Close The Sale With Proposal Kit
By Kalena Jordan of Web Rank Ltd
I never read banner ads. That's why I was surprised to
find myself clicking on a banner the other day. The ad
intrigued me because it offered to fulfill a pressing need
I had.
Over the years, I had developed what
I thought was a fairly slick proposal template for my
search engine optimization business. But still the
document lacked an edge. I knew I had lost a couple of
recent pitches to my competitors and I wondered if
there was something about their proposals that I was
missing in mine.
You know that a good proposal can make or break a
sale. This is particularly the case when your only
communication with potential clients is via the Internet.
But how do you know you've covered all the important
aspects of your services? How can you be sure you've
accurately estimated all project costs? What if you
need to include some legal contract information in your
document but you can't afford to hire a lawyer? How do
you make your proposal stand out from your
competitors if you don't have any graphic design skills?
Are you forgetting an important section in your proposal
that your potential client was expecting? I found myself
asking all these questions when preparing quotations
for potential clients.
The banner ad from
Proposal Kit offered a solution to my problem. It
advertised "Turn-key contract, estimating and proposal
kits for today's Internet professional". That's exactly
what I was looking for, so I clicked on the banner ad,
fully expecting to find some ultra-hyped, over-rated,
disappointing backyard software. Boy was I wrong!
What I found was probably the most cost-effective and
useful tool for online business that I have EVER come
across. Seriously!
Proposal Kit takes the guesswork out of drafting a
proposal or contract. It automates the chore of putting
together a complex business proposal. Basically,
Proposal Kit provides a comprehensive range of
templates to suit any business requirement and helps
you build a framework for your proposal to match
virtually any product or service offering. You then flesh
out the templates with your own data and contact
details. Templates are particularly suited to online
businesses and include documents for the initial sales
pitch, the planning stage, estimating, contracting,
project timelines, analysis and even invoicing.
Want to include a Cost/Benefits analysis in your
proposal? How about a Production Schedule or a Web
Site Design Storyboard? With Proposal Kit, you have a
huge range of professional documents available within
instant reach to make up your perfect Proposal, tailored
specifically for each client. You can even choose a
colour scheme or graphic design theme to match your
corporate image or that of your client. There are almost
30 different styles available.
But Proposal Kit is not just about creating "knock 'em
dead" proposals. Purchase the supporting Contract
Pack and you have access to legal binding contracts,
sign off forms, copyright agreements and more. Find a
web site stealing your content? Use Contract
Pack's "Cease and Desist" letter template to draft your
response. Want to provide users of your software with
a easy way to report bugs? Use Contract Pack's Bug
Report Template.
Once I read the Quick Start Guide, it
took me less than 5 minutes using Proposal Kit Wizard
to set up a sophisticated Master Proposal framework to
suit my business, incorporating 31 different templates
from the recommended list. Here's a summary of the
different products Proposal Kit offers:
Proposal Kit Pro and Proposal Kit Standard
These are bundles of several products, including the
most commonly used packages. Each collection
(proposal, contact, estimate, planning, samples) can be
purchased separately, or together in a bundle at a
lower cost. These are designed specifically for web, CD-
ROM, multimedia and tech professionals. Current retail
price for Proposal Kit Pro is USD 197 (a stripped down
starter kit is available for USD 97).
Proposal Packs
Proposal Packs contain hundreds of templates designed
for general business use (both tech and non-tech) by
any company selling a product and/or service to
another company. Use Proposal Packs by themselves or
as add-on graphic styles with Proposal Kit. Current
retail price of each Proposal Pack is USD 57. Foreign
language versions in Spanish, French, German and
Italian are also available.
Sample Proposal Collections
The Collections include examples of finished proposals.
Samples illustrate how proposals have been created
using various Proposal Pack styles. Sample Proposal
Collection Volume 1 and Volume 2 are already included
in every Proposal Pack and Proposal Kit and are also
sold separately. Pricing ranges from USD 27 to USD 87
per pack.
Contract Pack
Contract Pack is a large collection of contract and
agreement documents for web, CD-ROM, software,
computer, multimedia and other computer software and
hardware related work. Contract Pack is available in a
stripped down "starter" version (Standard) and a
complete version (Pro). Contract Packs are included in
the Proposal Kit bundles. Pricing ranges from USD 47
(Contract Pack Standard) to USD 97 (Contract Pack
Pro).
Proposal Kit Wizard
The Wizard is an optional add-on software interface for
use with Proposal Kit templates. Proposal Pack Wizard
must be used with a Proposal Kit and/or one or more
Proposal Packs. Proposal Kit Wizard works as a Word
Macro, automating common tasks that are usually
performed manually using the proposal templates. Drag
and drop your chosen templates into your Proposal
Master document or simply merge them from multiple
PDF docs to create your final Proposal, ready to send.
