Write a one-page proposal
Their problem in their words, what changes, the plan with dates, the price and how to say yes, on one page, sent within a day of the call.
By Angelo Natale1 hourAfter every call that ends in a yes in principle
What it does
Long proposals get skimmed, forwarded with “thoughts?” and parked. A one-page proposal gets read by the person who signs. It says their problem back in their words, what changes for them, the plan with dates, the price and how to say yes. Everything else goes in an appendix, or nowhere.
What you need
- Your recap from the call (see send the recap within an hour)
- The cost of doing nothing you worked out together (see get the buyer to say it)
- Your offer, your price, and how they can sign or pay
How it works
Open with their problem and its cost
In their words, from the call: the problem, what it costs them a year, and what they want instead.
Say what changes, as outcomes
Three to five lines on what’s different for them afterwards. Not features.
Show the plan with dates
The steps to working, each with a date, taken from your close plan.
Put the price next to the cost of doing nothing
One price, or at most three options. The cost they told you sits right above it.
Make yes easy
A signature line or an e-sign link, a payment link if you take payment online, and the date the proposal is good until.
Copy into a doc and fill it inPROPOSAL FOR [COMPANY] Prepared for [NAME], [DATE]. Good until [DATE]. WHERE YOU ARE [THEIR PROBLEM, IN THEIR WORDS]. Today it costs about [THE NUMBER YOU WORKED OUT TOGETHER] a year. WHAT CHANGES - [OUTCOME 1] - [OUTCOME 2] - [OUTCOME 3] THE PLAN [STEP 1], by [DATE] [STEP 2], by [DATE] Working, by [DATE] THE PRICE [PRICE AND TERMS]. [YOUR GUARANTEE, IF YOU HAVE ONE.] TO SAY YES Sign below, or reply "yes" and I'll send the agreement today.
What good looks like
One page the signer reads in two minutes, with nothing on it they didn’t already hear on the call.
Mistakes to skip
- Surprises. Nothing in the proposal should be new to them, the price least of all.
- Pages of company history.
- No end date. A proposal with no date waits forever.
More playbooks
- Call recorderClaudeGoogle Docs+1
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