Consulting proposal template

A consulting proposal template that wins more business

If you want to win more Consulting projects, you need a great proposal template. And we already made it for you.

If you work in Consultancy then you know where your value lies... in the tangible difference you will make to your client’s business. One thing is making those promises. Showing you can deliver on them before you’ve actually started is quite another. Your consulting proposal needs to reflect your expertise and skill set.

It needs to sell value from the very beginning and it should show your potential client that you’re both capable and easy to work with.

Delivering a personalized online proposal helps you stand out from the crowd of PDFs. And this couldn’t be easier with Nusii. You can use the app to add new custom content with a single click. Upload videos, graphics, charts and more... It’s time to make your proposal sell for you. So bring that next consultancy gig with this template or browse our other proposal templates.

How to create a Consulting Proposal from a template

Clients often can’t see the wood through the trees. They’re so busy with the day to day running of their business that they sometimes power forward without getting the strategic decisions right. That’s why consultants are often needed.

If you are a consultant or an agency that provides consultancy services you probably send a lot of proposals. You’ll know that they need to be customized to be effective and maybe that’s why you are interested in our consulting template. You can go ahead and take a look but if you’d like to learn how to best personalize it, please read on.

We’ll go through the 7 key sections of a consulting proposal template and teach you how each should be edited for maximum effect.

1. Cover & title

Let’s start with what the client will see first. The cover image is important as it sets the scene and gives a visual presentation of your services. Try to choose an image that accurately reflects who you are, what your solution proposes and the client you are proposing to.

The image can be abstract. In fact it is better to avoid complex imagery which could be hard to interpret or distracting. You’ll also need to make sure the text on top of any image is easy to read.

As for the title, simple is best. Keep it descriptive and to the point. The last thing we want is the document to be ambiguous.

2. Problem & goals

Every consultancy request starts with at least one problem and we’re sure you’ve already made it your mission to find out what it is this time. During your exploratory client interview you have mostly likely spoken at length about their needs and uncovered the underlying problems they are experiencing.

In this part of the proposal you need to clearly and succinctly state the client needs. You don’t need to describe the problems in depth but it should be true and accurate. If they have 2 or 3 underlying problems, you just need to write 2 or 3 sentences to state them.

After that, you’ll need to describe the goals. These should match back to the problems. What we’re doing in this section is showing the client that we understand them and that we’re clear on what we need to do to help them. It’s not about insight or complex ideas, it’s just goal alignment.

3. Proposed solution

Once we’ve explained the needs and the goals we are ready to start the main part of the proposal. This is where you will provide an outline of your consultancy services and propose your solution. It’s the most important part of the proposal, even more than the pricing!

Of course every proposal is different so we can’t tell you exactly what your solution should be but it needs to relate back to the stated problems we just went through. You will need to explain your solution in such a way that you project trust, authority and leadership. Your client needs to feel full confidence in you and here is the place to build that trust.

Show them that you understand them, that you’ve done this before and that you know exactly what you are doing. Above all, show them the value you bring to the table. Don’t just provide a list of things you will do, frame your solution in terms of the added value you provided.

Writing your solution in terms of value helps to make you unique and at the same time allows you to pitch a higher price without seeming expensive.

4. Scope

By now your client should be excited but we need to make sure that the scope is well defined. If we don’t do this a consultancy project can quickly spin out of control and become expensive! And we don’t mean for the client, we mean for you!

State the information, people and tools you’ll need access to in order to deliver your best work. Be clear on what is not included or would require a separate piece of work. Once you’ve started the project you’ll be glad that this was written down and that there is no discrepancy between what the client thinks they’re getting and what you’ll actually deliver.

5. Benefits

Many people don’t include an outline of the benefits but in our experience clients love this section. Bear in mind that there are often many stakeholders and proposals sometimes get shared for others to read. You definitely want all of them to be clear on the benefits of hiring you!

It doesn’t need to be a huge part of the proposal and there definitely doesn’t need to be any new information here. The main proposal is done, what you are highlighting here is the key benefits of implementing your solution.

If you take a quick look at the problems and goals, your benefits should align with these and that will have the added benefit of making the overall proposal flow well.

6. Pricing

We put a fair bit of effort into that proposal so how much can we ask for it?

There’s usually what we think we’re worth, then there’s what we’re willing to accept and quite another thing is what the client is willing to pay. Even if you have a good idea of each it’s not that easy to settle on a final price.

What we suggest is to package your services into optional pricing so that the client has the option of choosing whatever package fits best. That gives you full freedom to price your full package at what you believe you’re worth (and maybe even a little more!!) while still offering more competitive price points in the other packages.

If you sold your value well in the main proposal section, your pricing won’t necessarily seem expensive. Remember, you aren’t selling the line items in your packages, you are selling your experience, your ability to deliver and your professionalism. If the client is convinced by you they won’t be choosing between your proposal and that other guy’s proposal. They’ll be choosing between the different packages you propose.

7. Timeline and cta

Finally, it is often helpful to include some indication of timings and deadlines. There are many ways to do this but we recommend using the proposal acceptance date as the start of your timeline. This gives an extra little incentive to sign off as soon as possible in order to get the project done on time.

With Nusii, our proposal software, you can then capture the signature straight away without any need for printing, scanning or physically signing. Clients love to e-sign and the fact you are even offering this shows you are professional and easy to work with. A win all-round!