“You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression,” this saying is especially true when you are presenting to a prospective client for the first time.
If you’re looking to write a proposal to support your presentation, a graphic designer can help you win more work by;
- Laying out your text to communicate clearly with your intended audience,
- Giving your proposal an aesthetically pleasing look,
- Showing data in an easy to understand and interesting way,
- Making sure your contact details are clear,
- Printing and binding your proposal professionally.
A proposal should use your branding to represent the quality of your products and services and the values your business stands for. The content of your proposal will be key but an attractive layout that includes graphics will make it easier to read and understand. Therefore, graphic design is a vital element when it comes to putting a business proposal together to win work.
If you are looking to win more work with your proposals here are some ideas to keep in mind.
Graphic design helps you to communicate clearly
A proposal will help you to clearly present your ideas and get the order correct before even stepping into your meeting. Try and keep things concise and to the point though, to ensure your message doesn’t get lost.
A contents page is very useful in showing the prospective client the order you are planning to follow. If your proposal is digital your contents page can also be interactive meaning the titles will take you directly to each page without having to scroll through a potentially large document. Numbering the pages of your document is also a good idea to make sure the order of the pages stays as you intended.
Graphic design will give an aesthetically pleasing look
A proposal that looks balanced and aesthetically pleasing is more likely to engage a prospective client than one that looks cluttered. Balance doesn’t mean pages should be symmetrical but a graphic on one page may be balanced with a page of text on the opposite page. We create interest by using brand elements, full colour pages, imagery and a clear hierarchy of text. Pages are designed using a grid to ensure everything is lined up, margins are consistent and text runs neatly around images.
Graphic design makes your data interesting
You’ve probably got some great data that you would like to share in your proposal. However, sharing it within a large block of text or as a spreadsheet could mean that it is easily missed.
Graphic design can help to make your data interesting to read by presenting it as an infographic. An infographic is a collection of imagery, charts and graphs alongside minimal text to communicate your information quickly and clearly.
Graphic design can make sure your contact details are clear
You may think that if you’re going to a meeting in person to present your proposal that contact details will already be on your business cards. But don’t forget to include contact details in your proposal too. If your prospective client doesn’t know how to contact you, they could place their business elsewhere. Contact details should be consistent across all your marketing materials.
Graphic designers can help with print and delivery
If your graphic designer is also able to help with printing your proposal this will give a very professional finish. We can provide express print and delivery options which means once artwork is signed off, we can print and deliver proposals with 24 hours. However, we do suggest leaving more time than this, just in case there are any unforeseen print or delivery delays.
We can provide proposals as complete wire bound documents or hole punched collated sheets to fit into your own ring binder. Our preferred option though is to have branded folders printed in advance. Then when you need to print your proposal just have the sheets printed and present them within your branded folder.
If you’re looking to win more work with improved design and print of your proposals you can take a look at our portfolio here or contact Rosanne to discuss rosanne@silverstonedesignsolutions.com