Sample Letter Request For Proposal (Rfp: Fill & Download for Free

You did not specify what kind of proposal, here are two sources to start with, hope they are helpful.One:Source: WiKi how to do anythingwikiHow to Write a ProposalThree Parts:Sample ProposalsPlanning Your ProposalWriting Your Own ProposalCommunity Q&AWriting a good proposal is a critical skill in many occupations, from school to business management to geology. The goal of a proposal is to gain support for your plan by informing the appropriate people. Your ideas or suggestions are more likely to be approved if you can communicate them in a clear, concise, engaging manner. Knowing how to write a persuasive, captivating proposal is essential for success in many fields. There are several types of proposals, such as science proposals and book proposals, but the same basic guidelines apply for all of them.Sample ProposalsSample Proposal for Safety MeasureSample Proposal for Process ImprovementSample Proposal for Cost SavingsPart 1Planning Your Proposal1 Define your audience. You need to make sure that you think about your audience and what they might already know or not know about your topic before you begin writing. This will help you focus your ideas and present them in the most effective way. It's a good idea to assume that your readers will be busy, reading (or even skimming) in a rush, and not predisposed to grant your ideas any special consideration. Efficiency and persuasiveness will be key.[1][2] Who will be reading your proposal? What level of familiarity with your topic will they have? What might you need to define or give extra background information about? What do you want your audience to get from your proposal? What do you need to give your readers so they can make the decision you want them to make? Refine your tone to meet your audience's expectations and desires. What do they want to hear? What would be the most effective way of getting through to them? How can you help them understand what you're trying to say?2 Define your issue. It is clear to you what the issue is, but is that also clear to your reader? Also, does your reader believe you really know what you are talking about? You can support your ethos, or writing persona, by using evidence and explanations throughout the proposal to back up your assertions. By setting your issue properly, you start convincing the reader that you are the right person to take care of it. Think about the following when you plan this part: What is the situation this issue applies to? What are the reasons behind this? Are we sure that those, and not others, are the real reasons? How are we sure of it? Has anyone ever tried to deal with this issue before? If yes: has it worked? Why? If no: why not? Don't: write a summary obvious to anyone in the field.Do: show that you've conducted in-depth research and evaluation to understand the issue.3 Define your solution. This should be straightforward and easy to understand. Once you set the issue you're addressing, how would you like to solve it? Get it as narrow (and doable) as possible.[3] Don't: forget to comply with all requirements in the RFP (request for proposal) document.Do: go above and beyond the minimum whenever budget allows. Your proposal needs to define a problem and offer a solution that will convince uninterested, skeptical readers to support it.[4] Your audience may not be the easiest crowd to win over. Is the solution you're offering logical and feasible? What's the timeline for your implementation? Consider thinking about your solution in terms of objectives. Your primary objective is the goal that you absolutely must achieve with your project. Secondary objectives are other goals that you hope your project achieves. Another helpful way of thinking about your solution is in terms of "outcomes" and "deliverables." Outcomes are the quantifiable results of your objectives. For example, if your proposal is for a business project and your objective is "increase profit," an outcome might be "increase profit by $100,000." Deliverables are products or services that you will deliver with your project. For example, a proposal for a science project could "deliver" a vaccine or a new drug. Readers of proposals look for outcomes and deliverables, because they are easy ways of determining what the "worth" of the project will be.[5]4 Keep elements of style in mind. Depending on your proposal and who'll be reading it, you need to cater your paper to fit a certain style. What do they expect? Are they interested in your problem? Don't: overuse jargon, obscure abbreviations, or needlessly complex language ("rectification of a workplace imbalance").Do: write in plain, direct language whenever possible ("letting employees go").[6] How are you going to be persuasive? Convincing proposals can use emotional appeals, but should always rely on facts as the bedrock of the argument. For example, a proposal to start a panda conservation program could mention how sad it would be for the children of future generations to never see a panda again, but it shouldn't stop there. It would need to base its argument on facts and solutions for the proposal to be convincing.5 Make an outline. This will not be part of the final proposal, but it will help you organize your thoughts. Make sure you know all of the relevant details before you start.