A good discovery call, then a slow proposal
A director has a promising call with a 70-person manufacturer. They need a retainer, a handbook refresh and help with a difficult absence case. The director promises a proposal 'by the end of the week'. They open the last proposal they sent, to a 25-person marketing agency, and start changing it: headcount, services, price, sector examples, the paragraph about their current problem.
The price takes longest. The consultancy has a rough rate card, but the director adjusts it by feel. On Friday evening the proposal goes out with a leftover reference to 'your agency' on page three.
Why proposals drag
- Every proposal starts from a previous one, so errors and outdated content travel forward.
- Pricing rules exist in directors' heads rather than in a system.
- Discovery call notes are in a notebook or email, not in the proposal.
- There is no view of which proposals were opened, and when to follow up.
- Accepted proposals are re-keyed into onboarding and billing.
What it costs
There is also the question of what was promised. A director who mentions on the call that the handbook refresh 'includes a manager briefing' may forget to put it in the proposal, or put it in and forget to price it. Six months later the client expects the briefing and nobody can find where it was agreed.
Prospects cool while they wait. Prices vary between directors for similar clients, which becomes awkward when clients compare notes or when a retainer is reviewed. Directors spend evenings on formatting. And without a view of proposal activity, follow-up is late or never, so good leads drift away.
| Part of the proposal | Today | With the builder |
|---|---|---|
| Client details and needs | Retyped from notes | Filled from discovery form |
| Services | Copied from an old proposal | Chosen from approved descriptions |
| Price | Worked out by feel | Your rules by headcount and service, adjustable |
| Sending and follow-up | Email and memory | Tracked, with reminders |
| Acceptance | Signed PDF by email | Online acceptance feeding onboarding |
How we build the proposal builder
- A discovery form, filled in during or after the call, records headcount, sector, sites, current HR setup, immediate issues and services of interest.
- Your pricing rules are set up once, for example retainer bands by headcount, add-ons for extra sites, fixed fees for handbooks and audits. Directors can override, and overrides are noted.
- The proposal is assembled from approved content blocks: service descriptions, how you work, relevant sector notes and terms.
- A short tailored introduction is drafted from the discovery notes by a model such as OpenAI's or Anthropic Claude, for the director to edit, so the prospect sees their own situation reflected.
- The proposal is sent as a branded web page or PDF, with views tracked and a reminder to follow up if it goes quiet.
- Acceptance happens online, and an accepted proposal creates the client in your CRM and starts onboarding, including the new client audit if one was sold.
Prices and terms are yours to set. The builder applies them consistently and keeps a record of every exception.
What changes
Proposals go out soon after the call, while the prospect is still thinking about their problem. Pricing is consistent across directors, and exceptions are deliberate. Follow-up happens at the right moment. Accepted proposals flow straight into onboarding without re-keying. And over time, you can see which services and price points win and which do not.
Is your proposal process like this?
- Proposals start from the last one sent.
- Prices for similar clients vary between directors.
- Proposals have gone out with another prospect's details in them.
- You do not know whether a prospect has opened your proposal.
- Accepted proposals are re-typed into your CRM and billing.