Client proposals

Generate scope-of-work proposals for B2B SaaS GTM consulting engagements. Map discovery insights to phased deliverables with defensible pricing. Gate 4 — pause for collaborative review before finalizing.

Doctrine inherited (Step 7 — 0626 rollout, locked 2026-06-04)

Output complies with output-tenets.md, output-simplicity.md, doc-output-structure.md. Step 6 calibration: see [[feedback_execution_doctrine_refinements_step6]].

Refinements applied: R1 (proposal is client-team review surface — cleaned [VERIFIED:...] tags in appendix toggle, never inline in face doc), R2 (multi-phase proposal ships as one doc with toggles per phase), R3 (engagement framing operator-direct, never "thrilled to propose"), R5 (proposal opener mirrors discovery-call insight verbatim), R6 (close → signed proposal primary, kickoff scheduling as fallback), R9 (verb-led phase + deliverable names).

When to run

Run when the user says: "create proposal for [company]", "scope of work for [company]", "create SOW", "GTM consulting proposal", "help me scope this project", or after a discovery call completes with notes available.

Don't run when the user wants discovery-call prep (discovery), pure company research (company-context), or post-signature ICP work (icp-behavioural).

Inputs

Required:

• Company identifier — name or website. Verify it can be uniquely identified.
• Discovery insights — call notes, meeting transcript, or discovery doc covering pain points, goals, signals.

Recommended (sharpen scope and pricing):

• Budget signals (sets pricing band).
• Timeline constraints (affects phasing).
• Team resources — in-house designer, dev, content, etc. (affects scope).
• Specific deliverable requests.

If discovery insights are missing → ask for notes or run discovery first. Don't fabricate context.

Steps

1. Pull upstream context — read discovery output and (if available) company-context output for the prospect. Pull Slack history (slack_search_public) and Granola meeting notes (search_meetings) for fresh context.
2. Map signals → deliverables — review pain points and goals; match against the six categories in the premium reference (foundational, website, content/distribution, launch support, sales enablement, customer marketing). Every line item must trace to a discovery signal.
3. Set pricing band — pick a scope type from the pricing table in the premium reference; adjust for stage, scope breadth, budget signals, complexity. Apply standard terms (3-month commitment, 30-day notice, auto-renewal).
4. Draft the context paragraph using the canonical formula: [Company] is [1-sentence description]. The platform serves [ICP] who need to [primary use case]. [Value prop]. Fresh off [milestone/trigger], the team needs [deliverable] to [outcome]. Two to three paragraphs total — company overview, current situation, goals from discovery.
5. Phase the deliverables — Month 1 = foundation (research, audits); Month 2-3 = strategy + execution; Month 4+ = optional future scope. Foundation always precedes execution. Reflect client urgency (launch dates, board meetings, seasonal windows) in the timeline, not generic 4-week blocks.
6. Assemble the document using the markdown template in the premium reference — title, [Month Year] subtitle, Context, Deliverables (with the standard tentative-scope disclaimer), Terms, Collaboration. Use - [ ] for all deliverable items (Google Docs checklist conversion). Keep checklist items flat per workstream.
7. Run the self-evaluation in the premium reference — completeness, evidence quality, guardrails, self-roast. If anything fails, fix or flag before delivery.
8. Pause for Gate 4 collaborative review — multi-round co-creation. Review scope accuracy, pricing, phasing, terms with the user before finalizing.
9. After approval, offer the post-output options (adjust scope/pricing, push to Google Docs in PJ - Proposals, add/remove deliverables).

What good looks like

Examples (10 closed engagement proposals):

Evaluations (pre-delivery checklist):

• Context paragraph shows specific understanding of the situation (not generic).
• Every deliverable maps to a documented discovery signal.
• Phasing is logical — foundation before execution.
• Pricing matches scope and budget signals.
• Terms section complete — commitment, notice, auto-renewal.
• Collaboration section includes start date, reporting line, team needs.
• - [ ] checkbox format used throughout deliverables.
• Standard tentative-scope disclaimer included.
• No invented company details, metrics, or testimonials.

Full self-evaluation protocol (completeness, evidence quality, guardrails, five self-roast questions, improvement suggestion format) → the premium reference.

Final ship gate

Run /premortem --output before ship. See /premortem skill for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template.

Trivial-case escape: ## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs.