Create a Client Proposal

Create the proposal from the real opportunity record and only from pricing, terms, claims, delivery commitments, and supporting material the organization is authorized to use.

The goal is a proposal the client can evaluate and act on—not a generic capabilities document or speculative sales pitch.

If an established proposal process, template, approval workflow, or specialized skill already exists, follow it unless the user explicitly requests a different approach.

1. Establish the proposal decision

Identify:

• the client or prospective client;
• the opportunity or engagement being proposed;
• the proposal type;
• the intended reader and decision makers;
• the decision the proposal needs to support;
• the submission or review deadline;
• the required delivery format;
• the current proposal stage.

Determine whether the request is:

• a new proposal;
• an RFP response;
• a statement of work;
• a commercial revision;
• a scope revision;
• an extension or follow-on engagement.

Confirm that proposal creation is still the appropriate stage.

If the work has already been accepted and the user is preparing delivery, transition to the engagement-brief workflow rather than reopening approved commercial decisions.

2. Assemble the authoritative opportunity context

Gather the strongest available sources describing the opportunity and the firm's approved offer.

Relevant sources may include:

• the RFP and supporting documents;
• authenticated RFP or procurement portals;
• discovery notes and transcripts;
• meeting records;
• relevant email threads;
• client-provided requirements;
• the client's public website and materials;
• account research;
• previous interactions;
• approved case studies;
• approved offer descriptions;
• service definitions;
• pricing and rate cards;
• payment terms;
• legal or commercial terms;
• delivery methodology;
• approved proposal templates;
• brand and presentation guidelines.

Use available files, visible tabs, authenticated services, meetings, and connected applications when they materially improve accuracy or completeness and access is permitted.

When permission or search scope for a connected source is unclear, obtain the necessary authorization before inspecting it.

Keep important source material traceable and easy to inspect during review.

Reuse prior work intelligently

If reliable account research or discovery analysis has already been completed, reuse that output instead of repeating the work.

When important account context is missing, route the gap to the appropriate account-research workflow.

When discovery notes still require commercial interpretation—such as identifying needs, buying criteria, commitments, objections, constraints, or next steps—route that work to the appropriate sales-meeting debrief workflow.

Maintain strict client isolation

Keep each client's:

• facts;
• files;
• pricing;
• commercial terms;
• commitments;
• confidential information;
• examples;
• credentials and access context

separate from every other engagement.

A previous proposal may be used as an approved structural or stylistic reference, but never transfer its client-specific facts, pricing, promises, confidential information, restrictions, or assumptions into the current proposal.

Ask for clarification only when a missing input, ambiguity, or contradiction could materially change scope, price, delivery, risk, authority, or commitment.

3. Align the scope before producing the final proposal

Before drafting the finished proposal, create a concise working outline that separates evidence from interpretation.

Client context

Capture:

• the client's stated problem;
• known requirements;
• constraints;
• priorities;
• relevant business context;
• success expectations explicitly stated by the client.

Intended outcomes

Describe the outcomes the engagement is intended to support without converting aspirations into guarantees.

Clearly distinguish between:

• client-stated outcomes;
• proposed objectives;
• expected outputs;
• measurable commitments that have actually been approved.

Proposed delivery

Define:

• approach;
• workstreams;
• deliverables;
• responsibilities;
• milestones;
• review points;
• timeline;
• client dependencies;
• delivery-team dependencies.

Commercial scope

Include only approved:

• fees;
• pricing model;
• payment schedule;
• payment terms;
• expense treatment;
• optional services;
• assumptions;
• exclusions;
• commercial conditions;
• other applicable terms.

Open decisions

Surface:

• unresolved scope decisions;
• unsupported claims;
• unclear responsibilities;
• missing approvals;
• unknown dependencies;
• unresolved commercial questions;
• conflicting requirements.

Never present an interpretation as a client-agreed fact.

When there are meaningful choices involving depth, schedule, deliverables, staffing, pricing structure, or format, explain the tradeoffs and recommend an option when the available evidence supports one.

Allow the user or responsible proposal owner to correct material assumptions before those assumptions become proposal commitments.

4. Draft the proposal

Write for the actual client, reader, and decision.

Use only the sections necessary for the opportunity, while ensuring the reader can quickly identify the important commitments.

A complete proposal may include:

1. Executive summary
2. Client context and problem
3. Objectives and intended outcomes
4. Proposed approach
5. Scope of work
6. Deliverables
7. Roles and responsibilities
8. Client responsibilities and dependencies
9. Delivery plan and milestones
10. Timeline
11. Evidence or quality standards
12. Fees and commercial structure
13. Payment terms
14. Assumptions
15. Exclusions and out-of-scope work
16. Risks or dependencies where appropriate
17. Applicable terms
18. Acceptance or next steps

Do not add sections merely to make the proposal appear longer or more sophisticated.

Choose the appropriate artifact

Use a detailed document when the proposal needs to function as a written proposal, scope document, or statement of work.

Use a presentation when the proposal will be presented live or when the decision benefits materially from a visual narrative. Route presentation production through the environment's dedicated presentation workflow or capability.

When fees, options, staffing, scenarios, estimates, or calculations require a transparent model, use the available spreadsheet capability. Keep assumptions, inputs, formulas, and outputs inspectable.

Never fabricate commitments

Do not invent or infer unauthorized:

• fees;
• discounts;
• pricing exceptions;
• payment terms;
• legal language;
• contractual authority;
• guarantees;
• client outcomes;
• ROI;
• performance claims;
• delivery dates;
• staffing commitments;
• resource availability;
• acceptance criteria;
• implementation capabilities;
• approvals.

When an approved answer is unavailable, insert a clearly identified placeholder, question, or decision note rather than silently filling the gap.

5. Review the proposal as a commitment

Treat every substantive statement as something that may become an expectation or contractual commitment.

Verify important promises against the available evidence and the authority of the person or source making them.

Review specifically for:

• scope creep;
• vague deliverables;
• unclear acceptance criteria;
• hidden client dependencies;
• undefined responsibilities;
• timeline conflicts;
• staffing or resourcing conflicts;
• unsupported outcomes;
• unsupported ROI or performance claims;
• pricing inconsistencies;
• conflicting terms;
• privacy or confidentiality issues;
• legal issues requiring specialist review;
• commitments that exceed approved authority.

Surface material decisions and recommended resolutions to the user.

Revise the proposal based on authorized feedback.

When approval is still required from legal, finance, delivery leadership, commercial leadership, security, privacy, or another responsible party, state that requirement explicitly.

Never provide or imply approval on behalf of those functions.

6. Prepare the proposal for approved delivery

Produce the agreed deliverables, which may include:

• an editable source document;
• a presentation;
• an approved export such as PDF;
• supporting pricing or calculation material;
• a concise list of unresolved commercial or delivery points.

Before recommending or performing any sharing action, establish:

• intended audience;
• access permissions;
• destination;
• required approval;
• whether the artifact is internal, external, or both.

Protect client, employee, and personal data throughout:

• document content;
• attachments;
• links;
• screenshots;
• examples;
• visual assets;
• supporting models.

Treat the following as separate states:

1. drafted;
2. internally reviewed;
3. commercially approved;
4. legally approved where required;
5. approved for client sharing;
6. shared with the client;
7. sent through an authorized channel;
8. accepted by the client;
9. reflected in CRM or delivery systems.

Approval at one stage does not automatically authorize another.

If the user requests sending, route the action through the appropriate approved outreach or communication workflow and satisfy its confirmation requirements.

If the opportunity or CRM record must be updated, route that change through the appropriate CRM workflow and follow its scoped review and authorization requirements.

7. Preserve the reusable proposal method

Once a proposal has proven to be a useful model, offer to preserve the reusable parts as a custom skill, template, or proposal method.

Reusable elements may include:

• proposal structure;
• source checklist;
• qualification requirements;
• approved claims;
• writing voice;
• pricing rules;
• commercial guardrails;
• scope checks;
• approval checkpoints;
• review criteria;
• artifact-production choices.

Before sharing the method across a team, remove client-specific:

• names;
• facts;
• pricing;
• negotiated terms;
• confidential information;
• credentials;
• restrictions;
• proprietary artifacts.

Confirm who may access the reusable method and where it should live.

Proposal creation is normally event-driven and should not become scheduled automation by default.

A recurring or intake-triggered workflow may prepare a draft outline only when the intake process is stable and authorized.

Any automated proposal preparation should stop and request review when:

• pricing is missing or unapproved;
• commercial authority is unclear;
• terms conflict;
• client identity or context is ambiguous;
• scope exceeds the approved offer;
• required information is missing;
• legal or compliance review is required;
• the requested commitment cannot be supported by the available record.

Automation should remain draft-first unless explicit authority exists for additional actions.