A team just asked if you'd run a workshop and you're staring at a blank page. Here's how to turn that inquiry into a proposal by tomorrow.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels
An inquiry isn't a request for a price
Let's be honest: when someone writes "Do you do workshops for teams?", the urge is to answer with a number. Or to go quiet while you work out a number. Both lose people.
They're not really asking what you cost. They're asking whether you understand their situation. The proposal is where you show that you do. So it's mostly their own words, played back, with a date and a price at the bottom.
Six steps from inquiry to proposal, done by tomorrow
Reply within a working day. Keep it short and warm, and offer two times for a 15-minute call. Skip the brochure.
Ask four things on the call. Who will be in the room? What's going on that made them write now? What would they like to be different afterward? What's the date, and roughly what's the budget?
Write down their words. Not your summary of them. You'll reuse their sentences.
Send the proposal the next day. While the call is still fresh. Fast tells them you're easy to work with.
Keep it to one page. Their situation, what happens in the session, what people leave with, the date and format, the price.
Put the deposit and the yes in one place. They should be able to agree and pay without writing you back.
The move: offer two sizes, so the question becomes "which"
One price invites a yes or a no. Two prices invite a choice.
Here's an example, with made-up numbers you should swap for your own. Option one: a 90-minute session for up to 20 people, $1,200. Option two: a half day with practice time and a follow-up call, $2,400. Add a deposit to hold the date, say 30%.
Then say which one you'd pick and why, in a single line. I'd pick the half day for a team with a real problem, because one session rarely sticks on its own.
Today, spend 20 minutes writing your two sizes and a one-line description of each. Save them somewhere you can paste from. Next inquiry, half your proposal is already written.
One caution: for cancellation and refund terms, have a lawyer look over your wording once.
Copy this
Hey [name], thanks for the call. Here's what I heard: [their words about what's going on]. Here are two ways I could help. Option 1: a 90-minute session for up to 20 people, $1,200. Option 2: a half day with practice time and a follow-up call, $2,400. I'd pick [one] because [one line]. A [30]% deposit holds [date]. If one of these fits, you can say yes here: [link]. (Swap in your own numbers.)
Your next step
Add your workshop as a service in your Service Hub, so people ask from your Studio Site and the request lands in your Requests. When you accept, SoloBase opens a private Client Hub with a proposal drafted, where they sign by typing their name and pay the deposit to your own Stripe. Start your studio
Next up: Get paid: how do I handle deposits and late payments?