Scope, timeline and price for one named prospect, on a page they can open on their phone.
Most proposal templates are a file with blanks to fill in. This page takes a different route: open a finished proposal, see what it does, then make your own version in a Claude conversation using your client's details. Both samples are made up, one a fixed-price project and one a monthly retainer, and neither is a form to copy word for word.
Who it's for
Freelancers, small agencies and consultants who write proposals for one client at a time. You had a good call, the prospect is interested, and you want something in their inbox while they still remember why they called you.
It suits fixed-scope work best: a website, a brand refresh, an audit, a three-month retainer. If your buyer's procurement team needs a signed Word file, send that as well. A link won't replace their paperwork, but it's still the version the decision maker will actually read.
What a good one contains
- The outcome first. Your client cares about their problem before they care about you, so the opening line is theirs.
- Goals with numbers. Twice the online bookings and under two seconds to load on a phone are things both sides can check later. "A modern, engaging website" can't be checked by anyone.
- Phases with dates. Discovery, design, build and launch each have their weeks. This answers "when would it be done?" before anyone has to ask.
- Prices per phase. A total on its own invites haggling over the whole figure. The retainer sample prices its three levels the same way.
- Payment terms in one line. Half at kick-off, half at launch, plus any running costs paid to someone else. Surprises at this stage end deals.
- An expiry date. "Valid until" gives a gentle reason to decide, and protects you if your rates change.
- One next step. "Say yes this week and we'll start on Monday" is easier to answer than a paragraph of options.
What's missing matters too. Neither sample has a team page, a list of past logos or pages of legal terms. Those can follow once someone is interested, and a page that stays short gets read on a phone between meetings.
Make it yours
Add what only you know: notes from your call, the numbers they mentioned, and the words they used for their problem.
Read the first draft as your client would. Cut any sentence that could appear in a proposal to a different company. Check every price and date yourself, because you're the one who has to stand behind them. If the scope changes after your call, update the page rather than sending a new file. The link stays the same, so nobody ends up reading last week's price.
How to send it
With a password. A proposal names a price. Send the link in one message and the password in another.
Every page you publish gets one link that opens in any browser. You choose who can open it: anyone with the link, anyone with the password, or only the people and company domains you name, who sign in with Google or Microsoft. Change the page later and the link stays the same.