[7] Your outline should consist of your problem, your solution, how you'll solve it, why your solution is best, and a conclusion. If you're writing an executive proposal, you'll need to include things like a budget analysis and organizational details.Part 2Writing Your Own Proposal1 Start with a firm introduction. This should start out with a hook. Ideally, you want your readers enraptured from point one. Make your proposal as purposeful and useful as possible. Use some background information to get your readers in the zone. Then state the purpose of your proposal.[8] If you have any stark facts that shed some light on why the issue needs to be addressed and addressed immediately, it's a safe bet that's something you can start with. Whatever it is, make sure what you start out with is a fact and not an opinion.2 State the problem. After the introduction, you'll get into the body, the meat of your work. Here's where you should state your problem. If your readers don't know much about the circumstance, fill them in. Think of this as the "state of affairs" section of your proposal. What is the problem? What is causing the problem? What effects does this problem have?[9] Emphasize why your problem needs to be solved and needs to be solved now. How will it affect your audience if left alone? Make sure to answer all questions and cover them with research and facts. Use credible sources liberally. Don't: rely solely on generic appeals to emotions or values.Do: tie the issue to the audience's interest or mission statement as directly as possible.3 Propose solutions. This is arguably the most important part of your proposal. The solutions section is where you get into how you will address the problem, why you will do it in this way, and what the outcomes will be. To make sure you've got a persuasive proposal, think about the following:[10] Discuss the larger impact of your ideas. Ideas that seem of limited applicability aren't as likely to spark enthusiasm in readers as ideas that could have widespread effects. Example: "Greater knowledge of tuna behavior can allow us to create a more comprehensive management strategy and ensure canned tuna for future generations." Addressing why you will do something is as important as stating what you will do. Presume that your readers are skeptical and will not accept your ideas at face value. If you're proposing to do a catch-and-release study of 2,000 wild tuna, why? Why is that better than something else? If it's more expensive than another option, why can't you use the cheaper option? Anticipating and addressing these questions will show that you've considered your idea from all angles. Your readers should leave your paper assured that you can solve the problem effectively. Literally everything you write should either address the problem or how to solve it. Research your proposal extensively. The more examples and facts you can give your audience, the better -- it'll be much more convincing. Avoid your own opinions and rely on the hard research of others. If your proposal doesn't prove that your solution works, it's not an adequate solution. If your solution isn't feasible, nix it. Think about the results of your solution, too. Pre-test it if possible and revise your solution if need be.4 Include a schedule and budget. Your proposal represents an investment. In order to convince your readers that you're a good investment, provide as much detailed, concrete information about your timeline and budget as possible.[11][12] Don't: include objectives that are vague, impossible to measure, or don't relate to the stated problem.Do: detail responsibilities and time commitments on the level of departments or individual staff. When do you envision the project starting? At what pace will it progress? How does each step build on the other? Can certain things be done simultaneously? Being as meticulous as possible will give your readers confidence that you've done your homework and won't waste their money. Make sure your proposal makes sense financially. If you're proposing an idea to a company or a person, consider their budget. If they can't afford your proposal, it's not an adequate one. If it does fit their budget, be sure to include why it's worth their time and money.5 Wrap up with a conclusion. This should mirror your introduction, succinctly wrapping up your general message. If there are consequences to your proposal not being undertaken, address them. Summarize the benefits of your proposal and drive home that the benefits outweigh the costs. Leave your audience thinking ahead. And, as always, thank them for their consideration and time.[13] If you have extra content that doesn't exactly fit into your proposal, you may want to add an appendix. But know that if your paper is too bulky, it may scare people off. If you're in doubt, leave it out. If you have two or more appendices attached to your proposal, letter them A, B, etc. This can be used if you have data sheets, reprints of articles, or letters of endorsement and the like.