6/14/2024

How Documenso Helps Freelancers Close More Clients Efficiently

Timur Ercan

Co-Founder

Getting new clients, or maybe even your first client, to sign with you is at the very core of freelance work. Whether you develop software, create designs, or market products, it all starts with a signature from you and your future customer. Closing a customer usually means agreeing on a proposal first and then signing a formal agreement afterward. Signing proposals and contracts is fast, easy, and painless with Documenso, so let's take a look.

Understanding Proposal and Contracts

1. Initial Proposal

Agreeing on what needs to be done and terms for payment

A proposal will include the scope of the work (what does the customer want done?), desired deliverables (documents, code, features, videos, etc.), timelines, payment terms (one-time, monthly, per hour), and prices (e.g. $60/ hour, $5k one-time). A proposal is important for both sides to be clear about the goal and the terms that apply. Customers usually decide based on the proposal if your offer is what they want.

2. Formal Contract

After the client signs the proposal, a contract can be signed, formalizing the agreement and adding detailed legal terms.

Once the terms are agreed upon, a more formal document should specify the terms of working together, especially legal details such as confidentiality, indemnification, governing law, etc. The contract provides clarity on legal details for both sides and formalizes their claims.

Sending one or even multiple documents to a potential client and having them send them back signed (in the worst case, they send it via actual mail) is time-consuming for both sides. It also introduces friction at a time when making it as easy as possible for your potential client to say yes should be your number one goal.

Digital Signatures for the Win

Signing documents digitally makes closing proposals and contracts faster and more secure. Each party can review and sign the documents in minutes instead of days (inserting the signatures manually via PDF editor) or even weeks (using conventional mail). Apart from the efficiency gains, signing digitally also increases trust by making the process more secure and auditable. Digitally signed documents can’t be changed after the fact, and every step of the process is logged.

Documenso lets you reap these benefits by sending proposals and contracts with minimal effort. Being open source, the whole world can verify our product and how we deliver on these promises, which is why thousands of users already trust Documenso for their signing needs: https://documen.so/open.

Preparing the Proposal

If you already have a proposal template, create a new version for your client and export it to PDF. If your tool doesn’t support that, your system's “PDF printer” lets you create a PDF from almost any tool by using the print function. If you do not have a template yet, you can find a lot of content and guides on the matter through a quick Google search. Here is a quick checklist of what your proposal should cover:

• A clear and concise title
• Your contact information
• Date of the proposal/ validity period
• Experience, qualifications, and prior relevant projects
• A summary of the project
• A detailed description of the project
• Goals, outcomes, and deliverables
• Tasks and activities to achieve the goals and outcomes
• A timeline with milestones and deadlines
• Pricing terms and payment schedule
• Summary of major terms for the coming contract

Sending the Proposal

If you don’t have a Documenso Account yet, you can create one for free. Once you sign up, you can upload your proposal PDF by simply dragging it into the upload area. Add your potential client as a recipient, add a signature field, and you are done! You can track the status of your proposal simply by clicking the Document in the overview. Documenso will also notify you once the proposal is signed.

Conclusion

Sending a proposal to potential clients using Documenso makes getting to the first “yes” fast and easy. Seeing if your proposal was signed or even read helps you to get a feel for where you are in the process. You can use the Documenso Free Plan to send 5 proposals per month. Digital Signing in 2024 is the best practice for all professionals looking for the most efficient way to get business done.

Check out Part 2 to learn about signing freelance contracts with Documenso.

Let us know what you think and what we can improve. Which field types are you missing? Connect with us on Twitter / X (DM open) or Discord if you have any questions or comments! We're always here and would love to hear from you :)

Best from Hamburg
Timur

• Freelancer
• Proposal
• Productivity