Proposals that get you the job: A Hands-on Workshop for Creative Professionals with Ilise Benun and Peleg Top

Are your proposals winning you the projects you really want?
Do you send proposals to your prospects but never hear back?
Do your prospects just flip to the back of your proposal to find out the price?

There are many potholes in the potentially lucrative process of proposal writing. But if you make mistakes along the way – like not pre-qualifying your prospect or not crafting a proposal that is essentially a persuasive selling tool – you may be wasting a lot of time.

Most creative professionals – maybe you? – spend way too much time on proposals. When you neglect to ask a question, it adds hours of work. Or when you “forget” to address the budget issue, the result is time wasted writing proposals for prospects who can’t afford you.

We can help you save all that time and money.

Whether you are a seasoned creative professional or just starting out, it’s common – and natural—to wonder:

…if your proposals are being read at all or simply skimmed?
…if your proposals have enough (or too much) information?
…if your proposals have the right information to persuade your prospect to hire you?

Self-promotion gurus, Peleg Top and Ilise Benun, will present their brand-new, half-day workshop, Proposals That Get You the Job: A Hands-on Workshop for Creative Professionals, packed with practical advice that will help you get more of the projects that you really want.

You will learn:

How to significantly reduce the time you spend writing proposals while increasing your conversion rate
How to pre-qualify your prospects so you don’t waste your time on proposals you have no chance of getting
How to distinguish between the “real” prospects and the tire-kickers
What you need to find out before crafting a proposal
How to get them to give you their budget before you do your proposal
The 3 different types of proposals (and when to use each)
How to structure a proposal so that it makes the strongest case for your services
The essential elements of a creative professional’s proposal
How to differentiate your proposal from that of your competitors
Do you need a cover letter? And if so, what should it include?
How to get your prospect to agree to meet with you (either in person or on the phone) to present the proposal
How to present a proposal so that your prospect doesn’t choose based only on price
How to make sure your proposal doesn’t land in a black hole
What to do if you submit your proposal and then never hear from your prospect again

Questions we’ll answer:

When is the right time to ask for the budget?
Should you give a price before you present your proposal?
Where in the proposal should you put the actual quote?
Should you provide a la carte pricing or a single number for a big project?
How much template vs. customized material should be included?
How much time should you spend on a proposal (relative to project size)?
How many pages should your proposal be?
What order should the information be in?
Should you respond to RFPs and, if so, under what conditions?
Should your proposal double as a contract?

The hands-on part:
In addition to the interactive/lecture-style presentation, 2-3 proposals of attendees will be critiqued and discussed by the group.

What you’ll walk away with:

Proposal Kit that includes:

Checklist of essential elements of a proposal that will get you the job
Checklist of questions to ask before you even think about doing a proposal

Examples of actual proposals to use as models
Copy of The Art of Self Promotion (newest book by Ilise Benun)

Attendance is limited, so don’t wait too long to sign up. Seats are filling quickly.

Date: Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Time:9:00am to 12:00pm (arrival and check in at 8:30 AM. We’ll start promptly at 9 AM)
Price:early bird price is $97 before Oct. 5 -- $127 after that.
Place: Center for Architecture, 536 Laguardia Place (Greenwich Village) NYC
Number of people: 22 maximum

We hope you will plan to stay afterward and join us for networking and cocktails at a restaurant across the street.

Date: Monday, October 22, 2007
Time:6:00pm to 9:00pm
Price:early bird price is $97 before Oct. 17 -- $127 after that.
Place: Top Design Studio, 11108 Riverside Drive, North Hollywood CA
Number of people: 8 maximum

Click here to sign up for the October 10 (New York) workshop.

Click here to sign up for the October 22 (Los Angeles) workshop.

About The Presenters

Ilise Benun is the founder of Marketing Mentor, a one-on-one coaching program for the “creatively self-employed.”

She is also a national speaker and the author of several books including, “Stop Pushing Me Around: A Workplace Guide for the Timid, Shy and Less Assertive” (Career Press, 2006), “Self Promotion Online” and “Designing Websites:// for Every Audience.” (HOW Design Books). Benun, who has been helping designers promote themselves since 1988, has been featured in national publications such as the New York Times, Inc. Magazine, HOW Magazine, Self, Essence, and Working Woman.

Peleg Top is a veteran in the Los Angeles design scene. He founded Top Design, in his garage in 1990 and it has since then become one of LA’s most sought-after firms.

Peleg describes himself as a “design producer,” working collaboratively with a team of creative experts who deliver exceptional work to their clients. Top Design specializes in servicing the non-profit industry, cause-related marketing and branding for fundraisers and special events.

Peleg is the author of “Logo & Letterhead Design” published by Rockport Publishing and an advisory board member for the HOW Conference. He is also featured in the current issue of STEP Inside Design and Dynamic Graphics. Over the past year, Peleg has helped found Marketing-Mentor, a mentoring program teaching creatives and freelancers how to market and promote themselves and their services.

Click here to go to the Marketing Mentor home page.