A Proposal Ordered for the Reader
Putting the answer first, because the person who signs reads the first page and the price.
What it is for
The person who signs reads the first page and the price. Putting the answer first — and the reasoning after it — is what makes the rest of the document get read at all.
The skill
Most proposals are ordered by how they were written. Order them by how they are
read.
Page one, and nothing else on it:
- The outcome, in one sentence, in their words.
- The price.
- The date it starts and the date it ends.
Everything else after, in this order:
1. **What you understood about their problem.** Their words again, ideally
quoted from the call. This page decides whether they keep reading.
2. **What you will do**, as deliverables with dates, not as activities.
3. **What you need from them.** Every proposal that slips, slips here, and
naming it in writing is what makes the slip discussable later.
4. **Price detail**, only now.
5. **Terms.**
Use the variables for everything that changes between clients — name, dates,
figures — and then send yourself a test copy. An unfilled `{{client_name}}` in
a proposal is the fastest way to lose one, and it happens because the template
was checked in the editor, where variables look filled.
Set an expiry on the document. A proposal with no expiry is a proposal with no
reason to answer this week.
How to install it
1. Open the tool and start a new conversation, project or template. 2. Paste the text below wherever the tool keeps standing instructions — usually called system prompt, instructions, or persona. 3. Save it so it applies to every run rather than a single message.