The Proposal in an Email

Hi! You’re here because you’re a woman who runs a consulting business, and you want to learn how to make it more profitable, more stable, and more fulfilling. In our world, that means being able to get more of the right kind of clients into your business and get paid on your value, not your time, so you can build a business that supports your life, not the other way around.

If you’re like a lot of women consultants, you’re so good at the work you do, but the process of getting new clients feels a bit like unfamiliar territory. You’ve gotten this far with referrals or word of mouth, but you know you should be doing something more proactive (but you don’t want to be salesy). You also know that what got you here won’t get you to the next level in your business.

If that’s you, you’re in the right place.

Here you’ll learn strategies you can use to attract more of the right kinds of consulting clients and get paid more for your consulting contracts, in a way that doesn’t even feel like selling.

Along the way, you’ll discover that you aren’t “bad at sales.” (I promise.) You simply haven’t learned yet. But you can learn how, feel comfortable, and actually be good at it.

We’ll cover the three critical areas to master in order to get higher-paying consulting clients:

Attract (attracting more of the right clients and filling your client pipeline)

Guide (leading a sales process and keeping clients engaged)

Close (helping clients say yes and getting paid more than you ever thought you could).

I'm glad you're here! Let's dive in.

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Consultants, picture this. You’ve had a great conversation with a prospective client. You’re sure they’re interested. And then they say… “Do you have something you can send me?”?

Your heart sinks. What exactly do they want?!

??Do you send a one-pager about the business that might have details of the service but isn’t specific to their needs?

??Do you send a proposal? Surely it’s a bit early? Or it seems a bit presumptive??

? Do you send a deck? That feels like a LOT of work and who knows if anyone will look at it?

? Or do you send nothing – and hope that someone listened and took good enough notes to communicate the VALUE of what you do?

The problem is… if you don’t know what to send, you’re likely to overthink it. Or not send anything. You might feel stuck, like you can’t move things forward.?

You don’t do ANY of those things. Instead, you send a Proposal in an Email.

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What does a Proposal in an Email do?

It ensures your clients understand things as you want them understood.

It means they use the words you would use, if you were there.

It enables them to bring the project to other people in the company.

It helps them to make a decision.

And more often, it helps them to help someone ELSE make the decision?

When you have a Proposal in an Email in your tool box, you know EXACTLY what to send.?

You’re still in the game.?

Like, my friend and coaching client, B.

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Back in April, B. was talking to a company about a $10k project. When they got on the call, the client said they would have to delay because they were too busy.?

As they were talking, B’s client mentioned that she was concerned about the impact of “crunch time workload” on her team. She really wanted to find a way to prevent burnout and turnover.

B. mentioned that she also does training around how to manage self-care and mental health during crunch periods. She suggested they look at it next year, after they’d completed the other project.?

And then she said, “Unless you think that’s a fit for you now? We could do that part this year?”

The client loved the idea. She asked for the work to be split into phases, some to be delivered in the next few months, some in the Fall, and some next year.

So B. quickly put together an email in a proposal. She kept the door open, delivered the value the client needed short term, and built a long-term relationship.

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Listen - I know how paralyzing it can be when you’re not sure what to send. You want them to know you’re smart, and that you can do the work. But you also don’t want to waste your time.

And it’s impossible to know what’s going on at the client’s end. There’s zero point worrying about what’s going on behind the scenes because that's out of your control.

But you CAN stay in the conversation.

So now, when the client asks “Do you have something you can send me?”, you can confidently answer Yes. And know that you’re putting something together that will actually work.

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If you’d like a copy of the Proposal in an Email strategy so you can send a follow up that actually helps move the sales process forward, write back with “Proposal in an Email” in the subject and I’ll get you a copy.

To your success,

Leah

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Hi! I'm Leah Neaderthal. I'm a sales coach for women consultants and the founder of Smart Gets Paid .

When I left my corporate career and started my first consulting business, I learned three things very quickly:

1- It’s 1000x harder to sell your own stuff than to sell someone else’s.

2- Marketing is not selling.

3- I had no idea how to sell.

I needed clients, but I didn’t know how to actually get them, and I was terrified of coming off like a used car salesman. It made me doubt whether I was even cut out to run a business.

So I taught myself how to get new clients in a way that feels authentic, allows me to be myself, and that works consistently. I now teach these techniques to others. Because I know it’s possible to learn how to land clients, and actually feel comfortable doing it, once you know how.

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Whenever you’re ready to start landing higher-paying clients, here are three ways I can help you.

1. Listen to the Smart Gets Paid Podcast

You’ll hear me chat with my actual clients as we tackle their biggest challenges in getting new clients, and you’ll learn sales strategies you can use today in your own business. It's the only podcast that can help you land higher-paying clients in your B2B consulting business. Listen on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform.

2. Get your copy of Referrals on Repeat

If you’ve gotten clients through referrals or word-of-mouth, and you want to start getting referral clients more consistently, get your copy of Referrals on Repeat, and start getting more referrals coming into your business today: smartgetspaid.com/referrals

3. Break through to the next revenue level in your consulting business with help from my team and me.

Learn the proven, step-by-step system women like you are using to get more of the clients they want, get paid way more for their consulting contracts, and build confidence that they know what they’re doing to get clients. Send me a message here on LinkedIn with “Breakthrough” in the first line and I’ll get you the details.