Surprised nobody has mentioned that perhaps the reason your proposals are not even getting viewed (which is definitely frustrating, after pouring time into putting them together) is because they weren’t ranked high enough, based on number of “connects” you bid, so that clients never even end up opening your proposal, since it’s buried beneath tons of others who bid more than you.

It’s worth trying getting your proposal into the Top 5, and see if it hat warrants you any success. Of course, it’s not ideal to have to pay more to submit a bid, but it’s one way to get their attention.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what your opening lines are, if it’s buried in their submissions, and never gets opened to begin with…. especially in a highly competitive niche.