Simplifying Client Proposals

• Principle: Simplicity scales
• Date: 2025-07-13
• Context: Proposal process for Websmith high-ticket clients

Hypothesis

If I remove non-essential steps and decisions from the proposal process, clients will respond faster, with less confusion, and higher close rates.

Action

• Reduced proposal doc from 6 pages to 2
• Removed optional add-ons and presented a single clear offer
• Embedded call-to-action button to accept directly in proposal

Result

• Proposal acceptance time dropped from 4.2 days to 1.6 days
• Received fewer follow-up questions
• Closed 2 out of 3 proposals within 48 hours

Reflection

Simplicity eliminated hesitation. Too many options caused friction. Clients valued clarity more than flexibility.

Next

Apply same reduction logic to onboarding emails. Consider building a proposal template system around this format.