Client Proposal Board for Beginners: From the Client's Problem to Solution, Impact, and Price

Marketing & Sales

Client Proposal Board for Beginners: From the Client's Problem to Solution, Impact, and Price

Salespeople and freelancers writing their first client proposal use this beginner-friendly template to move from the client's problem to cause, solution, impact, price, and the next step. The whiteboard runs across two pages: on the left sit the client's details and what you heard, a two-column value proposition canvas facing customer jobs, pains, and gains against your own value, a six-step proposal story, and three plans - full, core, and starter; on the right sit three frames of likely questions, a table of the page structure, and a pre-send check. The task board has five columns - Discovery, Outline, Writing, Internal review, and Sent - and starts with four parent tasks, each holding three subtasks, 16 cards in all, none of them started. When you are not sure how to write a proposal, the order is already fixed on the board: you open with the client's problem, not with a description of your own product.

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1. The Client and What You Heard 3. The Proposal Story (six steps) 4. Full plan (everything at once) 5. Core plan (the one you recommend) 6. Starter plan (try it small) 7. Questions about price 8. Questions about impact and track r... 9. Questions about their internal sit... 10. Page Structure of the Proposal (w... 11. Pre-send Check Client Proposal B... How to use: (1) P... Results and decis... Ground rules and ... Problems, worries... What you heard an... Client basicsCompany: ____ / Contact: ____ / Team and title: ____e.g. manufacturer, 80 staff, orders still arrive by phone and fax The problems they described (in their own words)e.g. "Typing in the orders takes two hours every day"e.g. "When that one person is out, orders stop" Who decides, and by whenWho signs off: ____ / Wanted by: ____e.g. the manager writes it up and the director signs. They want it decided this quarter (end of March). Budget and past attemptse.g. up to $6,500 a year goes through without a formal approval round.Two years ago they bought another tool and nobody ever used it. 2. Value Proposit... Customer profile Customer jobs (what the client is trying to get done)Write the job they want finished, not your product. Fill these three notes on the left first, then move right.e.g. finish entering every order on the day it arrives PainsPull only the trouble out of the words on board 1 - do not copy them over line by line.e.g. in busy weeks the typing slips to the next day and shipping is latee.g. only one person knows the steps, so orders stop when they are away Gainse.g. orders keep moving even when that person is awaye.g. less overtime and leaving on time Value map Products and services (what you can offer)Write only what answers the job directly across from it. What you settle here becomes the material for the story in board 3.e.g. a web order form connected to the order system Pain relieverse.g. no more retyping - order entry from two hours a day to twenty minutese.g. nothing lost between phone calls and faxes Gain creatorse.g. anyone on the team can take an ordere.g. a one-page manual is enough to hand it over 1. Situation and problemWrite the situation in the client's words and narrow the trouble down to one thing.e.g. order entry takes two hours a day and sits with a single person. 2. CauseDig one level into why it happens.e.g. orders arrive by fax and phone, so everything has to be retyped. It is not a staffing problem. 3. SolutionWrite only what works on that cause.e.g. take orders on a web form that feeds straight into the order system. 4. ImpactShow in numbers whether money, time, or risk gets better.e.g. two hours a day down to twenty minutes. Orders keep moving when someone is out. 5. Price and rolesWrite the amount and who does what.e.g. $2,000 to set up plus $100 a month (excl. tax). We configure it, you tell your customers. 6. Next stepPut down one small step the client can decide today.e.g. next week, run a trial setup with ten real order forms. e.g. web orders plus stock sync plus automatic delivery notes and invoices Price: $5,400 setup plus $270 a month (excl. tax) Impact: two hours a day down to ten minutes, and no more single-person risk Strongest if the budget clears. Show this one first e.g. web orders only, stock stays as it is Price: $2,000 setup plus $100 a month (excl. tax) Impact: two hours a day down to twenty minutes, 33 hours a month (about $430 at a $13 hourly rate) Put the plan that hits the problem in the middle e.g. move only your five main customers to web orders Price: $700 setup plus $35 a month (excl. tax) Impact: two hours a day down to one hour twenty minutes For a client who cannot commit yet, start here e.g. "It is expensive" - ask what they are comparing it with e.g. "We have no budget" - offer the starter plan or instalments Before you discount, offer a smaller scope Never agree to a discount on the spot e.g. "Will it really work?" - show what the number assumes e.g. "Any case in our industry?" - one example you may share If you do not know, say you will check and reply tomorrow Every number comes with its source and its assumptions e.g. "Hard to explain upstairs" - make them a one-page summary e.g. "The last tool failed" - name one thing that is different Ask early who is likely to object Count back from the approval deadline to set the next date What goes on the ... What matters Cover The proposal title, the client's company name, the date, your company and your name. Put the client's own words about the problem into the title.e.g. A plan to cut order entry to twenty minutes a day Situation and pro... One page on the situation you heard, in the client's own words. No product description yet.Aim for a page they answer with "that is exactly it". The cause Narrow down to one or two reasons why the problem happens. If the cause is right, the solution is accepted on its own. Your plans (three) The three plans side by side, described with the same items. Put the core plan in the middle so it is easy to choose.Never offer only one plan. Impact and price Impact in numbers, price split into setup and monthly fee. Impact first, then price.Add one line on payback. e.g. $2,000 setup divided by $330 saved a month, about 6 months. How it runs The schedule from kickoff to going live, and who does what on each side. End with exactly one next step the client can decide on the spot. Check the orderMake sure page one does not open with a description of your own product.Check that it runs problem, cause, solution, impact, price, next step. Check the numbers and the wordingDid you say whether the prices include tax? Are the date, the company name, and the contact name right?e.g. no placeholder left over from another client's file. Check the next stepIs there exactly one step on the last page that the client can decide today?e.g. run a trial setup with ten real order forms.
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Task board contents

Discovery 16 items

Know the client
Build the story
Write the proposal
Send and close it
Sort the notes
Map the approvals
Check the budget
Pick one problem
Dig to the cause
Put a number on it
Define three plans
Fill the six pages
Write cost and roles
Get a second read
Prep the answers
Set the next step

Outline 0 items

Writing 0 items

Internal review 0 items

Sent 0 items