Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/392122
23 It is useful to include some idea of the level of detail that you will provide. It is very important to clarify the deliverables during the selling process since they constitute the value that the client will receive and also determine the project tasks and hence the resources required. Price (and costs) – the most difficult aspect of the proposal is probably the price. The price of the work is what you aim to achieve, having factored in those elements which will cover all of your actual costs, but which includes an attractive fee. Never leave this issue until the proposal submission stage. You may wish to raise it yourself early in the process – 'is there a budget for this?' If the answer is 'no', do not volunteer one unless you are sure of your ground! A useful technique is to provide some ranging shots as the sales process progresses ('it's likely to be in the range ...'). If the budget appears to be inadequate for the task, explain the difficulty and offer some choices such as cutting down the range or depth of activities (mentioning any associated risk) or coming closer to what is required for a higher sum. There will be other costs such as charges for use of equipment, consumables, expenses (e.g. travel and subsistence) and possibly VAT in addition to your fee. You will need realistic estimates of these, and the client will want to be clear what is included in the fees and what is additional. It is usual to give a budget for expenses, e.g. "will be charged in addition but will not exceed £X (or X% of the fees)". You should state the invoicing schedule, i.e. when and how much the client will be invoiced. Irrespective of what it may say in your terms of business, the client will expect you to stay within your budget for both fees and expenses. Timescales – the duration of an assignment may depend upon a client deadline, i.e. the task is to do the best job within the time available. More usually, it takes as long as it does. There is a widespread belief that researchers do not operate on commercial timescales; do your best to overcome this by being clear about timescales and by doing whatever you can to deliver on time or even ahead of it. When estimating how long particular project tasks will take, guard against specifying how long they ought to take rather than how long they actually will take, and hence underestimating the time needed. It is also common to over-estimate one's own availability for consulting work – since most of us seem to have little difficulty in occupying the 24 hours we each have in a day it is often useful to clarify what it is you will not be doing if you are working on the project. Selling Section 4