A client proposal is the short document that confirms what a freelancer or small agency will deliver, what it costs and how to start. This template opens with an outcome statement in the client's terms. An investment table lists each line and totals itself. An ownership clause states that all delivered files go to the client. A single next step closes the page, so the client knows exactly what saying yes looks like.
Start from what the outcome is worth to the client, then set a fee that is a fair share of that value. Alan Weiss argues that fees should reflect the value delivered, and that billing by the hour caps your income and rewards slow work. During the discovery call, ask what success would mean in revenue, saved time or reduced risk, and write that figure down. A website that books ten more calls a month has a value the client can estimate. Price against that figure, and the conversation moves from your hours to their result. Source: Alan Weiss, Value-Based Fees, 2nd edition (2008).
Yes, two or three options often help, because the client then chooses between ways of saying yes. Alan Weiss calls this a choice of yeses: every option delivers the core outcome, and the higher options add value such as speed, extra scope or ongoing support. Keep the options few and clearly different, price each against the outcome, and mark the one you recommend. A single price frames the decision as yes or no. Three prices frame it as which one. Source: Alan Weiss, Value-Based Fees, 2nd edition (2008).
Send it once the client has agreed, in conversation, on the outcome, how success will be measured and what that success is worth. Weiss treats the proposal as a summary of agreements already reached, and advises against using it to explore or to persuade. If the call ended without that agreement, book a second conversation before you write. A proposal built on agreed terms stays short, because there is little left to argue about. It also turns the next step into a confirmation of what the client already said. Source: Alan Weiss, Million Dollar Consulting Proposals (2011).
Often several people, including some who were not on your calls. The authors of The Challenger Customer report that an average of 5.4 people influence a typical corporate purchase. Write the proposal so it stands on its own for a finance lead or a director who sees only the document. State the outcome in business terms, keep the investment table plain, and give your main contact the words to make the case internally. A one-page proposal is quick to forward, and forwarding is how it reaches the person who signs. Source: Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, Pat Spenner and Nick Toman, The Challenger Customer (2015).
End with one specific action the client can take, tied to a date, such as replying with one word to start on Monday. Neil Rackham's research on large sales found that successful calls end in an advance: a concrete commitment from the buyer that moves the sale forward. A loose close that asks for the client's thoughts tends to produce a continuation, where nothing moves. Make the step small, name the day work begins, and say what follows the yes, such as the invoice for the first payment. Source: Neil Rackham, SPIN Selling (1988).