[11]6 Edit your work. Be meticulous in writing, editing, and designing the proposal. Revise as necessary to make it clear and concise, ask others to critique and edit it, and make sure the presentation is attractive and engaging as well as well organized and helpful.[4] Have another set of eyes (or two) read over your work. They'll be able to highlight issues your mind has grown blind to. There may be issues that you haven't completely addressed or questions you've left open-ended. Eliminate jargon and cliches! These make you look lazy and can get in the way of understanding. Don't use a long word when a short word will do just as well.[14] Avoid the passive voice whenever possible. Passive voice uses forms of "to be" verbs and can make your meaning unclear. Compare these two sentences: "The window was broken by the zombie" and "The zombie broke the window." In the first, you don't know who broke the window: was it the zombie? Or was the window by the zombie and just happened to also be broken? In the second, you know exactly who did the breaking and why it's important. Don't: muddle your proposal with I believe that..., this solution may aid... or other qualifiers.Do: use strong, direct language: The proposed plan will significantly reduce poverty rates.7 Proofread your work. Editing focuses on getting the content as clear and concise as you can make it. Proofreading makes sure that your content is free of mistakes. Go over your proposal carefully to catch any spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors. Any mistakes on your end will make you look less educated and less credible, reducing your likelihood of getting approved. Make sure that your formatting is in line with whatever the guidelines require.two: Source How eGuidelines for Project ProposalsA technical proposal, often called a "Statementof Work,” is a persuasive document. Itsobjectives are to1. Identify what work is to be done2. Explain why this work needs to be done3. Persuade the reader that the proposers (you) are qualified for the work, have a plausiblemanagement plan and technical approach, and have the resources needed to complete thetask within the stated time and cost constraints.What makes a good proposal?One attribute isappearance. A strong proposal has anattractive, professional, invitingappearance. In addition, the information should easy to access.A second attribute issubstance. A strong proposal has a well-organized plan of attack. A strongproposal also has technical details because technical depth is needed to sell your project.Remember: A proposal is a persuasive document.Required FormatFormat consists of the layout and typography of a document. In formatting yourproposal, use the guidelines in Table 1. A template to produce your proposal exists at thefollowing web page:http://www.writing.eng.vt.edu/design/proposal_template.docOne aspect of layout is the incorporationof illustrations. In your proposal, eachillustration should have a name and be formally introduced in the text. Illustrations consist offigures and tables. Figures include photographs,drawings, diagrams, and graphs. Each figureshould have a stand-alone caption, and the key points and features should be labeled. Tablesare arrangement of words and numbers into rowsand columns. Use tables to summarize liststhat the audience will try to findlater (the budget, for instance).Table 1.Format guidelines for requested proposal.Aspect DescriptionFont for headingsBoldface serif or sans serif: size in accordance with hierarchyFont for text portion12-point serif such asTimes New RomanorBook AntiquaMarginsStandard, at least 1 inchLayoutOne column, single-sidedParagraphingIndented paragraphs, no line skip between paragraphs in a sectionPage numberBottom centeredFigure namesNumbered: Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and so forthFigure captionsBelow figure in 10 point typeTable namesNumbered: Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and so forthTable headingsAbove table in 12 point type*Adapted from Guidelines at the Penn State Learning Factory:The Learning Factory2OrganizationAs given in the proposal template, yourproposal should have the following sectionsand headings:Title Pagea. Title of project in initial capital lettersb. The sponsoring company and contact person’s name and informationc. Team name and individual member namesd. Datee. An appropriate picture of the product, a team logo, or bothExecutive SummaryContent: A brief summary of the proposalLength: one-third to one-half page, never more than one pageEmphasis: highlighting of the proposed technical and management approachTable of ContentsStatement of Problem: the “Why?”Summary of the request by the sponsor (the original problem statement)Background:Brief description of company and their businessRelevance or importance of problemBackground information to educate the readerPrevious related work by others—literature review with credible sourcesPatent search, if applicableDetailed problem description, as you now understand itObjectives: the “What?”In the Objectives section, you