Business Proposals

Business Proposals v3.0

Win deals and raise funding. Covers the full pipeline: outreach, proposals, and pitch decks.

Workflow

When the user asks for any sales document, follow this process:

1. Clarify stage: Outreach (cold) → Proposal (warm) → Pitch deck (investor)? Ask if unclear.
2. Gather context: Run discovery questions for the specific stage (sections below).
3. Select template: Match the deliverable to the appropriate structure below.
4. Draft: Fill template with user-provided info. Use placeholders [like this] for unknowns.
5. Review: Check against error handling table and production checklist.
6. Verify anti-patterns: Scan the anti-patterns table — if any match, fix before delivery.
7. Output: Return the completed document in the requested format (text, markdown, email body).

Sales Outreach

Required Discovery

1. Prospect: Company + person + role
2. Trigger: Why now? (funding, product launch, job change)
3. Value prop: "We help [X] do [Y] so they can [Z]"
4. Proof: Case study, testimonial, data point, mutual connection
5. Goal: Reply? Call? Demo? Trial?

Cold Email Structure

1. Subject: Personalized + curiosity gap. 10 words max.
2. Opening: Specific reference to them (news, post, achievement)
3. Value prop: One sentence. Their benefit, not your features.
4. Proof: Social proof or relevant data point.
5. Ask: Single, low-friction next step.
6. Close: Simple. "Best, [Name]"

Subject Line Patterns

| Pattern | Example | |---------|---------| | Reference | "[Company] + [observation]" | | Question | "Quick question about [situation]" | | Compliment | "Impressed by [achievement]" | | Mutual connection | "[Name] suggested I reach out" |

Personalization Levels (ALL required)

1. Company: Recent news, funding, launch
2. Person: Recent post, talk, job change, GitHub activity
3. Fit: Why this matters to THEM specifically

If you cannot do level 2, do not send the email.

Sequence Logic

Email 1 (Day 1):  Value prop + low-friction ask
Email 2 (Day 4):  Follow-up with additional value
Email 3 (Day 8):  Different angle or case study
Email 4 (Day 12): Breakup — leave door open

4 emails max. No response in 12 days → move to nurture.

Proposals

Required Discovery

| Question | Why | |----------|-----| | What problem needs solving? | Problem statement anchors the proposal | | What is the solution? | Scope definition | | What are the deliverables? | Tangible output client expects | | What is excluded? | Prevents scope creep | | What is the budget range? | Pricing tier selection |

Executive Summary

[Client] needs to [solve specific problem].
We propose to [solution overview] over [timeline] for [price].
This achieves [outcome 1], [outcome 2], [outcome 3].

One paragraph. This is the only section most decision-makers read.

Scope of Work

Included: features, revision rounds, deliverables (docs, source, deployment) Excluded (critical): hosting, maintenance, content creation, third-party licenses, training Assumptions: client access, decision-maker availability, feedback turnaround, frozen requirements after sign-off

Timeline

| Phase | Duration | Activities | Deliverable | |-------|----------|------------|-------------| | Discovery | Week 1 | Interviews, audit, requirements | Requirements doc | | Build | Weeks 2-4 | Implementation in sprints | Working build | | Review | Week 5 | QA, revisions, acceptance | Reviewed build | | Deploy | Week 6 | Production deployment, docs | Live system |

Add 20% buffer for unknowns.

Pricing (Good-Better-Best)

• Core: essential features, basic revisions, standard timeline
• Recommended (best value): everything in Core + extras + priority support
• Enterprise: everything + premium features + dedicated team + ongoing support

Payment terms: 50% deposit, 25% midpoint, 25% delivery. Net 30.

Risk Reduction

| Risk | Mitigation | |------|-----------| | Will they deliver? | Portfolio item similar to this project | | Does it work? | Case study with measurable results | | What if it fails? | Guarantee (satisfaction, timeline) |

Pitch Decks

The 10 Slides (Sequoia/Y Combinator)

| # | Slide | Emotion | Investor question | |---|-------|---------|-------------------| | 1 | Title | — | Company, tagline, founder | | 2 | Problem | Pain | Is this real? How bad? | | 3 | Solution | Hope | Is it compelling? | | 4 | Market | Ambition | Is it big enough? | | 5 | Product | Excitement | Does it work? | | 6 | Traction | Proof | Is anyone using it? | | 7 | Business model | Confidence | Does the business make sense? | | 8 | Competition | Trust | Can they win? | | 9 | Team | Conviction | Is this the right team? | | 10 | Ask | Urgency | How much? What for? |

Content Rules

• One slide, one idea. Max 20 words per slide (except traction).
• No bullet points. Font min 24pt content, 36pt headlines.
• Images > text for product slides. 3 seconds per slide max.
• PDF format, 5MB max.

