Each advisor wants a go-to consulting proposal template as a result of proposals are an anticipated and important a part of the consumer acquisition course of. Whether or not you’re crafting a proposal for a selected challenge or trying to land a long-term consumer, the method of drafting a proposal can appear moderately daunting, particularly in case you don’t have a consulting proposal pattern that you would be able to reference.

That’s precisely why we’re going to run you thru the whole lot it’s good to submit a proposal with confidence. We’ll discover the important thing elements of writing proposals, navigating the method along with your potential purchasers, instruments that can show you how to acquire an edge on the competitors, and offer you a consulting proposal template.

Desk of Contents

What Is a Consulting Proposal?

The way to Use a Consulting Proposal Template

What to Do Earlier than You Create a Consulting Proposal

The way to Write a Consulting Proposal

Consulting Proposal Template

The Finest Consulting Proposal Instruments

Good Consulting Proposal Examples

Prime Tricks to Assist You Draft That Profitable Proposal

Consulting Proposal Template FAQs

What Is a Consulting Proposal?

A consulting proposal is a doc that outlines the whole lot that you just, as a advisor, would ship for a possible challenge or consumer, whereas additionally working double obligation as a advertising proposal that showcases why your experiences and abilities would make you the best advisor for the job.

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The way to Use a Consulting Proposal Template

An exterior consulting proposal template, just like the one included on this information, may help you get began within the proposal course of. It’s at all times simpler to have a transparent imaginative and prescient of your endgame when you’ve gotten examples you’ll be able to reference.

After getting your first proposal created, you’ll wish to save a model as your individual template. This pared-down model will have already got the weather of your proposal that keep the identical from consumer to consumer. That manner you’ll be capable to simply and rapidly spin up a brand new proposal anytime you want one, rising the ROI on the time and power you spend creating proposals for potential purchasers.

What to Do Earlier than You Create a Consulting Proposal

The consulting proposal comes in the direction of the top of the consumer acquisition course of. To efficiently flip a possible consumer into a brand new consumer, you wish to comply with these steps earlier than you pull out your consulting proposal template.

1. Get Them on the Cellphone or Meet in Individual First

It is best to do your finest to get your prospect on the telephone, and even higher, meet them in particular person earlier than you even discuss submitting a proposal. Listening to your voice or seeing your face will do wonders for constructing belief along with your potential consumer.

Timing is essential. Solely ship a consulting proposal after you’ve had a profitable preliminary telephone name or assembly with the prospect. If somebody’s asking you to submit proposals with out having spoken to you first, the probabilities of wowing them are very low. Whereas a consulting proposal is usually a highly effective software for profitable purchasers, it’s not the one one, or the primary one you must attain for.

Be aware: There are occasions when an organization will put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) throughout which anybody can submit a proposal with none contact with the corporate beforehand. Clearly, in these circumstances, competitors is fiercer and your probabilities of profitable are decrease.

2. Guarantee You Absolutely Perceive Your Potential Shopper’s Drawback, Needs, and Wants

It’s essential to perceive your prospect’s true wishes. It’s not nearly what they let you know they need (a brand new web site). It’s essential to dig deeper to search out the motivation behind the challenge (a brand new web site for them to showcase and promote their paintings extra effectively).

Take notes as a way to reference your consumer’s downside and their wishes within the proposal. This reveals you had been listening to them and that you just perceive what’s essential to ensure that the work to achieve success. Doing so might also show you how to profit from a psychological phenomenon often known as the chameleon impact, the place one particular person mimics the opposite to achieve empathy. It happens in social conditions the place individuals are making an attempt to construct rapport and, curiously sufficient, is the explanation some folks decide up the accents of the locations they journey to or stay in.

3. Create a Worth Proposition That’s as Particular as Doable

Should you haven’t already, take a while to develop your distinctive worth. The right proposal will embody a transparent, particular, and actionable worth proposition. Don’t make the error of stuffing your proposals with accolades and fluffy jargon that make your work sound essential.

