A solid IT consulting proposal walks a fine line between completeness and simplicity.
Your proposal should provide the prospective client with a full picture of what you intend to do, from discovery all the way to final sign-off. All anticipated questions should be answered, so that the prospect is ready to say ‘Yes!’ by the time they finish reading.
At the same time, simplicity is key. Use regular English rather than IT jargon. Boil down each step to its most vital elements. Don’t overwhelm the prospect.
This balancing act might seem difficult, but don’t worry: we’ve got an IT consulting proposal template that will make the whole process as easy as possible.
Of course, every client and situation comes with its own special challenges. But one of the great things about IT consulting is that the discovery of the particular issues is part of the process you’re being hired for.
This means that, unless the prospect already has a specific problem they want addressed, you can use a fairly standardized approach to every proposal. Similar to a good business plan, here’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
Elements common to the most successful sales proposals for a consultant include:
Even though the starting elements of an IT consultancy can be very similar from job to job, you don’t want your proposal to look cookie cutter.
Get yourself noticed by tailoring the proposal to the prospects specific needs. For that, you’ll need to get some information from the client before you begin writing.
Here are some specific questions to ask:
Missteps in the proposal process can confuse clients, or invite communication problems down the road. Here are some common issues:
If you couch your proposal in IT-specific terminology, only IT professionals will be able understand it. Even if your prospect contact is familiar with IT concepts, there’s a good chance others in the approval process are not.
Make your proposal client-specific by tying your services back to their business goals, to show how your services will improve their bottom line.
Regular review is an integral part of consultancy. Even if there are direct services you undertake, your major role is informing the client when there is a better way.
In your timeline, establish a very specific weekly or monthly review session. Note who will be involved, what will be discussed, and what quantifiable KPIs will be used to measure success.
The prospect must know, in no uncertain terms, what you are offering to do.
They should also understand what you don’t do.
Make the scope of your consultancy very clear. If there are direct services or areas of discussion that your agency does not undertake, list them. Firmly establish the boundaries of the project, so that they don’t expand as the consultancy progresses.
The timeline should be as complete as possible, and include specific services and meetings, dates, and personnel involved.
Already having a complete and established timeline does two things.
First, it shows the prospect that you know what you’re doing. It establishes your seriousness and competency.
Second, it makes it very easy for the client to say ‘Yes.’ They know that you’ve got it figured out already, and they don’t have to dedicate their own resources to extensive planning.
Matthew Moran at Pearson IT Certification has an article detailing how to write a winning consultancy proposal. It mostly addresses high-level concepts for making your proposal more persuasive.
Michael Zipursky has a list of great consulting proposal tips written up on ConsultingSuccess.com. The tips address consulting in general rather than IT specifically, but they are all excellent for making your proposal effective and persuasive.
Ian Linton at Chron has written a simple outline for consulting proposals. Linton compresses only the most essential elements of a proposal into a very short, easily digestible article. Again, while the article is for general consulting proposals and not IT specific, there’s a lot of very relevant material.
In today’s competitive market, {client_name} needs to leverage the latest technology to expand and protect its business without breaking the bank. {client_name} needs a comprehensive infrastructure and security solution to:
If {client_name} doesn’t invest in an infrastructure and security solution tailored to meet its unique needs, it will spend unnecessary resources on inefficient technology and put itself at risk for security breaches.
{my_company}’s infrastructure and security consulting services will deliver the following results for {client_name}:
To meet {client_name}’s goals, as outlined above, we recommend the following services as part of this project:
Customized Infrastructure Creation and Development
A customized IT infrastructure puts you in the best position for future growth. {my_company} will start with a comprehensive review of your current business processes and application portfolio. Then, relying on our expertise and firsthand observations, we'll develop and implement an infrastructure that reduces costs, boosts productivity, and accomplishes your unique goals.
Security Analysis and Upgrade
{my_company} will analyze {client_name}’s current security measures and identify any areas that can be improved. Then {my_company} will design and deploy new security measures specially designed to integrate seamlessly into {client_name}'s IT infrastructure. These security measures will protect {client_name} against malicious threats and keep {client_name}'s business running smoothly.
Ongoing Infrastructure Management
After designing {client_name}'s security upgrades and integrating them into {client_name}'s infrastructure, {my_company} will continue to manage {client_name}'s infrastructure. This will free up time for {client_name} to focus on scaling its business without worrying about technical details along the way.
Increasing Security, Technological Capability, and Profits Solution
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{client_name} wants to excel in every aspect of its business, which means it will need to take advantage of the best technological tools available in order to gain an edge over its competitors. That’s why you want a company like {my_company} to provide you with a customized solution to maximize efficiency and security, minimize cost, and achieve your unique goals. Our expertise, resources, and attention to detail make us the ideal choice to meet {client_name}’s needs for an infrastructure and security solution. We’ll bring the following strengths to our work for {client_name}:
Should {client_name} choose {my_company} to execute this solution as proposed, our timeline for this project is as follows:
| Phase | Activities | Completion |
| Discovery | Analysis of {client_name}’s current IT infrastructure, security measures, and business goals. | 04/15/XX |
| Upgraded Infrastructure and Security Design and Deployment | Comprehensive strategy development to upgrade {client_name}’s infrastructure and security to improve efficiency, minimize costs, and protect {client_name}’s business against threats. | 06/30/XX |
| Infrastructure Management | {my_company} will continue to monitor {client_name}’s infrastructure, track its performance, and provide timely solutions should anything go wrong. | N/A (ongoing) |
To take advantage of this proposal and proceed with the project as outlined, {client_name}’s next steps must be to:
Once completed, {my_company} will contact {client_name} to schedule a project launch meeting to make introductions and gather information before beginning the work.
We’re happy to make changes to project scope on {client_name}’s request at any time, but may be subject to additional billing.
Once project fee is paid in full to {my_company}, any elements of text, graphics, photos, contents, trademarks, or other artwork furnished to {client_name} for inclusion in website are owned by {client_name}.
{my_company} assumes {client_name} has permission from the rightful owner to use any code, scripts, data, and reports are provided by {client_name} for inclusion in its materials, and will hold harmless, protect, and defend {my_company} from any claim or suit arising from the use of such work.
{my_company} retains the right to display graphics and other web content elements as examples of their work in their portfolio and as content features in other projects.
This agreement becomes effective only when signed by agents of {client_name} and {my_company}. Regardless of the place of signing of this agreement, {client_name} agrees that for purposes of venue, this contract was entered into in [STATE] and any dispute will be litigated or arbitrated in [STATE].
The agreement contained in this contract constitutes the sole agreement between {client_name} and the {my_company} regarding all items included in this agreement.