What to include in an agency proposal

An agency proposal is read by more people than you think. The person you met forwards it to a director, who forwards the pricing page to finance, who asks a colleague whether the timeline is realistic. Each of them reads a different part, often on a phone, often without the context of your call.

So a good agency proposal does two things. It answers the questions each reader has, in the section where they look for it. And it is short enough that someone who reads only the first and the pricing pages still gets the point.

This guide lists the sections to include, what each should say, and what to leave out. For the whole method, from the discovery call to the order in which to write each part, start with how to write a business proposal.

The sections at a glance

For most projects that is 12 to 16 slides or pages. If yours is twice that, look for sections that serve you rather than the client.

Cover

The client's name and logo (with permission) come first, then the project in a few words, then yours. "Halden Coffee Roasters: a new website that sells" beats "Proposal for website services". Add the date and the name of the person who will read it.

Summary

Write this last. In three to five sentences: the problem, what you propose, the outcome, the investment range and the next step. A director who reads only this paragraph should be able to say "go ahead, check the details".

The challenge

Show that you listened. Describe their situation, goal and obstacle in their own words, with any numbers they gave you. If you did not write those words down, the guide to client discovery questions mapped to each proposal section shows what to ask next time. Keep it about them: if you find yourself writing about your agency here, move it elsewhere.

Approach

How you will solve this particular problem, in three to five steps. For each step: what happens, what the client gets at the end, and what you need from them. Leave out generic methodology diagrams; the client cares about what will happen to them, in order.

Scope and deliverables

The most important section for avoiding disputes later. List each deliverable with a number: "up to 12 page templates", "four social posts a week", "a monthly report with the five metrics agreed in the kick-off". Then list what is out of scope. Our guide on writing a scope of work clients understand goes into detail, with examples.

Timeline

Phases in weeks, with milestones and client dependencies: feedback windows, content deadlines, access to accounts. A simple table reads better than a Gantt chart on a phone. Say what happens if a dependency is late.

Team

Show the people who will do the work: name, photo, role, one line on what they do on this project. Leave out the people the client will never meet. If the account lead changes after the sale, say who takes over.

Cases

Two or three projects close to this one in sector, size or type of work. For each: the starting point, what you did, and what changed. A specific result or a client quote is worth more than a long description. If you have a strong case from a different sector, use it, but explain why it is relevant.

Pricing

The investment, clearly separated into one-off and recurring, excluding VAT with the VAT and total shown. Offer options where they make sense: tiers, optional extras, or a choice of monthly plans. See good, better, best: pricing options in a proposal.

Example for a marketing agency retainer:

Payment schedule

When each amount is due: a deposit on signing, milestones for projects, the first of the month for retainers. Make sure it adds up to the pricing section. If you offer a discount for paying upfront or a lower monthly rate for a longer commitment, say so here.

Terms

The agreement in plain language: deliverables, change requests, intellectual property, confidentiality, payment terms, notice periods, and how long the proposal is valid. Link to your full terms if they are long, but put the points a client actually asks about (notice period, ownership, what happens with extra work) in the proposal itself.

Next step

One clear action and a date. "Sign by 31 October and we hold the kick-off on 6 November." Give a validity period, usually 14 or 30 days. For the acceptance page itself and how the client signs online, see e-signature basics for proposals.

What to leave out

• The long "about us". One line on who you are is enough on the cover or summary. Your cases do the rest.
• Every award and every logo. Pick the ones that matter to this client.
• Methodology for its own sake. If a step does not change what the client gets, cut it.
• Your internal process names. "Sprint 0" and "Phase Delta" mean nothing to the client.
• Prices without context. Never put the price before the reader knows what it buys.
• Anything you would not want forwarded. Assume every page will be shared.

Keeping proposals consistent across a team

In an agency, the hard part is often not writing one good proposal but making sure every proposal is good, whoever sends it. A few habits help:

• One price list. Every service has a standard price, and everyone uses it. If prices live in individual spreadsheets, clients will get different numbers for the same work.
• Agreed discounts. Decide which discounts exist (paying upfront, longer commitments, bundles) and who may give them. A salesperson inventing a 15% discount at the end of a call costs you on every future renewal.
• One brand. Same fonts, colours and layouts, whoever made the deck. Our guide to on-brand proposals without a designer shows how.
• A library of sections. Team bios, cases and terms should be written once and reused, not rewritten from memory.
• A second pair of eyes. Someone checks scope and pricing before anything goes out.

Checklist

• The cover names the client and the outcome.
• The summary works on its own.
• The challenge uses the client's words and numbers.
• Every deliverable is counted, and there is an out-of-scope list.
• The timeline shows client dependencies.
• The team shows the people doing the work.
• Two or three relevant cases with results or quotes.
• One-off and recurring prices are separated, with VAT shown.
• The payment schedule matches the pricing.
• Terms cover changes, ownership and notice.
• There is a next step and a validity date.
• You have checked it on a phone.

How Propozit helps

Propozit builds this kind of proposal as a branded 16:9 slide deck. The live demo has 11 slide types (cover, challenge, approach, scope, timeline, team, cases, pricing, payment schedule, agreement and thank-you), each fitting its content and scrolling easily on a phone. Its pricing slide combines fixed-price projects and monthly subscriptions in euros, with optional items, plan choices and deals, and totals that update live. See the slide library.

In an account today you can set your brand once with a live preview, add your company details, invite your team with roles, keep one price list, and build proposals in the deck editor. You can also start from a template for the type of work, with your own standards, and build the proposal in a few steps, including the payment plans the client picks and the days within which invoices are due. Propozit is in early access and free to start.