Consulting proposals are an essential part of the client acquisition process for any consultant. They provide potential clients with an overview of the services you offer, the strategies you plan to implement, and the value you can bring to their project. But what should a consulting proposal include? In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the key components of proposal writing, discuss the process with your prospective clients, and provide you with a consulting proposal template. When writing a consulting proposal, it's important to know your client's goals in a meaningful, value-based conversation.
You should also provide 3 options for your client to deliver the desired results. It's unlikely to offer big benefits to your company if you write a proposal of more than 30 pages. Instead, focus on providing new information and “winning” the project with a 2 or 3 page proposal. Templates can help streamline this process by allowing you to quickly preload all the relevant repetitive information (content that isn't likely to change from one proposal to another).
This will help you spend more time focusing on creating the strategic results for a specific project. Your proposal should emphasize the value of your consulting services, but it should also include practical information such as the process and pricing, and the strategy you plan to implement to solve the client's problem. Don't expect a potential client to sign off on your proposal and part with their hard-earned money based on your theories. You should also include a statement of work in your consulting contract template and customize it to fit the services you offer. On a larger scale, if your company has several consultants, you can include an “About Us” page with a specific consultant profile assigned to the client to ensure maximum identifiability.
When done this way, if a company representative isolates a unique need within an organization, all they have to do is generate the proposal that makes the most sense for the situation in question. Every consultant needs a reference consulting proposal template because proposals are an expected and essential part of the client acquisition process. There are several tools available that can help streamline this process. For example, Better Proposals is a paid proposal writing software that is popular for its trackable proposals and its beautiful, modern consulting template design. Bonsai is another set of all-in-one paid services with proposals, billing capabilities, contract signing, and CRM functions for customers similar to Honeybook. When developing your consulting business, you can benefit from creating a consulting proposal template that you can update and adjust for each potential client.
Then, in your consulting proposal, include only the relevant information about what you captured in the discovery call and the customer summary you created. Finally, don't forget to include an “About Us” page with a specific consultant profile assigned to the client to ensure maximum identifiability. If you're new to the world of consulting or freelance work, it's important to evaluate the scope and schedule carefully before submitting your proposal. By following these steps and using templates or software tools like Better Proposals or Bonsai, you can create winning consulting proposals that will help you get more clients and grow your business.
