Leave with a proposal structure with scope, responsibilities and decision requirements.
Start with a real buying situation
For the worked example, the audience is a sales operations director. Their problem is that opportunities lose their owner between discovery and proposal. The desired practical outcome is a named owner and a dated next action on each active opportunity.
The example is deliberately bounded: the team cannot migrate data during quarter-end. That condition should influence the promise, scope and next step rather than disappear from the marketing copy.
| Illustrative offer | a CRM rollout for a 20-person sales team |
|---|---|
| Buyer question | Where does an opportunity most often stop moving, and who notices first? |
| Possible evidence | a walkthrough using five anonymised opportunities from the buyer’s current workflow |
| Useful asset | an opportunity handover checklist |
How to complete your proposal brief
- Restate the buyer’s verified problem and desired result.
- Specify deliverables, responsibilities and exclusions.
- Describe the sequence and required client inputs.
- Separate fees and third-party costs.
- List acceptance criteria, open questions and the approval process.
Worked example
These entries are illustrative planning material, not research findings or customer results. Keep the structure and replace the content with verified details.
| Problem and desired outcome | Problem: opportunities lose their owner between discovery and proposal. Desired result: a named owner and a dated next action on each active opportunity. Confirm both with the buyer. |
|---|---|
| Deliverables and exclusions | a CRM rollout for a 20-person sales team. Separate subscription, migration, support and training costs. List exclusions rather than relying on assumptions. |
| Responsibilities and dependencies | the team cannot migrate data during quarter-end. Name the client and supplier owners for each required input. |
| Fees and commercial assumptions | Use approved prices only. Separate subscription, migration, support and training costs. The worksheet deliberately contains no invented market rate. |
| Acceptance and approval | Agree how to review a walkthrough using five anonymised opportunities from the buyer’s current workflow and the share of active opportunities with a recorded next action. List open questions, approvers and the next decision. |
Review before using it
A useful operational measure in this example is the share of active opportunities with a recorded next action. That does not automatically make it a marketing attribution metric. Define the source, period and owner before drawing conclusions.
- Could delivery begin from this document without relying on undocumented promises?
- Check the delivery assumptions: Separate subscription, migration, support and training costs.
- Use evidence rather than promises. Do not promise a revenue uplift or an integration that has not been tested.
- Discuss the draft with someone who understands the buying situation. Start with: “Where does an opportunity most often stop moving, and who notices first?”
- If the next step is a trial, define its purpose. One possible starting point is to test one pipeline with two volunteers before discussing a wider migration.
Common mistakes and a better review
Do not fill a missing fact with an impressive-sounding number. Mark it as an assumption, explain how you will check it and give that check an owner. A short, honest document is easier to use than an elaborate plan built on unknowns.
| Watch for | A persuasive proposal can still fail if nobody knows what is included. |
|---|---|
| A real buyer concern | We already pay for a CRM. |
| Useful response direction | Then replacing the subscription is not the starting point. Let us compare how your team assigns and follows up five opportunities today. |
| Evidence to collect | The buyer’s own account, a walkthrough using five anonymised opportunities from the buyer’s current workflow, and records relevant to the share of active opportunities with a recorded next action. |
Your working sheet
Write your own version below. Notes are saved on this browser when local storage is available. Use Download to keep a separate copy; avoid adding confidential information on a shared device.
Example: Problem: opportunities lose their owner between discovery and proposal. Desired result: a named owner and a dated next action on each active opportunity. Confirm both with the buyer.
Example: a CRM rollout for a 20-person sales team. Separate subscription, migration, support and training costs. List exclusions rather than relying on assumptions.
Example: the team cannot migrate data during quarter-end. Name the client and supplier owners for each required input.
Example: Use approved prices only. Separate subscription, migration, support and training costs. The worksheet deliberately contains no invented market rate.
Example: Agree how to review a walkthrough using five anonymised opportunities from the buyer’s current workflow and the share of active opportunities with a recorded next action. List open questions, approvers and the next decision.
Review your work
Tick only what you can support with your answer or practice. This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions about this resource
How do I adapt this for my b2b saas business?
Replace the audience, offer and evidence with your actual information. Begin with a recent buyer conversation about why opportunities lose their owner between discovery and proposal, then check which assumptions match your business.
Is the filled example ready to publish?
No. It is a working example. Verify claims, permissions, prices, current capabilities and any customer information before using it externally. Do not promise a revenue uplift or an integration that has not been tested.
What should I do after completing the worksheet?
Use it to make one decision or have one focused conversation. The intended output is a proposal structure with scope, responsibilities and decision requirements. Set a review date and update it when the evidence changes.
Illustrative business worksheet. No customer results, market rates, traffic volumes or performance benchmarks are implied. About these resources.