---
title: "Proposals that win"
description: "The shape Tom's proposals settled into: their numbers first, his proof second, the price last."
canonical: https://tomsharman.com/playbooks/how-i-work/proposals-that-win/
updated: 2026-10-25
---

# Proposals that win

> The shape Tom's proposals settled into: their numbers first, his proof second, the price last.

Playbook 5, How I work. Animation: /playbooks/how-i-work/proposals-that-win.mp4

When I come off a call I build the proposal that night, while what they said is still fresh. It opens on their numbers and their words, then their channels as they are today, then what I have done for people with the same problem. The price comes last. I work in two-week sprints, every two weeks we hit targets as a team, and my job is to set them and move them forward. I give three options at most and say which one I would pick.

## How do I use it?

1. Audit their channels from a fresh scrape and link every video you cite with the date it was pulled.
2. Open with an at a glance table of where they are, and keep the price out of it.
3. Choose the three to six past clients closest to their problem and check every figure against Numbers.
4. Break their goal into lines with a low end and a top end, and say on the page that none of it is a forecast.
5. Lay out two-week sprints dated from the start, each with what you are looking for.
6. List what could slow you down and what you would do about each one.
7. Put the fee last, exactly as Tom priced it, with at most three options and one highlighted.
8. Say what you need from them: time, analytics access and introductions, and what stays with them.
9. When they ask for the commercials, send the one page version: services, counted deliverables, fee, review date and what sits outside the fee.

## Questions

### What does "Proposals that win" mean?

Every proposal starts with where the client is and what they said on the call, in their own words. The fee comes at the end, as at most three options with one highlighted.

### How do I put "Proposals that win" into practice?

Audit their channels from a fresh scrape and link every video you cite with the date it was pulled. Open with an at a glance table of where they are, and keep the price out of it. Choose the three to six past clients closest to their problem and check every figure against Numbers.

### Why does "Proposals that win" matter?

When I come off a call I build the proposal that night, while what they said is still fresh. It opens on their numbers and their words, then their channels as they are today, then what I have done for people with the same problem.