An example from sales
Have you ever rewritten a proposal you'd already written ten times?
The last good one is in a folder somewhere. Finding it takes longer than starting again. So someone starts again, late at night.
Who this is for
- Firms that win work with written proposals or bids.
- Senior people who lose days to each one.
- Strong past answers buried in old files and old emails.
When we'd advise against it
If you write a handful of proposals a year, a good template will serve you. If every bid is genuinely new work, a person should write it. We'll tell you which you are.
Where the work stalls: the blank page
- Opportunity
- Requirements read
- Past work found
- Draft
- Review
- Sign-off
- Sent
- Follow-up
- Decision
Searching takes too long, so nobody searches. Each proposal is rebuilt from scratch.
Then the draft waits for sign-off. Follow-up depends on who remembers. Deals go quiet, and it's noticed at the forecast meeting.
For a builder, it's the bid with project sheets and a safety record. For an accounting practice, it's the advisory proposal after tax season. For a staffing firm, it's the answer to a client's vendor request. For a manufacturer, it's the capabilities packet for a new buyer.
What we would build: a first-draft proposal desk
It writes the first draft from the proposals you've already won with.
What changes
- A first draft is ready the day the request arrives.
- It draws on your strongest past answers, matched to this client.
- Every requirement in the request is answered, or flagged as missing.
- Sent proposals are tracked, so none go quiet unnoticed.
What it's worth to you
Count the proposals you wrote last year, and the hours each one took. Multiply by the hourly value of the people writing them.
Then count the requests you turned down for lack of time.
Draft ready ยท renovation bid
29 requirements found in the request
| Answered from past bidsSimilar projects, safety record, bonding letter. | 25 |
|---|---|
| Need a personSchedule, site visit date, local subcontractors. | 3 |
| MissingThe owner's insurance form. | 1 |
The proposal owner edits and approves before it goes.
How it works, in full
Read the full workings
When it starts
When a request or opportunity arrives.
What it reads
Your shared drive or document system, such as SharePoint, Google Drive or Procore. Your CRM, such as HubSpot or Salesforce. The sales inbox. We confirm each one in the first conversation.
The steps
- Reads the request and lists every requirement.
- Finds your best past answer for each one.
- Drafts the proposal in your format and voice.
- Flags requirements with no good past answer.
- Sends the draft to its owner for review.
- Tracks it after sending, and flags it if it goes quiet.
Where a person signs off
Your proposal owner reviews, edits and approves every draft.
What it never does
It never sends a proposal. It never invents experience, references or numbers. It never changes your terms.
What we'd ask of you
Access to past proposals, won and lost. Your standard terms. One person who owns proposals.
What tends to come with it
- Same-day quotes for the smaller jobs.
- Lead follow-up, so each enquiry hears back while it's warm.
- A client newsletter, so past work keeps working after the bid.
You become the firm with a strong answer to every request.
Every proposal starts from your best work, and nobody writes the same one twice.
Yours would look different, of course. Shaping it to your firm is what the first conversation is for.
Shall we find an hour?
A first conversation is with one of our co-founders. It's free, takes about an hour, and needs no access.
A person writes back, usually within one working day.