Free 58-page playbook

Build B2B proposals that make complex decisions feel clear.

A consulting-grade proposal structure for consultants, agencies, and expert service firms selling serious B2B work — so buyers can understand the case, trust the path, and move forward with confidence.

Step-by-step frameworks, slide structures, and copy formulas that top consultancies use to win high-ticket B2B clients.

Created by ex-Bain & Company & IBM consultants

21-block proposal architecture inspired by top-tier consulting logic

Build proposals that can be forwarded, discussed, and approved internally

Includes slide prompts, decision psychology, and self-checks for every section

Most proposals do not lose because

the client is not interested.

They lose because the decision never becomes clear enough.

They lose because it made the client work too hard to connect the problem, value, approach, risk, and next step.

And in a complex B2B buying process, confusion is expensive. When multiple people need to align, a proposal cannot simply describe what you do. It has to help the buyer decide.

They lose because it made the client work too hard to connect the problem, value, approach, risk, and next step.

And in a complex B2B buying process, confusion is expensive. When multiple people need to align, a proposal cannot simply describe what you do. It has to help the buyer decide.

IMAGE PLACEHOLDER

Before/after proposal spread or annotated slide screenshot.

The structure inside the playbook

A proposal is a decision document.

The playbook breaks the proposal into 21 strategic blocks across the full B2B decision journey — from opening and framing to case for change, approach, credibility, and next steps.

Opening & framing

Make the proposal feel specific, senior, and client-first.

Cover & Title

Executive Summary

Agenda

What We Heard

Key Messages / How We're Thinking About the Work

The argument: Why act, why now

Turn your service into a clear business case for change.

Industry Point of View

Quantified Value Impact

Diagnostic Results

What We Heard

Cost of Inaction / Why Now

The solution:
What and how

Show the work is structured, practical, and safe to deliver.

Approach & How We Would Work Together

What Success Looks Like

Workplan & Timeline

Team & Expertise

Governance & Ways of Working

Risks & Mitigations

Credibility & commercials

Make approval feel justified, low-risk, and easy to move forward.

Client Successes

Why Us

References

Commercial Terms & Pricing

Next Steps

Appendix

Every block answers a question the client is silently asking: Do they understand our situation? Why should we act now?
What value is at stake? How would the work actually happen? Can we trust this team to deliver? What decision do we need to make next?

What you get inside

21 proposal blocks. 4 sections. 1 complete decision structure.

The playbook breaks a serious B2B proposal into the stages buyers actually move through: understanding, urgency, trust, approval, and next steps.

Opening & framing

Cover, executive summary, agenda, what we heard, and key messages that make the client think: they understand us.

Why act, why now

Industry point of view, quantified value impact, diagnostics, and cost of inaction that make waiting feel expensive.

What and how

Approach, success measures, workplan, team, governance, and risk mitigation that make the work feel safe to buy.

Credibility & commercials

Client successes, why us, references, pricing, next steps, and appendix pages that make approval easier.

Generator questions

Prompts behind each block so you know what the slide needs to prove before you start designing.

Self-checks

Simple pressure tests that tell you whether each slide is strong enough to survive an internal buying meeting.

Each block tells you exactly what to do.

Not just what to include. What each slide must prove.

For every proposal block, the playbook explains the role of the section, the ingredients the slide needs, best practices from consulting proposal logic, generator questions, decision psychology, and a self-check to know whether the slide is ready.

Role in the buying decision

Understand what the section has to achieve.

Slide ingredients

Know the exact content each page needs.

Best practices

Lead with the answer, put value before price, and make risk visible.

Generator questions

Answer the questions before designing the slide.

Psychology and self-checks

Pressure-test whether the slide can carry the argument internally.

Who it is for

Consultants, agencies, advisory firms, and B2B service providers

Founders and fractional leaders selling high-ticket services

Strategy, CX, UX, growth, and transformation teams

Anyone who needs proposals to feel more senior, structured, and persuasive

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Add a spread of internal playbook pages, generator questions, or slide examples.

Use it before your next proposal

Open the playbook, pick the block you need, answer the questions, and build the slide.

Use it to restructure a messy deck, write a sharper executive summary, create a stronger case for change, quantify value, explain your approach clearly, make pricing easier to justify, or pressure-test whether the proposal is decision-ready.