Why this exists
After 12+ years and 1,200+ brands, I noticed something embarrassing about my own proposals: every single one got rebuilt from a blank page. The services had not changed. The tiers had not changed. The payment terms had not changed. But every quote started with me retyping the same structure, hunting an old proposal for the prices, and burning an hour on a document that was 80 percent identical to the last one.
The fix was obvious once I saw it: the prices and terms belong in a config, written once, and the assembly belongs to a skill. The one part that must never be templated is the opening. So this skill forces the "Where you are now" section to contain at least one observation the client would recognise as true about their own business. If the opening could sit on any proposal, it gets rewritten. Everything else is assembly; that paragraph is the proposal.
How it works
- It loads your pricing, never guesses it A small config file holds your services, tiers, terms, process phases, and optional proof points. First run, it asks and offers to save. Every run after that, your numbers are just there. If a requested scope has no tier, it says so and proposes a custom line item for you to price.
- It reads the client's situation A brief, meeting notes, their website, or two sentences from you. If it knows nothing about the client, it asks rather than writing filler, because the opening section only works when it is specific.
- It assembles the proposal Where you are now, what I propose, an investment table priced from your tiers, process phases, terms, and one low-friction closing line. Every scope item maps to a deliverable the client can point at, and the whole thing stays under one page of reading.
- It shows you the parts that matter The investment table and the opening section land in chat with the file path. You review, adjust, and send it yourself. The skill never emails or delivers anything.
Step by step (for first-time users)
-
Type
/proposal-writerwith the client's name Something like "proposal for a bakery rebrand, logo plus packaging". That is enough to start. - Answer the pricing questions once Services, tiers, payment split, revision rounds, validity window. It offers to save them to a config so you never answer twice.
- Give it something real about the client Point it at notes or their website, or type two honest sentences about where they are. This feeds the opening section, which is the part clients actually read.
- Review the draft Check the investment table against what you actually want to charge, and check the opening reads like it was written for this client, because it was.
- Send it from your own inbox The skill produces a file, not an email. The send button stays yours.
What each section buys you
| Section | Job it does |
|---|---|
| Where you are now | Proves you looked at their business; must contain an observation they recognise as true |
| What I propose | Each scope item with the outcome it buys, not a feature list |
| Investment | Round numbers from your own tiers, currency stated once |
| Process | Your phases with rough durations, so the timeline is a plan, not a promise |
| Terms | Payment split, revisions, validity window, straight from your config |
| Next step | One low-friction closing line instead of a hard sell |
Honest take
What it does well: The separation of assembly from judgment. Your prices live in one place and stop drifting between quotes, the structure is consistent every time, and the hour you used to spend rebuilding the skeleton goes into the one paragraph that wins or loses the job. The refusal to invent is the quiet strength: no made-up prices, no fabricated proof points, no discounts you never approved. If it does not know, it asks or flags.
What it does not do: It does not send anything, ever, and it does not negotiate for you. It will not research the client beyond what you point it at, and it will not write a specific opening from nothing; garbage in, filler out, so it asks instead. It also will not stop you from quoting off-config: it flags once, then follows your instruction, because it is your business.
When to use it: Every quote where the services come from your standard menu, which for most freelancers is nearly all of them. Also when a warm lead asks "what would that cost" and you want a proper proposal in front of them the same day instead of three days later when the warmth is gone.