translate the customer’s quantitative and qualitative needsinto clear, objective design specifications. Definethe scope of work and clearly state the projectobjectives, including the following:a. Design specifications in specific, quantitative terms. For example, “The plate must berotated three times at a speed of between 1 and3 rev/s” or “Control the temperature of a 1liter non-insulated standard glass beaker of water to 37.5 ± 0.5oC for three hours withouttemperature deviation.”b. Critical design issues, constraints, limitations.Technical Approach: the “How?”Although you may not know all the detailsof the problem solution, you should know afirst design on how you will attack the problem, and you should have some design concepts.The purpose of this section is to present theprocessby which you will arrive at the final answer.This section answers the following questions:31)What are the steps in the design process?(Describe and use the nine-step model fromChapter 1 of Hyman’s text)2)What are the benefits and advantages of employing a structured approach to design?3)How will you generate solution concepts?4)How will you analyze the performance of your solution?5)How will you decide on the best alternative?Specific recommendations for this section include the following:a. First, describe your overall design processin general terms. A one-page synopsis of Chapter1 in the Hyman text would be appropriate here.b. Provide at least three possible solution alternatives and document your methodology tochoose the best alternative. Include illustrationssuch as Figure 1. Try to be as inclusive andcreative as possible with your ideas. Strive toachieve at least one non-conventional or “outof the box” alternative.c. List and describe all the analytical, or computational tools you will employ to analyze yourdesign, such as ProEngineer®, SolidWorks®, MathCAD, and MATLAB.d. List and detailall the experimental proceduresyou willuse to test your design concepts.e. Evaluate your alternatives based on how well theysatisfy the design specifications. Explain the selectioncriteria by which you will evaluate designalternatives in specific, quantitative terms, such ascost, weight, reliability, ease of use, and ease ofmanufacture. A matrix table can clearly illustrate thisinformation.f. If possible at this time,rank your solution conceptsand list the pros and cons of each. At minimum, statewhat further information or additional work isneeded in order to arrive at a final solutionalternative.g. If any solution is totally unfeasible (or may have beenFigure 1.SolidWorks® model of atried before), state the reason for its elimination.Manual filter wheel with C-Mountadapters.Project Management: “How and When?”The Project Management section describes how the project will be managed, including adetailed timetable with milestones. Specific items to include in this section are as follows:a. Description of task phases (typical development tasks: Planning, Concept Development,System-Level Design, Detailed Design, Testing and Refinement, Production)b. Division of responsibilities and duties among team membersc. Timeline with milestones: Gantt chart (seeFigure 2 for an example). The following arerequired elements of your Gantt chart:i.Project duration is from the date yourproject is assigned to the completion date:25th Aprilii.Each milestone is to be labeled with a titleiii.Schedule alltasks not just “Design” or “Testing.” Break this schedule down tospecific assignments.4iv. Each task is to be labeled with a title and person or persons assigned to the task.v.Subdivide larger items so that no task is longer than about one weekvi. Link tasks which are dependent on the completion of a previous task.vii. Continue to update your schedule throughout your project. This tool is importantfor organizing and viewing the progress of your project.viii. Where possible, avoid a serial timeline (one task at a time, which must becompleted before next task can proceed).Figure 2.Example of a Gantt Chart.DeliverablesThe culmination of the proposal negotiation with your sponsor will be a completed“Deliverables Agreement.” Inthis section, provide adetaileddescription of what you areproviding and when you will provide it. Be asspecific as possible. Possible items includeDetailed design drawings (specifyComputer Aided Design format)Physical prototypeScale modelEngineering analysis (Finite Element Analysis, MATLAB, etc.)Economic analysis (return on investment calculations)Detailed description of test proceduresData from experimentsComputer program code, flowchart, documentationCircuit diagramsUser-friendly instructions including training for personnelBudget: “How Much?”Provide yourbestestimate of how project funds will be spent for your first design. Foran example, see Table 2. The sponsor will allow for only this amount. At this time, you need toknow the details for your initial design. You can divide up your budget into some majorcategories, such as equipment,materials, supplies, shipping (if Hershey), and Learning Factorycosts (that is, for the computerized numerical control, rapid prototyping, etc). Remember: Youare spending sponsor dollars