A prospect has explained their situation, discussed the offer and asked for a proposal. The next document should demonstrate that the conversation was understood. Too often it opens with a long company introduction and a generic catalogue of services.
A useful proposal begins with the customer’s problem and the intended result. It then explains the work, responsibilities, timing and commercial arrangement clearly enough for a decision.
Reflect what was agreed
Summarise the current situation in plain language. Identify the priorities and any constraints that materially shape the work. Where something is still uncertain, say so instead of writing a confident assumption.
The customer should recognise their business in the description. This is not an opportunity to dramatise the problem. It is a check that both sides are solving the same thing.
Explain the scope as a connected sequence
Show what happens first and how one part informs the next. For a marketing infrastructure build, positioning and messaging should guide the identity, website and communication systems. The proposal should make that dependency visible.
Separate deliverables from the outcomes they support. You can commit to producing an agreed asset or setting up a workflow. Commercial results depend on more than the document itself.
Make decisions easier
Give the reader a clear view of investment, timing, customer inputs and acceptance points. Explain optional work without making the core offer difficult to understand. Avoid burying essential information in an appendix.
A decision-maker may need to share the proposal with someone who was not in the meeting. The document should provide enough context for that person to assess the work sensibly.
Agree the next conversation
Set a follow-up date when the proposal is issued. Ask what needs to happen internally before a decision can be made. Offer to address questions with the relevant people rather than relying on a sequence of vague reminder emails.
Record the next step in the CRM. A proposal is a stage in a relationship, not an event that closes the seller’s responsibilities.
Before you send it
Check the customer name, scope, dates, pricing and terms. Confirm that the work described matches the conversation. Remove irrelevant template sections and unsupported claims.
The quality of the proposal is part of the presentation of the business. Care here reinforces the confidence created by the sales conversation.
Growth Gorillas helps established businesses professionalise their marketing, starting with the message and building the infrastructure around it.
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