Thanks for all the information that you continue to provide. As a newbie, it helps with getting familiar with the surroundings, as well as, adding to the proficiency of each visit. Thanks again.

Dottie

I'm a LabVIEW Developer & new to Elance and did not know how to get started. This article will help me in my freelancing career. Thanks, Can I link to it from my blog?

I agree. Maybe templates would assist. As a newbie, soloprenuer needing all of these services, I tend to hesitate requesting services because I am unsure as to how to make my request and can't seem to get to the point. May I suggest a series of "request for service" templates which lists all the possible services in a specific service area. For example, such as a "design a website" template/form which prompts the customer to choose/select from a long list/menu of items such as, forms template, launch template, calendar, schedule appointments, _____widget, etc...) or "virtual asistance" or "graphic design" or "marketing" etc..... All the experts are here, these forms should be easy to develop. I know this would help me request much needed services.

This is very good advise. I know, because it works.

wordpress,

Templates would not be a good idea. Look above: Tailor each proposal - You may be tempted to use standard text in your proposals. Don’t!

Avoid generic bids because most buyers tend to avoid them as well. Read the project description and do your best to make the potential client understand how you can help his business. No template in the world can do this!

Warm regards,
Vlad

PS. Great advices elance_rupa! I hope all the providers will read and understand them!

Hi,

Thanks! I'm a new provider on Elance. Whatever the ideas provided here are very much important for me. I agreed with all those points explained here. I am very much happy to get this important idea that makes me more confident about winning a project on Elance.

Great work! You are doing a great service to new freelance writers like me.
I appreciate e-lance efforts to make the marketplace more fair to freelancers and more welcoming to newbies.

I joined o-desk the same time I joined E-lance and I have experienced the difference on how e-lance takes better care of its newbies.

Great information for beginners! Thanks Rupa

Hi, Thank you very much for such an elaborate article. Although I do keep in mind some of those points, I tend to miss some of them and I am sure this will help me and all providers on Elance. Look forward for more such articles.

Surendra Joshi
C G Technosoft Pvt. Ltd.

Yes, thanks for the information you provide.It helps me to better understand what is to be done.

These are excellent tips! Thanks Rupa!

Really good article and all of it good advice. I would also add that if there are relevant examples of your work online, it's beneficial to provide a link in your proposal so that the potential client can see for themselves. This is especially useful for first time bidders who don't have an Elance portfolio to back them up.

What every provider has to do in order to survive in any marketplace are the arts of 'self-promotion' and professional salesmanship.

But always remember, it is 'customer benefit' that receives top priority in your proposal.

Excellent advice concerning proposals. Clients should feel as though the provider cared enough about the job post to do a little research. Also, when you
clarify specific points about what the buyer is seeking, it proves to the buyer that you understand their needs.
Buyers as well, benefit themselves when they are specific in their job descriptions. It helps providers get a clear, concise picture of what the buyer wants.

Providers who bid on jobs that are poorly described, subject themselves to possibly getting a negative feedback. Buyers who post poorly described jobs
subject themselves as well to a possible negative feedback.

People read the feedback given and received. This becomes a reflection on their reputation. It would serve us all well to first consider what people
may think concerning what we have to say about others.

Providers and buyers who respond quickly to emails, rank well with all. It not only shows that you can be reached quickly, it shows that you care.

Webwriter777

Thank You for the helpful advice. I have recently developed a new look at writing a proposal, it's more about developing a relationship and not as much about showing off your skills. So now as I'm writing my proposal I am thinking about the type of person I am talking to and writing my proposal to that individual, instead of copying a template.

Thanks Rupa for your information. I am new at Elance. I bid on many projects and got the clients messages about their projects and I reply also about what's the clients ask. but I don't get any project at Elance. Please help me some more typical points which you think are most important to win any project. please help me. thanks

When wordpress commented about templates, I believe the reference was for employers, not freelancers. And I agree. I've seen some bid requests that cover everything, to those that barely state what they're looking for, and makes it difficult to submit a proposal. I also agree that it's best for us to tailor our proposals to each employer, although there are some things I include in my proposal that repeat from one to the next.

I really enjoy this site ... thank you!

Thanks for sharing the wonderful infomation. It is really helpful.

I have a question. I have an award ratio of 7%. Is it okay? I read in some of the blogs about somebody having more than 40% award ratio. That means he is being awarded every second project. Is it possible?

What should be the ideal rate of award?

I am new member on elance, thanks for guidelines

First of all, allow me to offer my words of thanks to you, elance_rupa.

Though I am new to Elance and yet to receive any bid offer, I would like to share my experience from my previous engagement in corporate lives (in various capacities) that also included developing proposals for multinational corporations and government. I hope the following pointers would provide a lot of benefits. Of course we have to tailor our proposals to suit different clients in Elance environment.

A typical proposal would include:

- a cover letter
- technical section
- commercial section
- exhibits (attachments) as applicable

The cover letter is in effect your "front window glass." It allows the client to view your "shop" and take a look at what it has to offer. A carefully crafted cover letter will reveal your understanding of client's requirements and demonstrate briefly how you intend to execute them.

For a full blown technical proposal, the following are typical contents:

- introduction
- description of project scopes
- work packages
- organization chart
- reporting mechanism/structures
- variation (change) order mechanism
- proposed progress chart (timelines and percentages)
- schedule of progress payment (as applicable)
- billing and payment statements
- list of exceptions (as applicable)
- alternative proposal (as applicable)
- references to previous works/contracts

Of course the list above is not meant to be exhaustive. It just captures the most important technical aspects.

The commercial section should contain the following:

- detailed packages and their corresponding pricing (either fixed sum or rates)
- if there are deviations from the specifications, list the corresponding pricing as applicable
- if there is an alternative bid.
- delivery date(s)
- payment terms

As for Elance, the proposal is limited to 2000 characters. What this means is that invariably you have to submit your full proposal as an attachment. In this case the proposal space should serve as your cover letter.

Elance_rupa is right about the great importance of understanding the client. As a first rule, make sure you read the bid description a couple of times just to make sure you really understand what is required. This is also serves to tell you about what you don't understand. The last statement is very important. This is where you would request for further clarifications. A typical client would welcome inquiries of this nature as this serves two purposes: firstly, it helps the client to further understand the issues at stake and secondly it shows the bidder is very serious in preparing for the bid.

Putting yourself in the client's shoes is the technique to help you understand the client, as pointed out by Elance_rupa. I call this role-reversing. You do this by:

- defining the inter and intra parties (client, provider, customers)
- defining the roles of each party
- defining their expectations and requirements
- addressing their fears/concerns and how to mitigate them
- listing down their deliverables

I have followed the above rules in many business development proposals and bids. Success rate has been very high. I hope this may be used in Elance environment. I may be wrong.

I sincerely hope the above would benefit Elance newbies.

I really appreciate the tools and information that provided. I'm new here and still learning about how it works. I can speak 3 languages and I enjoy writing and reading specially the topic that inspired.