What a consulting proposal is for
You've had the discovery call. The client liked you and asked you to "send something over". The proposal's job is to turn that into a yes before the feeling wears off.
It isn't a brochure about you. It's a short document that proves you listened, says what you'll do and what it costs, and makes the next step obvious. Most one-person proposals run two to four pages. If yours is longer, the client will skim it, and the part they skip is usually the price.
Write it the same day, from your call notes
The best time to write a proposal is within a few hours of the call, while you still remember how the client said things. Three days later you'll write in your own words, and the proposal will sound like everyone else's.
During the call, write down four things:
- The problem, in the exact words they used. "Our leads go cold after the first meeting" beats "pipeline conversion issues".
- What it's costing them: time, money, a missed target, a stressed team.
- What good looks like to them in three or six months.
- Who else has to agree, and when they decide.
If you talk your notes into your phone in the car afterwards, a notes app that turns voice into text saves you retyping. Then block an hour that afternoon and fill in the template below from those notes.
The consulting proposal template, section by section
Change everything in brackets. Cut any line that isn't true for this client.
1. Their problem, in their words
[Client name], thanks for the time on [day].
Here's what I heard. [Company] is [where they are now, in one line]. The problem is [the problem, in their words]. Right now that means [what it's costing them], and it's [person or team] who feels it most, because [one line on why].
By [month], you'd like [what good looks like to them].
If I've got any of that wrong, tell me before we go further.
This section does more selling than any other. When a client reads their own words back, they know you listened.
2. What you'll do
Here's how I'd get you there.
1. [First step: what you'll look at or do, and with whom]
2. [Second step: what you'll build, change or run]
3. [Third step: how you'll hand it over so it keeps working]
I'll need [what you need from them: access, a contact, an hour a week].
Keep it to three to five steps. Name what you need from them, so there are no surprises in week two.
3. What they get
At the end, you'll have:
- [Deliverable 1: something they can hold, like a document, a working system or a trained team]
- [Deliverable 2]
- [Deliverable 3]
We'll know it's worked if [one measurable sign, in their terms].
A deliverable is something they can point to when you leave, like a written sales process the team actually uses. A run of workshops is an activity, and it's hard to say yes to an activity.
4. Timeline
Week 1: [what happens]
Weeks 2 to 3: [what happens]
Week 4: [what happens, and what they have by the end]
If we start on [date], you'll have [main deliverable] by [date].
Tie the end date to something they care about, like the start of a quarter or a launch.
5. Price, as options
There are three ways to do this.
Option A, [name]: [what's included]. [Price].
Option B, [name]: everything in A, plus [what's added]. [Price].
Option C, [name]: everything in B, plus [what's added]. [Price].
Most clients in your position pick B, because [one reason tied to their problem].
Two or three options let the client choose between yeses instead of deciding yes or no. Put the one you'd recommend in the middle and say why. Don't list your hourly rate. Price the result.
6. What happens next, and how to say yes
To go ahead:
1. Reply to this email with the option you'd like.
2. I'll send the agreement and first invoice the same day.
3. We'll start on [date] with a [length] kick-off call.
I can start on [date] if I hear from you by [date]. After that, my next opening is [date].
[Your name]
Give a real date for the decision. An open-ended proposal gets an open-ended answer.
A made-up proposal, from call to yes
Made-up example: Maya, a sales process consultant, has a discovery call at 10am on Tuesday with the founder of a 12-person software company. "We book plenty of demos, but they just stop answering after," he tells her, and his board wants a better quarter by April.
At 2pm she opens her voice notes and writes the proposal in an hour. Section one quotes him word for word. She offers three options: a two-week review with written fixes, the review plus four weeks of coaching his two reps, or both plus a monthly check-in until April. She recommends the second.
She sends it at 3:30pm with a decision date of Friday week and a start date the Monday after that. On Thursday she follows up with a short answer to the one question he asked on the call, and on Monday he replies to pick the middle option. The names, dates and details are invented.
What to leave out
- Your life story. One line on why you're right for this, or a single past result, is enough. They already chose to talk to you.
- A description of their company back to them. They know their history, so section one sticks to the problem.
- Every method you know. List what you'll do for this client, nothing more.
- Legal terms in the body. Put them in the agreement you send after they say yes.
- Jargon they didn't use on the call. If they said "leads go cold", don't write "pipeline attrition".
- Round-number guarantees. "Double your sales" invites a no from anyone careful with money.
How and when to follow up after sending
A proposal that goes quiet usually isn't a no. The client got busy, or someone else has to read it first, so plan every follow-up before you press send:
| When | What to send |
|---|---|
| Day 2 or 3 | A short note that adds one useful thing: an answer to a question from the call, or a relevant example |
| Day 6 or 7 | A question they can answer in a line, like "Is option A or B closer to what you need?" |
| The decision date | A reminder of the start date you're holding, and when your next opening is |
| Two weeks after that | A polite close: "I'll assume the timing isn't right and take this off my list. Happy to pick it up whenever suits." |
The follow-up email templates post has wording for each of these. Put every date into your diary or a task list with reminders the moment you send the proposal, because the chase is the part most solo sellers forget during a busy week.
Sending it is half the job. ActivityTracker keeps every proposal you owe a chase on today's list, and logs each discovery call in one tap.