DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT AN ATTORNEY WHO IS LICENSED IN YOUR STATE OR COUNTRY BEFORE FINALIZING OR USING ANY LEGAL DOCUMENT.

Our jobs are typically $1,500-$25,000. These are not $1.2 million government contracts, or $750,000 national accounts. In those cases, the proposal/contracts would be much longer, more detailed, and filled with legal specifications. No, I'm talking about the run-of-the-mill consulting engagement that a solo-practitioner or small regional practice might land.

Proposals serve many functions. First, they are sales documents. They sell your services—or unsell them if you write them incorrectly. 
Second, they clarify the terms of your engagement. I like to include sections called "What we will provide," and "What you will provide." This is very helpful in clarifying who is doing what—and it saved us in a recent engagement. We had contracted to run a job fair for a major corporation. Our proposal specifically stated that the client company would provide the convention center and all meeting and facilities charges. When a $16,000 bill arrived on the customer's desk, she called to collect it from us. I emailed a copy of the agreement to her, which resolved the issue in our favor.

I like a simple letter, the simpler the better. Except in rare cases, I like to limit proposals to one or two pages. Remember, every page you add makes it MORE DIFFICULT for your potential customer to read and understand it. If customers want more detail, they ask for it. It's easy to add two or three sentences to an agreement.Read More...