If you want to make your proposals more compelling and win more clients, it’s time to go beyond the basics. Most freelancers and agencies send proposals that focus solely on estimations, timelines, tech stacks, and costs. While these elements are important, they don’t give clients a real sense of how you think or how you’ll solve their problems.
The secret to standing out? Share tangible results right alongside your proposal.
Show Your Thinking Process
Instead of just listing what you’ll do and how much it will cost, demonstrate your understanding of the project by sharing actual deliverables. One of the most effective ways to do this is by creating a user flow that shows how you think the project should be approached.
Let’s say you’re a web developer pitching a website project. Rather than simply outlining your tech stack and delivery timeline, take it a step further. Write a brief commentary (OR use Speech to Note - a Voice to Text platform for your commentary) on how you envision users interacting with the website. Walk through the entire user journey and highlight key user experience considerations. This shows clients that you’re thinking about their end users, not just the technical implementation.
Once you’ve written down your thoughts and commentary about the user flow, you can refine and organize them using ChatGPT. Simply paste your notes and ask it to create a clear summary of the project requirements and user journey.
Then, take it one step further by creating a visual user flow diagram. Here’s how:
Create a free account on Whimsical.com
Find the Whimsical Diagrams tool in the ChatGPT GPT Store
Paste your refined thoughts into the tool
Specify the user persona you want to create a flow for (for example, an end user visiting the website, or if you’re building a web application with multiple user types, you might create separate flows for users, sellers, and admins)
Generate the user flow diagram automatically
Make any necessary edits to polish it
Now you have a professional, visual representation of your approach that you can include with your proposal and estimations.
Go Beyond the Bare Minimum
Don’t stop at user flows. Depending on the project, you can share additional insights that demonstrate your strategic thinking:
SEO strategy: Explain how you’ll approach search engine optimization to ensure the website gets discovered
AI chatbot integration: Discuss how you might improve customer service or user engagement
Search visibility: Share ideas about improving the website’s presence across different platforms
The key is to give clients something concrete that shows you’re not just focused on delivering code or completing tasks. You’re focused on solving their problems and ensuring their business succeeds.
Why This Works
When you include tangible deliverables like user flows, strategic insights, and visual diagrams in your proposals, you accomplish several things:
You differentiate yourself from competitors who only send basic quotes
You demonstrate that you’ve actually thought deeply about their project
You give clients confidence that you understand their needs
You show that you’re invested in their success, not just the paycheck
Remember, clients aren’t just buying your time or technical skills—they’re buying your expertise and problem-solving ability. Show them what that looks like, and you’ll win more projects at better rates.