Open-source playbook · 11 of 20 · For sales

Proposal Builder

Proposals take days, so deals cool off between the call and the quote.

The systemTurns the call notes into a tailored, on-brand proposal the same day, priced from your rate card.

// The problem

The call went well.
The proposal took until Thursday.

A good proposal means finding the last one, rewriting it, checking every price and fixing the layout. While that happens, the buyer’s interest cools.

3–4 hoursabout 10 minutes

Hands-on time to write one tailored proposal. Our own team’s numbers.

By handFour days from call to proposal

MonGreat call. They want a proposal.
TueFind the last proposal and rewrite it
WedCheck prices with finance, fix the layout
ThuProposal sent. The buyer has gone quiet.

With the systemSame afternoon

MonGreat call, and the proposal goes out by 4 pm
Tue to ThuThey’re reading your proposal, not waiting for it

// How it works

Every section has a source.
You read it, then you send it.

The system builds the proposal one section at a time, each from the place that knows it best, and lays it out in your brand. A person reviews the finished document and sends it.

1What it reads

Call notes
What they want, in their words
Fills: Goals, scope, next steps
The CRM deal
Company, contacts, dates and budget
Fills: Cover, next steps
Your rate card
Every service, price and payment term
Fills: Pricing
Past work
Approved case studies and your best proposals
Fills: Proof

2The proposal, section by section

Brand kit around every page: Fonts and colors · Page layouts · Tone of voice · Words you never use

Coverfrom CRM deal
Halvorsen Outdoor Co. · for Erik Lund, Head of E-commerce
Your goalsfrom Call notes
Grow online sales and fix the mobile checkout before the March catalog
Scope and timelinefrom Call notes
Store rebuild, checkout fixes, email flows · Nov 9 to Mar 1
Pricingfrom Rate card
Three line items, all at rate card prices · $35,300
Work like thisfrom Past work
Ridgeway Apparel: a similar rebuild, live in nine weeks
Next stepsfrom Call notes
Sign by Nov 6 to hold the Nov 9 kickoff

3A person reviews and sends

Maya, the account leadReads it against the call

Scope matches what was agreed
Every price is from the rate card
Rewrites one line in her own words

Nothing reaches the client until a person sends it. Discounts outside the rate card go to the sales lead first.

Sample proposal, fictional companies, people and prices.

// What comes out

Tailored to the call,
in your brand, priced right.

Three pages from a sample proposal by a fictional agency, Brightfield Studio, to a fictional client. The prices are made up for the example.

Cover, from the CRM deal

Brightfield Studio

A faster store before the spring catalog

Proposal for Halvorsen Outdoor Co.
Prepared for Erik Lund, Head of E-commerce
Oct 22, 2026

Pricing, from your rate card

04 · Pricing

What it costs

Store rebuild on Shopify8 weeks	$24,000
Checkout and speed fixes3 weeks	$6,500
Email flows: welcome, cart, win-back2 weeks	$4,800
Total, fixed fee	$35,300

Paid 40% at kickoff, 40% at design sign-off, 20% at launch. Prices hold until Nov 6, 2026.

All prices match the rate card

Proof, from past work

05 · Work like this

Ridgeway Apparel

A similar Shopify rebuild for an outdoor clothing brand, with the same mobile checkout problem. Live in nine weeks.

Rebuilt the store on Shopify
Redesigned checkout for phones
Set up welcome and cart emails

“They rebuilt the store around how our customers actually shop on their phones.”Head of Digital, Ridgeway Apparel

Approved case study, named with permission

// For your tech lead

Can we build it? Here’s what it takes.

Most firms already have the raw material: a rate card, a few strong past proposals and call notes. The build is mostly the template and the pricing rules.

Tools you’ll use

Job	Use	Or
Deal details and call notes	HubSpot or Salesforce + call transcripts	Pipedrive, Attio
Rate card and past proposals	Google Sheets and Drive	Excel and SharePoint
Writing each section	Claude	ChatGPT, Gemini
On-brand layout	A Google Docs template	A Slides or HTML template
Running the steps	n8n	Make, Zapier
Sending and e-signature	PandaDoc	Qwilr, DocuSign, a PDF by email

Access it needs

Read access to the CRM deal, contacts and call notes
Read access to the rate card, past proposals and approved case studies
Permission to create documents in a drafts folder, never to send

Three ways to build it

Start simple1–2 days
A Claude or ChatGPT project holding your rate card, best past proposals and brand rules. Paste in the call notes and drop the draft into your template.
Production1–2 weeks
n8n starts from the CRM deal, pulls the call notes and rate card, fills a Google Docs template and sends the deal owner a link to review.
Custom3–4 weeks
Adds a web proposal with options the buyer can choose, e-signature, and the signed scope written back to the CRM.

Guardrails

Every price comes from the rate card. Nothing is made up
Discounts or terms outside your rules go to a named approver
Scope lists only what was agreed on the call or in writing
Proof uses approved case studies and clients who agreed to be named
A person reads and sends every proposal

What to measure

Time from the call to the proposal being sent
Hours of work per proposal
Win rate, before and after
Share of proposals sent without pricing fixes

Who builds and runs it

A sales or ops lead who owns the rate card and the template, plus someone comfortable with n8n for one to two weeks. After that, whoever owns pricing keeps the rate card current and approves any flagged discounts.

Needs

01Company Brain 02Meeting-to-Action

Next to build

16Sales-to-Delivery Handoff 10CRM Autopilot

// Want help building it?

We’ll build your Proposal Builder with your team.

In 30 minutes with our founder, we’ll look at your tools and your week, and work out what your first AI systems should be and how long they’ll take.

Book a Strategy Call

Free 30-minute call with our founder · No commitmentPallav Kaushish Co-Founder, AIxGrowth