and the sponsor needs to see that the money is spent wisely. Ifadditional funds or resources areneeded from your sponsor compared to their original “requestfor proposals,” ask for them here but justify the request.1.Be as exact as you can but estimate slightlyhigher for shipping. For any quantities, add anadditional 10–20% for error.2.Read all ordering requirements for eachcompany. Some companies have a minimumorder amount so you need to be aware of this in advance.3.You’ll need to have all (100%) your itemsordered and reconciledby the week before springbreak for your first design.4.Additional funds will not be released after this day without written justification for thedeviation (that is, why do you need to go with your alternate choice? What went wrongwith the first design?).Table 2:Requested items and funds for initial design.ItemSupplierCatalog No#QuantityUnit PriceTotalVacuum PumpMcMaster CarrIJ-608251$183.47$188.72Flow PumpNorthern ToolCJX-6891$139.99$156.62Water Filter WhirlpoolLowe's HardwareWHER251$33.73$33.7323/32" Plywood 4'x8'Lowe's Hardwarenone1$24.95$24.954" Ondine RainmakerMyArticle.com1298081$19.99$37.86Acrylic Tubing 5' (OD 8")McMaster Carr8486K6261$236.70$250.95"8" Flange (13" OD)McMaster CarrKD-ERW1$44.24$44.24Total $737.07Communication and Coordination with SponsorSpecify the interaction with your sponsor:a. Establish communication schedule and the responsibilities of each participant. See thesyllabus for exact dates of progress report, mid-semester presentations, final-presentations,Showcase, etc.b. Establish the form of communication (visits, weekly updates, conference calls,teleconferences).c. Specify who will receive information and how it will be transmitted.d. Clearly state what actions are requested with each communication: information only, replyrequested, etc.Special TopicsDefine any sponsor specific items, such as the handling of confidential information, andloan and return of equipment.Team Qualifications: the “Who?”a. In a paragraph for each person, establish theteam qualifications for the project. Highlightany specific job or course experiences that are relevant to the project.b. Include a one-page resume of each teammember in the Appendix.Do not include your hobbies.

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With a live chat on your SEO company’s website you’ll get notified when a potential client is on your site. They can message you for help or you can even message them. Think about walking into store. What if you had a questions but the store had no employees on staff? Strange, right? Be in your store at all times in case a potential customer has a question. Live Chats let you do that.starting an seo businessI love Olark because they let you add a profile photo of yourself in the chat window. Transparency is huge. People want to see people they could potentially buy SEO services from.Takeaways:Add Live Chat (like Olark) to your websiteUpload you profile photo so potential customers can see youBe available and helpfulTest different scenarios like engaging with them first9. I Started Offering Web Design ServicesI believe SEO and web design go hand in hand. In fact SEO should be done before, after and during web design and development. If you don’t offer web design and development services, you could be hurting your SEO results and losing business. When you just offer SEO consulting to a third party web design and development team, and don’t do the actual SEO work, much of what you recommend could get lost in translation. Something won’t get implemented properly and something won’t get done at all. This will hurt results and make you look bad.Start off by partnering with a couple local web design freelancers, then start offering web design to your SEO clients. After all, many SEO projects require an overhaul of the client’s site because the development is super old and very SEO unfriendly. Once you’re getting more web design business, and only when you’re getting enough web design business, bring on the web designer full-time.Do not hire a web designer too early. You need to watch your overhead. Partner on a few projects first and when it makes sense, then bring them on a full-time employee.Takeaways:Add a web design service page to your SEO company’s website.Partner with a couple local web design freelancers (do not hire them full time!)Only offer a freelancer a full-time job when you have enough full-time business.Start offering your SEO clients web design and your web design client’s SEO.10. I Outsourced Cold EmailingUse sites like Upwork, the world's largest online workplace to find inexpensive admins that will send cold emails to your target market. This is key because cold emailing is far below your pay grade. An admin level person should be doing this, not you. If fact you can find someone in Asia or India to cold email for a couple dollars per hour.Takeaways:Create a short cold call email templateHire someone for $3 per hour in Asia or India using Upwork, the world's largest online workplaceSet your geographical and industry target market (i.e.; lawyers in Mobile, Alabama)Set your daily and weekly goalsMap every detail out