For consultants after the discovery call
Consulting Proposal Generator From Notes
Paste your discovery call notes or drop the client's email or RFP. Get a proposal in their words, with three options and nothing invented.
Free to start. No card needed.
Proposal for Calder & Moss · Pricing and discount review
“Every rep has their own price list, and nobody can tell me which deals make money.” Priya Shah, CFO, on our call.
Gross margin back from 19% toward 24%, measured monthly from the branch sales ledger (target to agree).
1. Pricing diagnostic · 2. Diagnostic and new discount rules (recommended) · 3. Rules plus rollout support. Each at [your fee].
Budget range, who signs (Priya or the CEO), and the start date.
Every client detail comes from the call notes.
What you'll get
A proposal from your call notes, with three options to choose from
- The client's situation in their own words, quoted from your notes
- Three options to say yes to, with your fees left for you to set
- A short list of what to confirm before you send it
Before and after
Your call notes in. A proposal the client recognizes.
Call with Priya Shah, CFO, Calder & Moss (building supplies, 6 branches). “Every rep has their own price list, and nobody can tell me which deals make money.” Gross margin 19%, was 24% three years ago. Branch managers approve discounts, no central rules. Wants a fix before the March board. Budget not discussed. CEO wants to join the next call.
Your situation Gross margin at Calder & Moss has fallen from 24% to 19% in three years. In your words: “Every rep has their own price list, and nobody can tell me which deals make money.” (CFO, discovery call) Objective · how we'll measure it Gross margin back toward 24%, measured monthly from the branch sales ledger (target to agree). Options 1. Pricing diagnostic · [your fee] 2. Diagnostic and new discount rules (recommended) · [your fee] 3. Rules plus three months of rollout support · [your fee] To confirm before sending Budget range · Who signs: Priya or the CEO? · Start date
The client's own words up front, and every gap left for you to confirm.
Why it works
What goes in a consulting proposal, and how do you write one?
A consulting proposal sets out the client's situation, the objectives and how you'll measure them, your approach, three options with fees, and the timing, assumptions and terms. Alan Weiss calls a proposal a summation, not an exploration: it confirms what you and the buyer already agreed, so it should hold no surprises. River reads your call notes, a transcript or the client's email, then writes a 3 to 5 page proposal with those parts in that order.
Nothing in it is invented. Every fact about the client traces back to your notes, and the situation section quotes the client word for word, so they read their own problem back. Fees stay as [your fee] unless your notes state them, and missing dates and names stay in brackets. David A. Fields lists offering alternatives among his principles of a perfect proposal, and Weiss prefers three options. The last section lists what to confirm before you send it.
Use it on the day of the discovery call, while the conversation is fresh. Paste your typed notes or the transcript from Zoom, Teams or Otter, or drop the client's email, brief or RFP. For a formal tender with a long list of requirements, the RFP response generator fits better. Once the client picks an option, the SOW generator turns the proposal into a statement of work. Prefer to write it yourself? Start from the consulting proposal template instead.
What lands in your doc
What's in your proposal
- The client's situation in their own words, each quote tagged with who said it and where
- Objectives written as results for the client, each with the measure that shows it worked
- Your approach in two to four phases, with what happens and what the client receives in each
- Three options from essential to most complete, with a fee placeholder against each unless your notes name one
- Timeline, assumptions, what the client provides, and terms, with any date your notes lack left in brackets
- A To confirm before sending list, with the question to ask for each fact your notes left open
How it works
From call notes to proposal
Paste or drop
Paste your discovery call notes or transcript, or drop the client's email, brief or RFP.
River reads it all
It reads every note first, marking what the client said, what they want, and what is missing.
Get your proposal
A 3 to 5 page proposal lands in your doc, with fees and unknown facts left in brackets.
Confirm and send
Settle the open points with your client, set your fees, then turn it into a SOW.
How to write a consulting proposal by hand
Write the proposal after the conversation has done the selling. Weiss lists ten parts in his guide to short proposals: situation summary, objectives, measures, timing, joint accountabilities, credentials, methodology, options, terms and acceptance. Before you start, check that your notes answer three questions: what the client wants to be different, how they will know it worked, and why it matters now. If they don't, book another call rather than guessing, because a proposal built on guesses tends to get a polite no.
Open with the situation in the client's own words. Quote the phrases they used on the call, because a buyer who reads their own words can see that you listened. Then write objectives as results, not activities: "gross margin back toward 24%" rather than "review pricing". Fields makes the same point in his first principle, to focus on their outcome rather than your tasks. Give each objective a measure the client already tracks, and keep the method short, since clients buy the result rather than your steps.
Next, build three options that each meet the objectives, from the essential scope to the most complete, and mark the one you recommend. Put a fee and payment terms against each option, and list what the client must provide: people, data, access and decisions. Weiss writes that his own proposals are typically two and a half pages, so cut whatever the buyer has already agreed or won't act on. Finally, list every fact you still need and confirm each one before you send.
Questions consultants ask
Common questions
What is a consulting proposal, and what should it include?
A consulting proposal is a short document that confirms what you and the client agreed and offers ways to say yes. It covers the situation, objectives and measures, your approach and timing, options with fees, what each side commits to, and terms with a place to sign. Weiss also adds a brief credential. River writes each part from your notes and brackets anything they don't cover.
Will it make up fees, dates or client details?
No. Fees appear as [your fee] unless your notes state them, and River never suggests a rate or a market price. Names, numbers and dates come only from what you pasted or dropped, with each quote tagged to where it appears. Anything the proposal needs that your notes don't settle goes on the To confirm before sending list.
Why does the proposal have three options?
Options change the client's question from whether to hire you to which way to work with you. Alan Weiss calls this a choice of yeses and prefers three, because too many choices stall a decision. Each option here meets the objectives: the first covers the essentials, the second is the recommended scope, and the third adds the most value.
How long should a consulting proposal be?
Shorter than most people write. Alan Weiss says his proposals are typically two and a half pages, because the buyer has already agreed the substance in conversation. River writes three to five pages so nothing is missing. Then the Tighten to two pages button cuts it down, keeping the client's quotes, the objectives and the three options.
Can I use it to answer an RFP or propose a second phase?
Yes. Drop the client's RFP or brief and River answers what it asks for, quoting its requirements. For a formal tender with a long list of requirements to track, use the RFP response generator. For a second phase, drop the final report from the first one, and the new proposal builds on its findings and quotes them.
Is my client's information kept private?
Your notes and files go into your own River space and stay there unless you share them. River's privacy policy says nothing you upload is used to train AI models, and River's agreements with its AI providers bar them from training on it too. Before pasting call notes, check whether your NDA limits where client information can go.
Is the proposal generator free?
You can start free. The Free plan includes some AI usage and needs no credit card, and paid plans start at $14 a month on the pricing page. Your proposal stays in your River space, so a follow-up such as the statement of work can use everything already there, including your original notes.
Your next step
More for your project
Send a proposal that shows you listened
Paste your call notes or drop the client's email. Every line about the client comes from what they told you.