly will they respond to questions?
How many rounds of feedback will they give?
Will they need more hand holding? Or less?
How asap is this project?
These all determine whether to charge on the low or high end of that range.
MY PITCHING PROCESS: HOW I PULL THE PROSPECT INTO COLLABORATING
With this method, I’m collaborating with the prospect before we’re even in a client-consultant relationship.
This is a good thing!
It’s one thing to say how on a pitch call. It’s another thing to show the prospect first-hand.
Everyone’s process will differ, because everyone collaborates with clients differently. But here’s mine:
1) Discovery call
This is where I learn the prospect’s pain points, needs, and (ideally) budget.
2) Build 3 ideas
I use a template to cut my time spent here. Just make a copy and it’s all yours!
3) Present 3 options
I like to present the options on a call. It pulls the prospective client into collaborating in real time. “Which direction feels best?” “What would you change about that option?” “Which price point works best?” are all questions I ask here.
4) Build 1 scope in a proposal
Once I have a clear direction, I build one scope with a set fee, timeline, and scope. Here’s my template I use for my full content strategy projects. Just make a copy and it’s all yours!
5) Deliver 1 scope
Depending on the prospective client, I’ll either just email this or present it on another call. I frame this as “Here’s the scope that is a reflection of our last call. Please let me know if I’m missing anything we’d discussed.”
6) Kick off
Once the prospect agrees to the scope, I send a general contract and set a time to kick off together.
All told, this takes me 3-5 hours per prospect that moves forward.
Prospects that don’t move forward tend to take just 1 hour or less. We’ll either realize they’re not a fit after the discovery call or after I present 3 options. So I’ve avoided the time to build a formal scope and general agreement.
Whew! That was a lot of information. Feel free to email me at hi@adrienneksmith.com with questions. If you’d like more info like this, subscribe to my weekly newsletter.