Working on a consulting proposal template and facing challenges?  Here is a quick way to see if you’re in with a chance of winning the deal. Examine the current draft of your proposal with this 10-Step consulting proposal template checklist

Checklist to Create a Consulting Proposal

Okay, so are you ready to explore the proposal writing checklist one by one?

Let’s go.

Identify the customer’s profile

Only after qualifying your potential lead, you’ll know whether it’s worth spending your time and energy on the process of proposal writing. Here are the questions you should ask for qualifying potential leads/ for identifying customer profile,

• How much they score in your ideal client profile?
• What kind of business are they running?
• How large is their organization?
• Do they match your ideal client’s geographical location?

Uncovering client’s pain points

Understanding the pain points of customers is one of the most profitable pieces of information in marketing. It can help you not only retain the current customers but also opens the door for new customers.  So make sure you learn a few key things about the prospective client and his/her business before drafting a business proposal template, understand the specific problem the prospective client is currently experiencing, prioritize the prospective client’s needs, start the consulting proposal by highlighting the benefits client can get with our consulting services.

Present your brand and expertise

Well, keep in mind that this is the section where you have to convey the feeling that you are the expert to all who read the proposal. The primary goal of this section is to answer the questions about your business like who you are, which services/products you offer, and how you do it. Such detailed information provides clarity and eventually helps your prospective clients to get to know, like, and trust you.

Elements to include in an about us section

• Company’s experience, skillset, and most importantly our value to the prospective client’s organization
• USPs to differentiate your process and consulting services from the competition in the industry
• Customer testimonials, achievements, or any related awards

Details about the statement of work

The services section of your business proposal is not just about clarifying what you can do for your prospect but it’s also about outlining how your company stands out from your competition. These are the necessary elements that you’ll need to make the services section of your consulting proposal as effective as possible

• Purpose- Why the work being done?
• Scope of work- Steps that need to be taken to complete the work.
• Deliverables and timeline- List of deliverables and timeline for each deliverable.
• Acceptance criteria and signatures– Acceptance criteria are enclosed with terms of service and agreeing upon it before the project avoids a lot of misunderstanding in the future.

Deliverables and timescale

Every business proposal and I mean every business proposal requires a realistic timeline that responds to the most crucial question- “How long will it take to get the results?“. Following are the key prices of information that needs to be captured by a consulting proposal timeline,

• List of activities to perform
• The dates on which the activities should be completed (start and end time)
• Expected duration required for each task

Interactive investment section

You have done your homework and offered an ideal solution to his organization. Here come’s a tricky part i.e “pricing”. Yep, that’s right it is one of the most important and stressful parts of the proposal. Include a captivating title for the pricing table, layout the cost with clear and easy-to-understand pricing options for the solution, highlight the popular choices of services at the top, optimize the pricing table as per the prospect’s needs.

Read more on guidelines for writing a winning consulting proposal.

Include customer testimonials

Consciously or subconsciously every buyer is waiting for this section to come. Customer references are one of the most important confidence signals you can use in your proposal.

In the consulting proposal include:

• Recommendations from clients our company helped in the past
• The positive customer references that will help prospects understand what they would benefit if they hire you

Online signature

Being successful implies keeping up with the trends. Innovations are meant for making various processes easier, saving time, boosting efficiency. These very same goals any business strives to achieve it to rank high in the business competition. So to make the best use of digital transformation and maximize the chances of success with an electronic signature in the consulting proposal.

Dress up your proposal

A messy and unattractive consulting proposal can be a real turn-off to your prospective clients. Develop a proposal that actually closes the deal. So, make sure you include the following elements in your business proposal,

Table of Contents: It is sometimes overlooked but is still a major part of a proposal design. All consulting proposals must include a table of contents as it gives readers a route map to go directly to a particular section.

Visuals: Visuals such as maps, graphs, infographics, screenshots, and photos complement your business proposal to another level.

Wrapping up:

This checklist will help you stay focused. Every time you schedule a sales call run through the list beforehand and make sure you are all prepared.

You know, most of this checklist can be easily ticked once you start to refer solid proposal templates (it comes with its own benefits and ensures that no mistakes are made ) and use proposal software.

Good luck!