How to write a winning proposal

A winning proposal is not the longest or best designed one. It is the one that makes saying yes the easiest thing the client can do that day. That comes down to a handful of decisions: open with the client’s problem in their words, price the work as a base with one or two options, put a date on the offer, ask for a deposit that starts the work, and let them accept in a single step.

The section order of a proposal, what goes in the problem statement, approach, team and terms, is covered in how to write a business proposal. This article is about the decisions inside those sections that change whether the answer is yes.

The first page decides

Clients read the first page closely and skim the rest. Use that page to show you understood the brief, not to introduce your company. Restate the problem in the words the client used in the meeting or the email, add the one number that makes it matter, and say what will be different when the work is done.

Compare two openings for the same job. The first: “Kestrel Lane Studio is an award winning digital agency founded in 2014.” The second: “Harbourline Physio’s three clinics take 60% of bookings by phone, and the front desk loses about two hours a day to calls a website could answer.” The second one proves you listened. The first could be pasted into any proposal you have ever sent.

If the proposal has an executive summary, it should be this paragraph and two more: the approach in one sentence and the price and timing in another. The question page on writing an executive summary for a proposal has the detail.

Price in options, not one number

A single total invites a single answer, and that answer is often no or a request for a discount. A base price with one or two clearly priced extras changes the question from “do we hire them” to “which version do we want”.

Every one of the 18 proposal and quote templates counted for this article carries at least one optional item, and eight carry two. The pattern is consistent: the core work as required items, then an extra that adds value without being essential. A website proposal makes the logo refresh and the care plan optional. A photography proposal makes drone footage and an extra shoot day optional. A catering quote makes the beverage package optional.

Keep the extras few. The choice overload research by Iyengar and Lepper found that people shown a large range of options were more likely to stop and look but less likely to choose anything. Nielsen Norman Group makes the same point about interfaces: more choices mean more effort to decide. Two extras give a client room to shape the deal; ten give them a reason to put it off.

How to set each item’s price is a separate question, covered in how to price a proposal, and the mechanics of optional items in what optional line items are.

Ask for a deposit that starts the work

A deposit is a small yes that makes the big yes real. It also filters out the client who was never going to proceed. Eleven of the 18 templates set one, from 10% on a construction estimate to 50% on web design, photography and printing. The templates without one are mostly ongoing services billed monthly, such as bookkeeping, cleaning and marketing retainers, where the first month’s invoice does the same job.

State the deposit in the pricing summary as its own line, “Deposit due now”, followed by the balance, so the client sees exactly what they pay today. business.gov.au’s guidance on payment terms makes the same point from the other side: clear terms, including when payment is expected, reduce late and disputed payments.

Put a date on it

A proposal without a valid until date is a standing offer at today’s prices. A date protects you from accepting old pricing in six months, and it gives the client a reason to decide now rather than later.

The templates use three lengths: 14 days for quick turnaround work such as catering, printing, repairs and tutoring; 21 days for events, landscaping and shoots; and 30 days for larger engagements such as consulting, software and construction. Put the date on the cover and in the terms, and mention it once in your follow up. The proposal validity period page covers how to pick the length.

Make accepting one step

Every extra step between “yes” and “signed” loses some clients. Printing, signing, scanning and emailing back is four steps. Accepting online with a typed name, a drawn signature and a tick box is one.

For most proposals a click acceptance is enough, and it can still produce a strong record: in OneCraft the accepted PDF gains a certificate page with the signer’s name and email, the time, the IP address, the browser, a hash of the content and the items they selected. If you need a deposit, let them pay it immediately after accepting.

Proof in the client’s terms

Proof works when it matches the client’s situation. One short case with a number from a similar business beats a wall of logos. “A two clinic practice in Bendigo cut phone bookings from 70% to 35% in four months” is proof for a physio. “Trusted by 200 brands” is not proof of anything.

If you have no directly comparable case, describe the method with numbers: how many pages, how many rounds of revision, which week the client sees the first draft. Specific process is a form of proof.

Say what is not included

Unstated exclusions turn into disputes and unpaid variations. Write them as numbered terms: content writing not included, stock photography billed at cost, third party plugin licences paid by the client. This feels like it reduces the chance of a yes, but it raises the chance of a profitable one.

What to cut

Cut the company history, the mission statement and any page that would appear unchanged in every proposal. Cut the team page unless the client will meet these people. Cut adjectives. The proposal should be about the client, the work and the price, in that order.

The worked example

Kestrel Lane Studio is proposing a website rebuild to Harbourline Physio. The proposal opens with the phone booking problem and the two hours a day it costs. The approach is three stages over eight weeks. The pricing table has three required items, discovery at $1,800, design at $3,200 and build and launch at $4,800, then two optional items: an online booking integration at $1,200 and a care plan at $180 a month. The summary shows a subtotal of $9,800, GST of $980, a total of $10,780 and a 30% deposit of $3,234 due on acceptance. The proposal is valid for 30 days, and the client accepts online.

If the client ticks the booking integration, the subtotal becomes $11,000, GST $1,100, the total $12,100 and the deposit $3,630. That flexibility is what makes the yes easy. The business proposal example shows the same structure as a full document, and the proposal generator drafts one from a brief like this.