for your admin. Don’t rely on them to make any key decisions.Track your progress.SEO startupIf you want a little more detail about how I got my customers. Check out the guest post I did for the HOTH, a White-label SEO service for SEO agencies.Your WebsiteYour website is the hub of your SEO business. In the 10 years I ran my agency, I had at least 15 different sites. Pay attention, because I’m going to save you a lot of time, energy and AB testing by telling you exactly what worked and what didn’t work. To make this easy, just remember two simple words, “clean” and “simple”. Forget everything else, and ignore everything you see in web design today. Most website are terrible, even the ones created by amazing and talented graphic designers. Here’s why. When a customer comes to your website they want to know three things. Who you are, what you’ve done and how to contact you. That’s it. Everything else is bullshit. This isn’t just my opinion. It’s a conclusion based on analytics and years of obsessive studying and experience.Who You AreTransparency is huge when selling any service. People want to see and hear the person they will be working with. On the other hand, if you were selling a product like a printer, nobody would care who you were. But when you sell SEO services your potential clients want to work with people they know, like and have a relationship with. You can start that relationship on your SEO website by being super transparent. This is beyond important, and so many of your competitors won’t do this. Add real-life photos of you (and members of your team) throughout your website, not just your About page. Create videos of you talking. Let potential clients see and hear you, and you will win more business than your competitors. That is a guarantee!In my 10 years running an agency, the About Us page was the number one most visited page for us and all our service clients. Nothing else came close, not even our pages that showed previous work and case studies.What You’ve DoneYou’re going to need a page dedicated to the success of your current or past customer successes. This is often the second most visited page on your site, next to the About Us page. If possible, ask your happy clients to whip out their iPhone and shoot a 20 second video about their experience with you. Slap that on your website and watch the leads start rolling in.How to Contact YouMake it super easy to contact you. One thing we noticed at my agency was that the more contact forms we had, the more submissions we would get. So we added a contact form on almost every page and our conversions went way up. We also made sure our contact forms were only 4-5 to fields at most. Statistically, that gave us the most conversions. Here’s a blueprint of the perfect contact form that will get the most conversions.CapitalQuite a few people have asked me how to raise capital to start a new business. My response is always, “what for?” They usually have a blank look on their face when I ask that. The reason they often look perplexed is that most people just think you need to raise capital to start a business. We refer to those people as “wantrepreneurs”, not entrepreneurs. Don’t fall for this excuse.mark-cuban“Sweat Equity is the best start up capital” ~ Mark CubanPricingPricing is alway a tricky topic to discuss because everyone tends to price their SEO services a little different. Pricing is based on experience and industry standards. Since there is no turn key solution, pricing tends to fluctuate a lot in the SEO industry. It’s not like buying a printer or a car, so you have to be very strategic in order to get business. It’s also not an industry where the lowest bid wins the client. There are many factors that come in to play.The best way to charge a client is by charging an hourly rate; however, this can be kind of difficult when starting an SEO business. Your clients will not like paying for your learning curve, and they won’t like an open ended price. Fixed pricing seems a lot safer to most clients… until you get bigger and better clients. So, I recommend doing a combination of both an hourly rate and a fixed cost when starting an SEO business. Here’s a break down:FreeSEO Audit – This is on your website and will get your foot in the door.Manual Website SEO Review – Helps you price out the entire project.1 hour consultation – Helps you win the business.Fixed CostsSEO Strategy Report – This is a word document that lays out a 6-12 month plan of attack, based on the SEO audit, site review and consultation.Website and Web Page Optimization – This is making all the initial modifications to the client’s website so Google can properly crawl and index the site. This is often referred to as “on-site” optimization.Hourly CostsMonthly SEO and Reporting – This is how many hours you’re going to spend consulting, creating, reporting and optimizing content to grow your client’s domain authority and improve their rankings in Google.Whether you’re doing work hourly or for a fixed rate, think about how many hours it will take you. Try to be as accurate as possible. If you think an SEO Strategy Report will take about 20 hours, then charge