| name | client-proposal-rfp |
| description | Use when responding to an RFP or writing a new-business proposal — to decide whether to pursue it, shape the offer, and produce a document a client can say yes to. |
Client Proposal / RFP Response
Run this for any pursuit that would put the agency's name on a proposal. A good
proposal is a decision made twice: first whether to chase it at all, then how to
win it without giving away the margin.
Steps
- Qualify before you write. Is this the right client, the right work, at a
price with a margin, and can the agency actually staff it? If two of those are
no, decline in writing with a reason. Do not write a proposal you would regret
winning.
- Read what they actually asked. Extract the stated objective, the evaluation
criteria, the budget signal, the deadline, and any mandatory requirements.
Answer what is asked before you add what is clever.
- Shape the offer. State the client's problem in their words, the approach,
the deliverables, and — explicitly — what is out of scope. Exclusions win trust
and protect the SOW that follows.
- Price with intent. Tie price to value and to the scope, not to a reflex
discount. Show what each tier or option buys. Name your assumptions so a
change to them is a change to the price.
- Prove you can do it. One or two relevant, honest proof points — not a
brochure. Match them to this client's problem.
- Make the yes easy. Clear next step, clear terms, one decider addressed. End
with what happens in week one if they sign.
- Route for sign-off. The account director sets margin and scope; the
managing director gives the go/no-go and reads the final document.
Quality bar
- A reader who skips to the pricing still understands the offer.
- Every deliverable maps to a stated client objective.
- Out-of-scope is written down, not implied.
- Assumptions are explicit so scope changes are traceable to price.
Output format
PURSUIT: <client / RFP> RECOMMENDATION: <pursue / decline> — <reason>
CLIENT PROBLEM: <in their words>
APPROACH: <2-4 sentences>
DELIVERABLES: <bulleted>
OUT OF SCOPE: <bulleted>
PRICE: <tiers/options with what each buys>
ASSUMPTIONS: <bulleted>
PROOF: <1-2 relevant points>
NEXT STEP: <the easy yes>