On the finish of the day, the consumer needs to know what you’ll do for them. So as a substitute of claiming, “Utilizing my patent-pending enterprise streamlining method, I’ll conduct a enterprise evaluation that generates your optimum productiveness and group workflow,” strive, “After totally reviewing your online business, I’ll create a technique doc that can prevent 20 hours a month in misplaced productiveness.”

4. Correctly Consider the Mission Scope/Timeline and the Worth You Present

Clearly outlined expectations will set you up for a productive consumer relationship and show you how to keep away from challenge scope creep. It is going to additionally show you how to to precisely present estimates in your consulting charges.
You’ll be able to acquire a correct understanding of the scope of a challenge by first sending a questionnaire that addresses an summary of your potential consumer’s wants. When you’ve developed a broad understanding of what the challenge entails, the subsequent step is to make sure you schedule a telephone name to achieve a extra nuanced understanding of what’s wanted and anticipated.

5. Be Open to Making Errors

Should you’re new to consulting or freelancing, you in all probability will make errors on the subject of evaluating scope and timeline. That’s a pure a part of the consulting studying curve. As you get your challenge reps, you’ll develop the expertise essential to precisely estimate how lengthy the work will take you.

The identical goes for the proposal creation course of. As you write extra proposals and collect extra knowledge about your workflow, it’ll get quicker and extra correct every time. Be open to creating errors; you’ll be taught rapidly from them.

The way to Write a Consulting Proposal

A consulting proposal could make or break your budding relationship with a possible consumer. As you construct your consulting enterprise, you’ll be able to profit from making a consulting proposal template that you would be able to replace and regulate for every potential consumer.

Each nice consulting proposal ought to have the next components:

• Cowl web page
• Government abstract
• Mission define/scope of labor
• Timeline
• Charges and cost phrases
• Shopper necessities
• Expiration date

Cowl Web page

A canopy web page is strictly that, a canopy on your proposal that shows your organization’s model, the consumer’s title, challenge, and date for reference.

Government Abstract

An govt abstract supplies a one-page overview of the complete challenge. The chief abstract ought to broadly spotlight the consumer’s points and challenges, and the way you intend on tackling or addressing them. Consider it as a distillation of an important data, a “too lengthy, didn’t learn” abstract for executives who may not have the time or inclination to learn the complete proposal.

Mission Define/Scope of Work

The challenge define states what you’ll (and won’t) do for the proposed payment. Clearly describe the scope of labor, together with the scope and amount of deliverables, time frames, and some other essential expectations for the work. You wish to be ultra-specific as a result of in case you encounter scope creep, you’ll have this doc for reference.

Should you’re being employed to jot down for a consumer’s weblog, remember to define what number of phrases you’ll write, what number of revisions are included, and so forth. Should you’re being employed as a life coach, specify what number of teaching calls are included, how lengthy every name shall be, if there shall be any electronic mail help allowed, and so forth. You don’t wish to depart any room for confusion right here otherwise you may lose out on money and time.

Deliverables

You may also discover it essential to stipulate deliverables. Deliverables are the identifiable finish merchandise you can be “delivering” to the consumer.

Whereas there will be a number of overlap between “deliverables” and “challenge define/scope of labor,” the distinction between the scope of labor and deliverables may be finest defined with an instance.

Let’s say you’re a contract copywriter being employed to jot down an e-book to generate leads for a corporation. Your scope of labor part may embody issues like studying extra in regards to the firm’s model, researching rivals, writing the e-book, and revising it.

Your deliverable, nevertheless, may be a ten,000-word e-book, totally formatted and delivered through Google Docs.

Timeline

An excellent consulting proposal manages expectations so no undesirable surprises pop up. A part of that requires outlining if you anticipate to finish the challenge.

In your timeline part, reply the next questions:

• When does the challenge start?
• When does the challenge finish?
• Are there any milestones in between?

With lengthy initiatives, it may be useful to have checkpoints for accomplished work. This may help you handle your time and construct confidence within the consumer that issues are going as deliberate.

You can too use milestones to launch partial cost of funds. Simply ensure to not pin your self down with too many milestones, to permit some flexibility in your workflow.

