For consultants after the discovery call
Consulting Proposal Template and Example
A three-page consulting proposal template with guidance in every section and three options with fees, plus a fully annotated example.
Consulting proposal format
What goes in each section of a consulting proposal
The template's eight sections cover the ten elements Alan Weiss lists for his own proposals1, plus one that isn't on his list: assumptions. Objectives and measures share one table, and credentials become an optional sentence or two. Each row shows what a section holds, a weak version and a strong one.
| Section | What it holds | Weak | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The situation | What is happening, why it matters now and what it costs, in the client's own words and figures. No diagnosis yet. | "Larkfield Foods is a leading distributor facing a range of operational challenges." | "By Larkfield's own dispatch reports, on-time delivery has fallen from 94% to 81% in 12 months." |
| 2. Objectives and measures | Two to four results for the client's business, each with a measure, today's figure and a target date. | "Carry out a diagnostic of the order process." | "Orders delivered in the agreed window, from the dispatch system: 81% today, 92% by March 31." |
| 3. Approach and phases | How you will work, what each phase does and what the client gets at the end of it. No findings promised in advance. | "Our proven methodology will uncover the root causes of your delays." | "Weeks 1 to 3: trace 200 recent late orders and interview up to 12 people. You get a findings workshop and a short report." |
| 4. Options and fees | Three complete ways to meet the objectives, each building on the one before, each with one fixed fee. | "Estimated 160 to 220 hours at $250 an hour, billed monthly." | "Fix the handoff: 6 weeks, $28,000. Add a pilot at one depot: 10 weeks, $42,000. Add the rollout to all three: 16 weeks, $64,000." |
| 5. Timeline | Real dates once a start is agreed, and what each date depends on from the client. | "About four months from kickoff." | "Findings workshop on Thursday, November 19, if order and dispatch data arrive by Wednesday, November 4." |
| 6. Assumptions | What your fee and dates rest on, written so either side can tell when one turns out false. | "Reasonable access to staff and data." | "Up to 12 interviews of 45 minutes, with people named by Friday, November 6. Extra interviews are $900 each." |
| 7. Client responsibilities | What the client must do for the dates to hold, with a name and a date on each line. | "The client will provide support as needed." | "Dana Whitlock as sponsor: a 30-minute check-in each week, and decisions within three business days." |
| 8. Terms and next steps | Payment, expenses, how changes are agreed, ending early, a decision date and a place to sign. | "We look forward to hearing your thoughts." | "Choose an option and sign below, or call me with changes, by Friday, October 23." |
The weak versions were written for this page. The strong ones come from the template's annotated example, whose client, people and figures are invented.
How it works
How do you write a consulting proposal?
Treat the proposal as the record of a decision, not the pitch for one. Alan Weiss, author of Million Dollar Consulting, says the sale occurs before the proposal is ever written1. Before you write, the person who approves the fee should have agreed on three things: the result they want, how you'll measure it and what it's worth to them. If your notes don't cover all three, ask the client first.
Then price the work as three options, each a complete way to meet the objectives. The first fixes the problem, the second adds proof such as a pilot, and the third adds the rollout. Weiss calls options like these a choice of yeses2 and prefers three, because too many choices tend to paralyze a decision. Give each option one fixed fee: in his view, a single quoted fee per option3 caps the client's investment, with no meter running. If the client wants to spend less, offer a smaller option, not a discount.
Spell out what the fee covers. The Project Management Institute's 2018 survey found scope creep in 52% of projects completed in the previous 12 months4, up from 43% five years before. Write assumptions either side can check, such as "up to 12 interviews," give each client task a name and a date, and say how changes get agreed. Add a decision date, then send it while the call is fresh. Once the client chooses, turn that option into scope and payment dates with the statement of work template.
How it works
From call notes to proposal
Download it or open it in River
Download both Word documents free, or click Edit with AI. For a first draft, paste your call notes at the top before you click.
River drafts from your notes
River fills in the sections from your notes, quoting the client exactly. Any fee or fact your notes don't give stays in brackets.
Settle the open points
Ask the client the questions River lists, or have River turn them into a short email. Then set your fees.
Check it and send
Run the nine checks under "Before you send" and delete the italic guidance. When the client chooses, ask River to draft the statement of work.
Proposal for Dana Whitlock, COO, Larkfield Foods (example)
On-time delivery has fallen from 94% to 81% in a year, by your own dispatch reports. In your words: “We sell a Tuesday delivery and find out on Monday night we can't make it.”