them a fixed rate of about 20 hours. It’s up to you to stay in the time frame. Here’s a breakdown of current hourly rates in the SEO industry.Beginner (1-2 years experience) – $25 – $50 per hourIntermediate (2-5 years experience) – $50 – $100 per hourAdvanced (5+ years experience) – $100 – $200 per hourContractsLet me start this section by clarifying that I am not a lawyer. If any of this seems like legal advise, it’s not. I’m just telling you my personal experience and preference with SEO contracts. Since 2003, I’ve used about five or six different SEO contracts. In that time, my SEO contracts grew and grew in length until they were about 30 pages. Then, about two years before I sold my SEO company, I threw my giant, colossal, and scary SEO contract in the garbage and started a fresh one, one more time. But this time I did it on my own. No lawyers. No outside advice. I just went with my gut.The goal for my new SEO contact was three things:Keep it simple.Keep it short.Keep it clear.I got rid of all the fluff and removed 80% of the BS clauses random lawyers had added throughout the years. I got the SEO contract down to five simple pages. I re-wrote areas of the SEO contract over and over until each area was super short, simple and clearly communicated everything we need to communicate.ResultsBusiness skyrocketed with my short, simple, and clear contract. In fact, I had several clients remark on how simple our SEO contract was to understand, and that’s the reason they were working with us.Think about it. The longer the contract the longer the decision process. Why make things complicated for your clients? Why make them think harder about whether or not they want to work with you. Again, I’m not an attorney, but shorter, simpler, and clearer contracts close way more deals.Sample Contract TemplateI hope you didn’t think I was going to do all this talking about how great my SEO contracts are without giving you a sample template. My SEO contract template is totally free, but you have to share this article before downloading it. It should only take you 5-10 seconds to do this. Current clients can just login to their dashboard and click on “Free downloads” in the footer. You can also download the contract for free, just by sharing this blog post. Share using the link below and your free SEO contract template will instantly appear.Software and ToolsBe prepared to get slammed and inundated with tools and software in this industry. They are everywhere. Hopefully I can save you some time and energy by listing all the tools I used while running my SEO business.Basecamp – Project ManagementMoz – To manage and monitor the SEO of clientsOlark – Live Chat on my agency’s websiteMySiteAuditor – Free SEO audit tool for my agency’s website visitors. Helps generate way more SEO leads and sales.Checkli – Create checklists for personal productivityGoogle Analytics – Monitor and report traffichttp://SEOinvoice.com – Create free invoice for SEO clientsLess Accounting – Simple accounting software for small businessSocial Locker – Free downloads in-exchange for sharingPay With a Tweet – Free downloads in-exchange for sharingTweet Deck – Manage multiple Social Media ProfilesGrooveHQ – Customer supportGoogle Keyword Planner – Keyword researchCrazy Egg – Visually monitor activity on your siteQualaroo – Ask your website’s visitors specific questions (Qualitative Analytics)Upwork – Find freelancersHow to Resign SEO ClientsI wrote a long, in-depth article about this already, so I will highlight the points here. Re-signing an SEO client is about 10 times cheaper than finding a new one, so I would really focus on this. There are five easy steps to re-signing an SEO client:Step 1: Show clients the slope of SEOThe Slope of SEO is a graph that prepares SEO clients for the time it takes to get results. This graphs helps manage their expectations leading to more trust and continued business.Step 2: Show Clients the ContentDespite what your competitors are doing and despite what you’ve read and may have been doing for the past few years, SEO is not just tweaking, optimizing and link building. It’s optimizing and mostly link earning. Earning links to your client’s site is more natural and safer. you can earn links by creating amazing content that your client’s target market would love to read and share. Here are a few examples:VideosInterviewsInfographicsCharts and graphsBlog postsFree downloadsStep 3: Incentivize Account ManagersOnce you grow a little bit you’re going to want to hire account managers. These are the people who work directly with your clients, making sure the work gets done and properly reported. It’s important that these people aren’t just given a salary. Like sales people, and everyone else in your office, they should be incentivized with commission and bonuses when they re-sign an existing client. Incentivizing account managers subconsciously pushes them to go above and beyond making your clients happy.Step 4 Develop Next Phase Strategy BriefsWhen you client’s contract expires develop a clear strategy brief of things you want to do during the next contract. Make sure you have a clear list of the