Charges and Cost Phrases

Make it clear what your charges are and what they embody. Additionally, specify due dates, accepted cost strategies, and cost phrases. For instance, in case you require a 50 % preliminary cost, be sure you clearly state that you’ll not start work till the consumer has submitted the primary cost.

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Shopper Necessities

Many instances, when there are delays on consulting initiatives, the bottleneck lies with the consumer. For instance, each internet developer is aware of the ache of being stalled on a construct as a result of they’re ready on property from the consumer. If any a part of your job might be stalled on account of consumer delays, make certain to listing it within the consumer necessities.

Expiration Date

Placing an expiration date on the proposal protects you from having a potential consumer come to you three months later wanting to just accept your proposal. By that point, you may be totally booked or your costs may be increased. A consumer can’t fairly anticipate you to drop the whole lot and fulfill the challenge in your proposal in the event that they don’t act rapidly. That’s why it’s strongly really helpful that you just present the consumer with a proposal expiration date.

Optionally available: Contract Phrases

Some consultants will ship over a proposal for the consumer to signal and approve first, then will ship over a separate contract for the consumer to signal. Having your proposal work as a contract, too, can prevent time and power—two important commodities for any entrepreneur.

Should you select to make yours a proposal-contract mixture, add any phrases and circumstances right here. Frequent phrases embody cancellation, cost phrases, and an impartial contractor clause. Should you need assistance, use a proposal template from any of the companies talked about above.

Consulting Proposal Template

Observe this template to rapidly draft your first consulting proposal.

Cowl Web page:
[Your company’s name/branding]
[Client’s name]
[Project name]
[Date of proposal]

Government Abstract:
[Provide a brief overview of the proposed project. Highlight the client’s issues and challenges, along with how you plan to address them. Limit the summary to one page or less.]

Mission Define/Scope of Work:
[Clearly state what you will and will not do for the proposed fee. Be as specific as possible.]

Deliverables:
[Outline the identifiable end products you will deliver to the client.]

Timeline:
[State when the project will begin and end, along with any important milestones in between.]

Charges and Cost Phrases:
[List your fees—and indicate what they do and do not include. Specify due dates, accepted payment methods, and the payment terms.]

Shopper Necessities:
[If any part of your job could be stalled due to client delays, make sure to list it here.]

Expiration Date:
[Provide the date when the proposal will expire.]

Contract Phrases (Optionally available):
[Add any terms and conditions here if you choose to make yours a proposal-contract combination.]

The Finest Consulting Proposal Instruments

Whether or not you’re drafting a pattern proposal, proposal letter, or simply researching proposal software program, these instruments may help.

Eversign

Each proposal wants a signature and Eversign makes it simple to get your paperwork e-signed. You’ll be able to both kind, draw, or add your signature to the service after which “stamp” your signature onto any doc.

Should you use the free model, you’ll be able to signal as much as 5 paperwork for signing each month. That restrict is lifted with their Fundamental plan which prices $9.99 a month, or $7.99 if billed yearly.

AND.CO

AND.CO lets you draft proposals and contracts (it has free templates for each), which you’ll then electronic mail to your consumer through its platform. As a bonus, you’ll get electronic mail notifications when your proposal is considered, and your consumer can e-sign and pay you on-line.

AND.CO affords a free plan which helps 1 consumer and their branding watermarked in your paperwork. Their PRO plan lifts the consumer restrict, removes watermarking, and lets you edit their contract templates for $18 a month.

Honeybook

Honeybook is a paid service that permits you to create proposals and contracts, ship them for e-sign, get notifications once they’ve been considered, and settle for funds on-line. It’s slightly extra dear at $40 monthly or $400 yearly, but it surely actually is an all-in-one answer.

Bonsai

Bonsai is one other paid all-in-one suite of companies with proposals, invoicing capabilities, contract signing, and consumer CRM options which can be much like Honeybook. With Bonsai, you’ll be able to create proposals, electronic mail them to be signed, obtain notifications once they’re considered, and receives a commission on-line. Their freelance service proposal templates are superbly designed, and there are a number of decisions.