On-time delivery back to 92% by the end of March, late order changes under 50 a week, and overtime under 15 hours a week per depot.
1. Fix the handoff: 6 weeks, $28,000. 2. Fix and prove it with a pilot: 10 weeks, $42,000. 3. Fix, prove and roll out to all three depots: 16 weeks, $64,000.
Choose an option and sign by Friday, October 23, and we start at the Northfield depot on Monday, November 2.
Sam Ortega · Northgate Advisory (example)
What you'll get
Eight sections with guidance, three priced options and a worked example
- Eight sections, each with a guidance line and slots
- Three options with fees that step up in value
- A full example proposal, annotated section by section
Before and after
Your call notes in. A first draft out.
Call w/ Dana Whitlock, COO, Larkfield Foods, Oct 6. 3 depots, about 640 restaurant and grocery customers. On-time delivery down from 94% to 81% this year. Two big customers complained in writing. “We sell a Tuesday delivery and find out on Monday night we can't make it.” Wants it fixed before the March menu changes. Budget not discussed.
1. The situation Larkfield Foods delivers to about 640 restaurants and grocers from three depots. On-time delivery has fallen from 94% to 81% this year, and two large customers have complained in writing. In Dana's words: “We sell a Tuesday delivery and find out on Monday night we can't make it.” 4. Options and fees Option 1: Fix the handoff · [weeks] · [fixed fee]. Option 2: Fix it and prove it at one depot · [weeks] · [fixed fee]. Option 3: Fix, prove and roll out to all three depots · [weeks] · [fixed fee]. To confirm with the client What budget range do you have in mind for this work? Where is on-time delivery measured, and what counts as on time?
Facts your notes don't give become questions for your next call. Missing fees stay in brackets for you to set.
What lands in your doc
What's in the consulting proposal template
- Consulting Proposal Template
Eight numbered sections, from the client's situation to terms and a signature block, each with a guidance line. - Options and fees
Three options side by side, each with what's included, what the client gets, its length and one fixed fee. - Before you send
Nine checks, from a situation in the client's own words to a read by someone who wasn't on the call. - The rules behind this template
Five rules, from agreeing on the call before you write to never using a figure you can't source. - Example Proposal, Annotated
A finished three-page proposal for an invented food distributor, with a note under each section on why it works. - Options in other kinds of projects
How the three options look for a nonprofit strategic plan, a software selection, a pricing review and a team restructure.
Questions consultants ask
Common questions
What is a consulting proposal, and what should it include?
A consulting proposal is a short document that confirms what you and the client agreed on the discovery call, ready for them to sign. It covers the four things members of the Institute of Management Consultants USA pledge to agree on before any engagement: the objectives, scope, work plan, and fee arrangements5. Add the client's situation and responsibilities, a timeline, your assumptions and terms.
How long should a consulting proposal be?
Two or three pages is usually enough. Alan Weiss says his own are typically two and a half pages1. A proposal that confirms an agreement doesn't need to argue the case. The example proposal in this template runs about 1,000 words. If yours is much longer, the extra pages are often about your firm, or the scope isn't settled yet.
How should I price the options in a consulting proposal?
Give each option one fixed fee, based on what the result is worth to the client. Each step up should add something the client can see, such as a pilot, not just more hours. If they want a day rate, quote it with an estimate of days and a cap. The consulting rate calculator works out the lowest day rate you should accept.
What's the difference between a proposal and a statement of work?
A proposal asks the client to choose among options, each with a fee. The statement of work follows their choice and turns that one option into commitments: what's in and out of scope, each deliverable and how it's accepted, and when you're paid. The SOW generator drafts one from the proposal the client signed.
Is this consulting proposal template free?
Yes. Download both Word documents, the template and the annotated example, with no account or signup. Edit with AI opens the same files in River, which is free to start. There you can edit the proposal, share it or ask River to change it. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
What does Edit with AI do?
It opens both documents in a free River workspace. With call notes pasted at the top, River drafts the proposal from them, quoting the client exactly. Fees and facts your notes don't give stay in brackets, with questions for the client after the signature block. Without notes, River offers to help you fill it in. For long transcripts or RFPs, use the consulting proposal generator.
Is it safe to paste my client's details?
What you paste is saved in your own River workspace. To draft the proposal, River sends it to an AI provider, and River's privacy policy says neither River nor those providers use your content to train AI models. If you signed an NDA with the client, check what it allows before you paste anything it covers.
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