Traction Benchmarks

| Stage | Key metric | Benchmark | |-------|-----------|-----------| | Pre-seed | Problem validation | 50+ interviews, 500+ waitlist | | Seed | Engagement | 10k+ MAU, 30%+ weekly retention | | Series A | Revenue | $1M+ ARR, 3 |

Ask Slide Format

Raising [$X] at [$Y valuation]

Use of funds:
→ [%] Engineering
→ [%] Go-to-market
→ [%] Operations
→ [%] Reserve (6-month runway)

Milestones 18 months: [metrics from → to]

Error Handling

| Situation | Resolution | |-----------|------------| | User gives no prospect info | Ask: "Who is the target? Company, person, role?" | | User gives no budget | Use "investment" language: "Typical engagements $X-$Y" | | User has no case studies | Use "we've helped similar companies achieve [generic result]" | | User has no traction data | Focus on problem validation: interviews, surveys, waitlist | | User wants pricing without scope | Ask: "What deliverables do you need?" then tier pricing | | User provides 5-year projections pre-revenue | Cap at 12-18 months. "That's our credible horizon." | | User's RFP is vague or contradictory | Flag contradictions back. "I see X and Y — which takes priority?" | | Multiple decision-makers with conflicting needs | Ask: "Who has final authority? I'll address their concern first." | | User wants one price (no tiers) | Explain Good-Better-Best creates reference frame and increases close rate | | User wants to pitch without problem slide | "No problem = no reason to invest. Always lead with pain." |

Production Checklist

Before delivering any document, verify:

• [ ] Personalization: company + person + specific reason (outreach)
• [ ] Exclusions listed in scope (proposals)
• [ ] Pricing has at least 3 tiers (proposals)
• [ ] Cover letter or intro paragraph written (proposals, RFP)
• [ ] Slides: one idea per slide, ≤20 words, ≥24pt font (decks)
• [ ] Ask slide: specific amount + use of funds + milestones (decks)
• [ ] Traction or validation data present (decks)
• [ ] Contact info and CTA included (all)
• [ ] PDF export ≤5MB (decks)
• [ ] Proofread for placeholder tokens — no [unknown] left in final

Anti-Patterns

| Mistake | Fix | |---------|-----| | No personalization beyond [Name] | Don't send. Requires company + person + fit level | | No exclusions in proposal | Client assumes everything included → scope creep | | Single pricing option | No frame of reference → client demands discount | | No traction in deck | "We just launched" is not traction. Use validation data. | | No clear ask | "We're raising a round" without specifics → no urgency | | Too many words on slides | Investor stops reading. 20 words max per slide. | | 5-year projections pre-revenue | 12-18 months is credible. Beyond that is fiction. | | Sending outreach without trigger | "Why now?" missing → immediate delete | | Pricing before value explained | Always state problem + solution + outcome before price | | Generic subject lines | "Let's connect" / "Partnership opportunity" → spam folder |

Pricing Psychology

Good-Better-Best

| Tier | Role | Price anchor | |------|------|-------------| | Good | Makes Best look reasonable | 30-40% below Best | | Better | The one you want them to buy | Midpoint (highlighted/default) | | Best | Price anchor | Highest |

Decoy Effect

Add a third option that makes the target option look better: Option A ($10, basic) + Option B ($25, pro) + Option C ($24, pro-lite) → C makes B look like a deal.

Bundling

Bundle complementary services at 20-30% discount vs individual. Never discount individual items below bundled price.

Legalese Templates

"Payment terms: Net 30. Late payments accrue 1.5% monthly. All deliverables remain property of Provider until full payment. Either party may terminate with 30 days written notice. Liability capped at fees paid in prior 12 months."

Sources

• Sequoia Capital pitch deck template
• Y Combinator Startup School
• DocSend "Pitch Deck Study"
• Close.com outbound sales research
• AIGA agency proposal best practices
• B2B pricing psychology research

Checklist

• [ ] Skill loads without errors in the AI agent
• [ ] YAML frontmatter is valid (description, compatibility, audience)
• [ ] Workflow section provides clear step-by-step instructions
• [ ] Error handling section covers common failure modes
• [ ] All referenced files (references/, scripts/, assets/) exist
• [ ] Skill triggers correctly for intended use cases
• [ ] No broken links or missing resources

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: EliasOulkadi
• Source: EliasOulkadi/shokunin
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://eliasoulkadi.github.io/shokunin/

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.