Bonsai’s primary “Workflow” plan prices $19 a month and affords the whole lot it’s good to get going.

Higher Proposals

Easy but highly effective, Higher Proposals is a paid proposal writing software program that’s standard for its trackable proposals and exquisite, fashionable consulting template design. You’ll get notifications when your proposal is considered and e-signed, and you may get paid on-line.

Their Starter plan permits for 10 proposals a month at simply $19/mo. That restrict is elevated to 50 proposals of their Premium plan for $50 a month.

Any Phrase Processor

If you wish to preserve it low-cost and no-frills, you’ll be able to merely fireplace up Microsoft Phrase, Google Docs, or some other phrase processor, and sort up your consulting proposal. Google Docs truly affords a couple of actually nice challenge proposal templates of their Template Gallery.

From there, merely export it as a PDF and signal it in Eversign.

Good Consulting Proposal Examples

Now that we’ve gone over the steps to making a consulting proposal that’s stellar, it’ll be useful to see real-life examples. Overview these good consulting proposal examples to find what makes every of them particular.

PR Consulting Proposal Instance

This public relations proposal template from PandaDoc showcases a powerful cowl web page. It begins with addressing the consumer and their wants, outlines the PR advisor’s distinctive expertise and the way that can assist the consumer, after which closes with expressing confidence within the advisor’s skills. Get the complete PR proposal template right here.

Inside Design Consulting Proposal Instance

This inside design proposal from PandaDoc combines the Scope of Work and Timeline into one easy-to-read desk. Get the complete template right here.

Net Design Consulting Proposal Instance

This internet design proposal template from Proposable shows the distinction between the Scope of Work part (right here, known as “Mission Particulars”) and the deliverables part.

Whereas the scope of labor will embody issues reminiscent of figuring out the location hierarchy, creating web page mock-ups, and coding the location, the deliverables are a completely practical web site and a WordPress function that enables the consumer so as to add weblog posts.

You will get the free internet design proposal template right here.

search engine optimization Consulting Proposal Instance

This search engine optimization consulting proposal features a contract on the finish, whereupon signing binds the consumer to pay and units phrases for termination. You will get the free search engine optimization proposal template right here.

Content material Advertising Consulting Proposal Instance

That is an excerpt from a free template from Proposify. I like how they broke down the charges within the “Your Funding” part and clearly outlined the phrases of cost (“A deposit of $2,000 is due upon signing”). Yow will discover the free content material advertising proposal template right here.

Prime Tricks to Assist You Draft That Profitable Proposal

Now that you just’ve realized the weather of a profitable proposal and seen some examples, you may nonetheless have a couple of hesitations as you start drafting your consulting proposal. Should you take nothing else, preserve these parting phrases of recommendation:

• When unsure, preserve it easy: Lots of the examples on this information embody colourful, high-design proposals. If that’s too overwhelming, preserve it easy with a phrase processor. Whereas design can actually be eye-catching, this can be a enterprise proposal in the beginning. The content material of your proposal is an important ingredient.
• Count on negotiation and requests for edits: It’s extraordinarily frequent for a consumer to wish to ask questions in regards to the proposal and even edit it. That’s okay! Be open to negotiation, and don’t fear if the proposal must undergo a few rounds of edits.
• Observe up, it doesn’t matter what: Should you ship the proposal and listen to crickets, don’t panic! Observe up in an electronic mail to the consumer and ask if they’ve any questions or want to hop on a name. Usually, a consumer might want to fastidiously evaluation the proposal, share it with colleagues, and focus on its contents, so it’d take a while. That’s why, as we talked about earlier than, you must put an expiration date in your proposal so issues don’t drag on for too lengthy.

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Consulting Proposal Template FAQs

Construct Your Consulting Company

When drafting your proposal, contemplate the place your consumer is now and the place they wish to be. Consider your proposal because the plan that outlines the way you’ll get them there. Do that, and also you’re one step nearer to touchdown your subsequent consulting consumer. To discover ways to begin and develop your digital company or consulting enterprise, watch our free coaching.