Use the Mail Merge feature to integrate your client's
details.
Continued...
|
| |
Dear Reader,
What an interesting month it's been. Seems everybody
was playing "catch up" to Google in the search engine
space this month. Yahoo launched a new streamlined
version of their search technology and Ask Jeeves
quickly followed suit. Both search portals shifted their
focus back to basics, no doubt as a result of witnessing
Google's trail-blazing success with the same formula.
But will these changes be enough to woo users away
from Google? Doubtful. Yahoo is seen by many
as "search for dummies" while Jeeve's conservative
British butler definitely lacks the cool factor.
Google surprised everyone this month (especially
Overture) by purchasing Overture's key advertising
partner Applied Semantics. The news hit Overture
stocks hard, with shares sliding 27 percent. Are they
starting to lose their grip on pay-per-click market
share? Will Google be able to use their current
advantage to position AdWords to dominate the cut-
throat PPC industry?
Stay tuned!
But the past month wasn't all about work. Friends and I
took the opportunity last weekend to visit Mt Sunday,
near Methven, the magnificent location for the
city of
Edoras from Lord of the Rings - The Two
Towers. One advantage of living in New Zealand is the
ability to explore its breathtaking scenery, little by little.
I'll be doing that again early next month, spending 10
days with my husband and our dear neighbours visiting
all the wineries and potteries we can find in Blenheim
and Nelson - my first vacation in 18 months. I just hope
we can fit in the car with all the wine and pottery I
plan on bringing home!
April was also the month I discovered
Proposal Kit (read our feature) and hired a Virtual
Assistant. What's that? A V.A. is a Personal Assistant
that works for you virtually, via the Internet. There are
many, many advantages of using a V.A. and I plan on
writing an article about the concept in a future issue.
You can read more about hiring or becoming a V.A. at
AssistU.
Meanwhile, enjoy this issue and remember to visit our
daily
Search Engine News Blog for the latest industry
news and gossip.
Till next time - wishing you high
rankings...
|
| |
| |
| |
- Google Invests in the Semantic Web
| | |  Google has increased their commitment to content-
targeted advertising with the purchase this month of
Applied
Semantics, a Santa Monica-based producer of
software applications for the online advertising, domain
name and enterprise information management markets.Applied Semantics' products are based on its patented
CIRCA technology, which understands, organizes, and
extracts knowledge from websites and information
repositories in a way that mimics human thought and
enables more effective information retrieval. A key
application of the CIRCA technology is Applied
Semantics' AdSense product that enables web
publishers to understand the key themes on web pages
to deliver highly relevant and targeted advertisements. Full Story... | | |
| Yahoo Unveils New Streamlined Search
| | |  Yahoo has unveiled
streamlined new search functionality this month, in an
apparent bid to win back searchers from rival and
business partner Google.With a tag line of "Faster, Easier, Smarter", the new Yahoo! Search
even looks like Google, with an uncluttered interface, a
tab menu for various searching modes, cached search
results and a new image search tool. They've even
created a downloadable Yahoo Search Toolbar. Full Story... | | |
| Overture Shares Fall 27 Percent
| | |  As a combined result of announcing lower than
expected revenues and Google purchasing their partner
Applied Semantics this month (see story above),
Overture shares fell more than 27 percent last week.Full Story... | | |
| Web Rank Small Business Special
| | |  Not achieving the ranking you want in the search
listings? Need step-by-step help to make your site more
search engine friendly? Got a small budget?Sounds like you need our Search Engine Compatibility
Report. For a limited time, Web Rank is offering SECR's
for just USD 175. That's right - $175! Tell Me More... | | |
| Google and Amazon Shake Hands
| | |  The world's most popular search site and the most
popular online retailer have shaken hands this month on
a multi-year deal that will see Google search results and
paid listings appear on the Amazon site.In what has got to be one of the biggest search deals
of the year, Google will provide its popular web search
technology and paid advertising services to
Amazon.com, providing the retailer with a key
opportunity to share in the growing revenue stream of
online search. Full Story... | | |
| Ask "Jeeves" and You Shall Receive
| | |  After a year long behind-the-scenes makeover, Ask Jeeves has
launched a
new version of their search engine
in a bid to catch rival Google in the functionality
stakes.
The new "Jeeves" boasts some impressive new
features, including:
- Cleaner Design: The cleaner site design is brighter,
easier to use and provides helpful suggestions and
options.
- Faster Load Time: Ask Jeeves now loads 50 percent
faster than before, meaning people can get to their
information much more quickly.
- Intuitive Picture and News Search: You can now
search for pictures and news directly from the
homepage. Just specify that you are looking for
an "image", "picture", "photos" or "news".
Full Story... Click here for a full text/print version of this newsletter... | | |
|
