Win Consulting Proposal

---
name: win-consulting-proposal
description: Writes a 2 to 5 page consulting proposal that opens in Situation, Complication, Question, with objectives in the client's words, the problem as a diagnosis, an approach by phase, one relevant experience paragraph, options and a dated next step. Use for "run win-consulting-proposal", "write the proposal", "draft a consulting proposal", "turn my discovery notes into a proposal", "my proposals never get answered", "shorter proposal", "proposal for this client", part of the Claude Guide for Finding Clients Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# Consulting Proposal

## When To Use
Your proposals sit unanswered for weeks, then a polite no arrives. You have had the discovery conversation, you have decided this one is worth writing, and you want a short document the client recognises as their own problem with a clear answer on page one.

## When Not To Use
If you have not yet decided whether to write it, run Bid/No-Bid Decision first; if the call is still only in your head, run Discovery Call Recap. If the buyer needs slides for their boss, write this first and then run Proposal Deck.

## Inputs
- Your discovery recap or call notes, and the client's email or request
- One real case (a source file, a one-pager or your notes), your options and prices if you have them, and who would do the work
If you have none of this, I start from your call notes alone and mark the output as a first draft with every gap in [brackets].

## Approach
The opening follows Situation, Complication, Question, from Barbara Minto's work on structured writing (barbaraminto.com): what the client agrees is true, what changed or is at stake, the question they need answered, then your answer straight after. Practitioners pair this with fewer, shorter proposals walked through live rather than emailed cold. The failure it prevents is the twelve page proposal that buries the answer on page eight and repeats the client's symptoms back to them. I draft it in Claude Docs (beta) or here in the chat.

## Workflow
1. Ask three questions: what did the client say they need answered, in their words; who reads this beyond the person you met; and when will you walk them through it.
2. Write the SCQ opening. Situation is only what the client would nod at; complication is the change that makes it urgent now; the question is theirs, not your service. If the client would argue with the situation line, it is wrong, so rewrite it before anything else.
3. Objectives in their words from the recap, each tagged with where it was said. Anything you inferred is marked "inferred" so they can correct it.
4. The problem as a diagnosis: two to four causes behind the symptoms, each labelled confirmed (with what supports it), likely (with why you think so) or to test (with how phase one will test it). Causes are structures and choices, never the competence of their people.
5. Approach by phase, two to five phases, each with what the client sees at the end (a decision, a document, a working thing) and what you need from them. Dates stay relative until agreed. Add one line on what this work will not solve.
6. One relevant experience paragraph from a real case: lead with the part that mirrors their situation, the turn, one defended figure with base and period or none. Never bend the case to fit; if none mirrors honestly, say what is true about the closest one.
7. Options from Pricing Options (or a [placeholder] until you run it), then one next step with a date and an owner. Cut until it fits 2 to 5 pages.

## Output Format
```markdown
# Consulting Proposal: [client role or project name]
## Where you are and what you need answered
[Situation] [Complication] [Question] [Our answer in one or two sentences]
## Your objectives
| Objective, in your words | Where it was said |
|---|---|
| [objective] | [call on date / email / inferred] |
## What is causing it
| Cause | Status | What supports it or how we test it |
|---|---|---|
| [cause] | [confirmed / likely / to test] | [evidence or test] |
## How we would work
| Phase | What happens | What you see at the end | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|---|
| [phase] | [activities] | [deliverable or decision] | [input, time] |
Not in scope: [what this work will not solve]
## Relevant experience
[One paragraph from a real case, naming level as the client agreed]
## Options
[From Pricing Options, or placeholder]
## Decision
[Client role] chooses an option and confirms the start at the walk-through on [date]; you send the final version only after reading every line yourself.
```

## Done When
- The answer appears on the first page, right after the question.
- Every objective and cause carries its source or its label.
- Each phase names what the client sees at the end and what you need from them.
- There is one next step with a date and an owner, and the whole fits 2 to 5 pages.

## Quality Bar
- No figure, result or client quote that is not in your notes, your case source or your numbers.
- Team members are named only with their consent, otherwise by role; no "we look forward to hearing from you" ending.
- Every claim comes from the call, your cases or your numbers; you edit it, own it and send it yourself.

## Next
Run win-pricing-options (Pricing Options) to set the options and prices the proposal points to.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).