Tags: consulting, pricing, fractional, coaching, proposals
It’s Friday evening. One of my coaching students pings me. He’s got a proposal due this weekend and he’s stuck.
He’s done all the right things - he’s figured out the value, arrived at a price and scope, figured out his cost. But he’s wrestling with two problems:
Let’s tackle payment first.
Always get paid in advance when you can. Couple that with a money back guarantee - show you mean business and have confidence.
Option 1: 100% up front, 30 day guarantee. Don’t like what I’m doing? Money back, no questions asked.
This works both ways - if you get in there and realize the client can’t support delivery, get out. Offer their money back and move on. This is also a powerful tool for teams that have forgotten they have to do work too:
“Folks, it’s been 2 weeks and we’re going nowhere. No one is setting time aside. This takes a team. I’m prepared to refund your money - we can revisit when you’re ready to do the work.”
Option 2: Structured payments. Offer both options - #1 with a discount (meaning #1 gets priced up). That 5% off for upfront payment might feel steep on a big project, but you’re trading away all that invoice risk.
Don’t tie payments to deliverables. Tie them to timeline.
For a 3-4 (maybe 6) month project:
You’re done in 2 months. Adjust to suit - maybe 25/50/25 on 0/30/90.
Avoid putting the final payment at project end - that’s how you get “but just one last thing” forever.
One more thing about packaging: Consider three tiers. Jonathan Stark has some great guidance on pricing curves - specifically his “Goldilocks” (1x, 2.2x, 5x) and “Might As Well” (1x, 1.5x, 1.75x) models.
Using his “Might As Well” approach:
The small step up to premium makes it feel like “might as well get that too.”
Or with “Goldilocks”:
That premium price creates a high anchor - makes the target feel more reasonable. But it needs to deliver real value - don’t just jack up the price. Someone should look at that and think “damn, that would be amazing if we could afford it.”
Pick your curve based on how much you want or need this client. The middle one should be your target - what you know they need.
Now that payment is solved, let’s communicate timeline expectations:
“We can knock this out in 3-4 months - maybe sooner. The faster we get through this, the better it is for your business. At the absolute outside, we might still be wrapping up conversations at 6 months.”
This makes it clear: There’s a timeline but you’re here to move business forward, not watch a clock.
Establish an absolute final timeline:
“For 6 months after kickoff, I’m be available to you as needed - call/text/slack/email anytime. I’ll respond by end of next business day latest.”
Define “you” - it means a single person, not the whole team. You’re not their NOC! Make it “available to CEO” or “single designated contact.”
Pick someone busy running the business - don’t let yourself get shuffled to a project manager whose only job is following you around!
Structuring proposals isn’t just about the price - it’s about setting everyone up for success. Clear boundaries, clean payment structure, and well-defined options give both you and your client the framework for getting things done.
I provide advice and coaching for fractional professionals looking to build sustainable consulting practices. Want to learn more?
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