# Proposal Writing > Proposal Writing - Skill: `meaningfy-ws/proposal-writing` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add meaningfy-ws/proposal-writing` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/meaningfy-ws/proposal-writing/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: meaningfy-ws (https://skillmd.com/u/meaningfy-ws) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/meaningfy-ws/proposal-writing --- # Proposal Writing > **Provisional pending the first-engagement gate.** This wiring is the floor, not the finished standard; > refine it after the first real paid engagement is sold and delivered. ## Overview The **proposal + SoW** is the commercial artefact that converts a qualified prospect into a signed **P1 Decision Phase** engagement. It frames the offer, draws an explicit **scope boundary (in/out)**, and prices the engagement as a **fixed frame** — a bounded commitment the prospect can sign without open-ended risk on either side. This is the **entry skill** of the consulting front-of-funnel: the common path runs through here. It does the qualify → frame → price → write loop, calling `estimation` by reference for the numbers (so the flow is one path, but `estimation` stays independently triggerable for any estimate that does not need a full proposal wrapper). It composes by reference and restates nothing: - the offer being framed — the P1 Decision Phase — is defined by [`decision-package`](../decision-package/SKILL.md) (what P1 *delivers*) and the engagement model in [`semantic-consulting-coach`](../semantic-consulting-coach/references/engagement-model.md) (the free→paid boundary and the fixed-frame intent); - the pricing and effort numbers come from [`estimation`](../estimation/SKILL.md); - the structure and persuasion come from [`executive-communication`](../executive-communication/SKILL.md) — a proposal is an executive artefact (SCQA + a 3-point pyramid; trade-offs and scope boundaries explicit). ## Flow (R2) **Inputs:** presale / P0-advisory notes / prospect context (the qualification signals the coach surfaced). **Output:** a proposal + SoW with an explicit in/out scope boundary, priced as a fixed frame. 1. **Qualify the need.** Confirm the prospect has crossed the free→paid boundary — they are asking *"what do we do first, and why?"*, not *"is this relevant?"*. If they have not, this is still presale (or, at most, P0-advisory); do **not** write a paid P1 proposal yet (see the boundary discipline in [`engagement-model.md`](../semantic-consulting-coach/references/engagement-model.md)). Capture the problem, the deciding persona, the measurable outcome, and the constraints. 2. **Frame the Decision Phase offer.** State what P1 delivers — the Decision Package (recommendation, in/out scope, pilot→scale roadmap, buy/build/defer, ready-to-contract execution brief; see [`decision-package`](../decision-package/SKILL.md)). Frame it answer-first as the offer that makes committing safe, not as open-ended discovery. 3. **Price it as a fixed frame** — via [`estimation`](../estimation/SKILL.md). Hand `estimation` the work breakdown the offer implies; take back the effort range, the contingency, and the assumptions/exclusions. The SoW scope boundary and the estimate's exclusions are the **same list** — keep them in lock-step (see the [scope-boundary checklist](references/scope-boundary-checklist.md)). 4. **Write the proposal + SoW.** Use the templates in [`references/proposal-template.md`](references/proposal-template.md) and [`references/sow-template.md`](references/sow-template.md). Write the proposal in the executive voice ([`executive-communication`](../executive-communication/SKILL.md)); write the SoW as the contractual companion that pins scope, deliverables, price, and exclusions. ## The scope boundary (in/out) — load-bearing The **explicit in/out scope boundary** is the discipline this skill owns. The "out" list is not filler: it protects the boundary with the build tier (P2 Execution is *always a separate engagement*) and pre-empts scope creep on a fixed-frame price. Two rules: - **The SoW "out of scope" list = the estimate's exclusions.** They are one list in two documents. If `estimation` excluded it from the number, the SoW must exclude it from the commitment. - **Name the clean handover.** State that P2 Execution is separately scoped and priced — the proposal earns the right to say *"from here, we can execute, or you can take this and execute with someone else."* The full discipline — what must appear in/out, the boundary checks, the handover clause — is in [`references/scope-boundary-checklist.md`](references/scope-boundary-checklist.md). ## Pricing as a fixed frame A **fixed frame** is a bounded commitment, not an open day-rate. The price comes from `estimation` (PERT-weighted effort + contingency); this skill wraps it with the **stop/extend mechanics** so the frame stays honest: if agreed outcomes cannot be reached for reasons outside our control, the SoW already names the option to reduce scope, take a short extension, or stop cleanly with partial delivery — never silent overwork (the boundary safeguard from `engagement-model.md`). ## Boundary & Related Skills **This skill OWNS:** producing the **proposal + SoW**, and the **scope-boundary (in/out) discipline** — including the fixed-frame framing and the stop/extend mechanics that keep the frame honest. **This skill DELEGATES:** - Pricing / effort / contingency numbers → [`estimation`](../estimation/SKILL.md) (the entry flow invokes it; it also stands alone). - Executive framing and voice (SCQA, Minto pyramid, answer-first) → [`executive-communication`](../executive-communication/SKILL.md). - The P1 deliverable definition (what the Decision Phase actually produces) → [`decision-package`](../decision-package/SKILL.md). - Coaching whether/how to run P1 and holding the free→paid boundary → [`semantic-consulting-coach`](../semantic-consulting-coach/SKILL.md). **Related:** `estimation`, `decision-package`, `executive-communication`, `semantic-consulting-coach`, `writing-antipatterns` (Contract/specification genre failure modes for the SoW half of this skill's output). ## Tone & style British English. The proposal is an executive artefact: answer-first, concise, every claim load-bearing; scope boundaries and trade-offs explicit, never hedged. The SoW is its contractual companion: precise, enumerated, no marketing prose. Write the proposal in the engagement's executive voice (see `executive-communication`), not consultancy-bland.