Why You Need a Branded Proposal NOW

I work with so many clients who are used to sending out boring contracts and invoices to their clients. When they see what a branded proposal can look like with Dubsado, their minds are BLOWN. 🤯 You just can’t beat having a gorgeous proposal, contract, and invoice all in one to send to your potential new clients at the beginning of their journey with you! Here are some reasons why you need a branded proposal now:

What is a Dubsado proposal?

A proposal is a type of form in Dubsado that makes booking new clients a breeze. Proposals include up to three parts: the Proposal, the Contract, and the Invoice. The system works seamlessly to share information so that you don’t have to stop the client’s momentum mid-booking. No more manually updating contracts and invoices because Dubsado does all of this automatically!

Step 1: The Proposal

The Proposal is an interactive quote or pricing guide where you can have all of your service offerings or packages on display. For example, wedding photographers may offer 3 packages for a prospective client to select from. Beyond your base service offering, you can offer optional upsells. If you’re a photographer, that could be a second shooter, rehearsal dinner coverage, or albums. Florist? Offer rental pieces. Or a DJ may want to upsell additional hours or lighting upgrades. The client will select their desires services and upgrades, and then they’ll be able to see their subtotal appear at the bottom of the screen.

Step 2: The Contract

Once the client makes their selections and submits the proposal, they’ll be routed to the Contract. Normally, you would have to intervene at this point to make sure your contract accurately reflects the service(s) your client is retaining you for. However, Dubsado can do ALL of this manually by using mapped fields to pull their selections and pricing into your contract.

Step 3: The Invoice

The final stop for your client is the Invoice. The price has already populated (thanks again to the proposal) and the invoice is ready for your client to submit a payment!

It functions as a three-part presentation slash pricing guide. When your clients receives a proposal from you, they can select a service package, sign your contract, and pay the invoice all at once. Proposals allow your clients to walk themselves through your booking process in minutes.

(If you custom quote everything in Dubsado instead of working with packages, you can absolutely still use the proposal feature! Read How to Custom Quote in Dubsado)

How is a proposal different than an invoice?

A proposal is an elegant way to present your packages (or custom quote) to potential clients, and instruct them on how to move forward and hire you. You can add lots of extra in your proposal, such as an About Me section to remind potential clients who you are and how you can help, or an FAQ section to answer common objections. Proposals present pricing but an invoice will not be created until your client makes a selection.

Once a selection is made on the proposal, that’s when the invoice is created. Often, invoices will have auto-calculating due dates (eg: $500 deposit due at signing and the remaining balance is due 1 month from the wedding date). Invoices can also have payment reminders that automatically notify clients when a payment is coming due.

Why you should send on-brand proposals as a Wedding Pro

1. A branded proposal communicates that you are good at what you do and makes you look professional.

Have you ever gone to someone’s website to find that it’s outdated and not super pretty or easy to use? And then made an assumption that this person isn’t very professional and possibly not that good at what they do? I sure have!

Wrong or not, it’s a fact that prospective clients are judging you by your appearance. The better you can present yourself, the more qualified people will think you are.

2. It sets you apart from competitors.

Having a super professional, on-brand proposal can set you miles apart from your competitors. With a custom proposal, you have the opportunity to showcase your work, introduce yourself and your credentials, educate your clients, share testimonials and FAQs, and effortlessly guide your clients through the purchasing process. It’s like a sales page all in one. And quite frankly WAY more impressive than a simple email, word doc, or PDF.

3. It sets the tone for what it will be like to work with you.

If you’re THIS GOOD at handling the admin piece, how much better will you be at delivering the actual service?! This is a chance to wow the client in order to get them even more excited and chose you over your competitors. It’s all about the WOW factor.

4. A branded proposal is another opportunity to sell them on YOU

It moves the needle from attracting clients based on price to attracting them based on your brand identity, attention to detail, and creativity (which also means they care a lot less about your price). Have I convinced you yet? 🤣

5. Because it can look like THIS!

Another reason why I love Dubsado so much is for its ability to design beautiful proposals. Check out this absolute beauty that I designed for one of my wedding cake designer clients:

Wanna know more about the best CRM for wedding business owners? Read 7 Reasons Why You Need Dubsado as a Wedding Pro. Then if you’re interested in trying Dubsado for yourself, use my code HEATHERGAGNON for 30% off your Dubsado subscription!