Recommended length: 6-9 pages
1. Executive summary (~80 words)
One paragraph. Restate the business problem in the buyer's words from your discovery calls. Restate the desired outcome. Name the contract value and the start date. End with a single sentence on why now versus later: the cost of inaction, the trigger event, or the competing initiative your project unblocks.
2. Background and current state (~120 words)
Two paragraphs. Briefly summarise what the buyer is doing today — tools, workflows, team shape. Quantify the pain: hours per week lost, error rate, deals slipping, customer complaints. This is the section that builds buy-in across stakeholders who weren't on the discovery call.
3. Recommended solution (~180 words)
Three to four short paragraphs. Explain what they're buying. Name the specific product editions, the seat count, and the integrations included. Reference how their use cases map to specific product capabilities — by name. This is not a feature list dump; it is a tour of the workflows they'll actually run on day 30.
4. Implementation plan (~150 words)
A 30-60-90 day plan with named owners on both sides. Week one: kickoff, data import, SSO. Weeks two to four: workflow configuration, training. Weeks five to eight: pilot team go-live. Weeks nine to twelve: company-wide rollout, success review.
5. Investment (~80 words)
A clear pricing table. Subscription line, professional services line, integration line, total annual. Include the term length (typically 12 or 24 months). State the renewal mechanism and price cap. State the start date and the invoice schedule. Avoid hidden line items.
6. Success metrics (~80 words)
Three to five measurable outcomes with target dates. "85% pipeline coverage logged in CRM by day 90." "Lead response time under 12 minutes by day 60." "Quarterly business review in month four with a written outcome." These are the metrics the QBR will hold both sides accountable to.
7. Mutual close plan (~80 words)
A two-column table with dates: vendor tasks (send SOC2, send DPA, schedule legal review), buyer tasks (security review, procurement intake, exec sign-off). Both sides agree to the dates. This is what protects the deal from "stuck in legal" purgatory.
8. Terms and signature block (~50 words)
MSA reference, order form effective date, validity period of the proposal (typically 30 days), authorised signatories on both sides, e-signature block.