amazing content you want to create. Excited clients re-sign contracts!Step 5: Schedule End of Contract MeetingsA couple weeks before an SEO contract expires hold a face-to-face meeting to discuss the success of the the contract and the above Next Phase Strategy Brief. After all, SEO, web design and all of digital marketing never ends. There is no finish line. It’s an ongoing process.HiringThere are two areas of hiring I’m going to focus on. These two key pieces of advice helped make my agency valuable enough to be acquired by another bigger agency.Contract to HireThe first thing you need to know is that there are unlimited freelancers and contractors in the digital marketing industry. You can find local freelancers or remote contractors everywhere. That being said, grow your SEO company by hiring freelancers first. Find a freelancer that you’d like to work with and hire them for your different projects. Pay them only when you get paid. You never want to pay your freelancers before you get paid. Maintaining positive cash flow is very important to keeping your business running. Only hire your freelancer or contractor when you have steady business for them. That could be after a few months or even years. There’s no need or reason to commit a salary to anyone until you are ready, and it’s totally OK if you’re never ready.The AssistantI truly belive the assistant should be your first hire. You are the most valuable person in your company and you always will be. Your time is priceless, literally. What you’re going to find out is that 80% of your time is going to be bogged down by B.S. admin work that anyone can do. Following up, contracts, emailing customers, being on the phone and much more that you probably don’t even realize.Your time needs to be dedicated to what you do best, getting SEO results. Trust me on this. Don’t waste your valuable time on things anyone can do. The person you hire as your assistant should be a entry level person, looking to get into the industry. This is the perfect job for them. They can assist you for a couple years, then when they get experience and knowledge of the industry you can move them into a more important position, like doing some of the things you do. After all, they’ve shadowed you for years. They must have learned a lot.IncorporatingAgain, I’m not an attorney, but this is what I did. I waited a few months before creating an LLC for my business. I made a little money first, then incorporated. The reason I did this is because incorporating costs money. In Illinois it’s about $500-$600, plus $250 per year. No need to waste that money if you never get business. I asked my accountant, Gaurang Patel of Southloop CPA in Chicago, IL, about this. Here’s what he said:When you start an SEO Business, you should consider setting a legal entity as soon as possible. A Legal structure as you may know is important for legal purposes. In additional to the legal benefits, it may also help you save on Taxes. Setting a legal entity early also helps develop a track record for the business and is helpful when you decide to sell the business at a future time.The Limited Liability Company and Corporation are the 2 most common legal structures. A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a hybrid business entity having certain characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership. The primary characteristic an LLC shares with a corporation is limited liability, and the primary characteristic it shares with a partnership is the availability of a pass through income taxation. Corporate tax rates are typically higher than tax rates at the personal level, therefore having income taxed at the personal level may help save on taxes. A Corporation is an independent legal entity owned by shareholders. Corporations are more complex than other legal entities because they tend to have costly administrative fees and complex tax and legal requirements. Because of these issues, corporations are generally suggested for established and larger companies.There are both advantages and disadvantages to each of the legal entities and therefore it is important that you speak with a lawyer or accountant to figure out the best structure for your specific needs.Here’s a critical piece of advice. Always stay a student of the SEO industry. Read blogs, case studies, and everything the big search engines like Google release. So many people stop studying after a couple years. They think they know it all. Those same people soon go out of business. Here are a few good resources to stay educated.Moz Blog - SEO and Inbound Marketing Blog - MozSearch Engine Land | Must Read News About SEO, SEM & Search Engineshttp://www.quicksprout.com/blog/YouMoz - A User Generated Search Industry Blog - MozWhiteboard FridayBlogA Video Guide IntroductionI’ll do my best to monitor this article very closely. So, if you post any questions below, I’ll try to answer them as quickly as possible. If needed, I may even update this article over time. Anyways, I hope this was helpful. Be sure to checkout our free resources page. You might find a few helpful items in there. Thanks for reading and good luck!