This free sales proposal checklist is for account executives, sales managers, founders who sell and the solution and legal colleagues who help them. One run is one B2B proposal for one opportunity, from the decision to write it to a signed contract or a recorded loss. It confirms the deal is worth a proposal and plays the discovery back to the buyer, then scopes the solution and timeline, builds the price, approves any discount above the account executive’s limit and agrees the terms, with a legal review when the buyer asks for non-standard ones. The proposal is written in the buyer’s terms, checked and approved by the sales manager before it is sent, walked through with the buyer and followed up before it expires. Negotiation changes are logged as new versions, and the outcome decides the close: a signature and hand-off to delivery or customer success, or the loss reason and a debrief.
A sales proposal is a document you write for one buyer, after discovery, setting out their problem, what you will do about it, what it costs and the terms. You choose its shape. That freedom is also where proposals go wrong: a discount agreed on a call and never approved, terms legal never saw, a scope the delivery team cannot meet, or a document sent and then left until it quietly expires.
This checklist runs one proposal from the decision to write it to a signature or a recorded loss. It is not the right tool when the buyer runs a formal tender: then the buyer sets the questions, the format and the scoring, and the RFP Response Checklist is built for that. Two other checklists cover the conversations either side of the proposal.
Asks: is this deal worth a proposal, and is every price, discount and term in it approved and true?
When: after discovery, when the buyer has agreed to receive a proposal.
Output: an approved, versioned proposal, a follow-up record and a won or lost close with the reason.
Asks: does the response answer every requirement in the buyer’s format, on time?
When: when the buyer issues a formal RFP or tender, in the RFP Response Checklist.
Output: a compliant submission, scored against criteria the buyer published.
Asks: did the conversation uncover the problem, and does the buyer keep hearing from you?
When: before the proposal in the Sales Pitch Checklist, and after it in the Sales Follow-Up Checklist.
Output: discovery notes the proposal is built on, and a cadence that keeps the deal moving.
Eight phases follow one proposal, from qualifying the opportunity to a signed contract or a recorded loss. A formal RFP shows a note pointing to the RFP Response Checklist, and a security questionnaire adds a task to agree who answers it. A discount above the account executive’s limit, non-standard terms and commercial changes during negotiation each add an approval or review task, the sales manager approves the proposal before it is sent, and the outcome decides the close tasks.
Confirm the deal is worth a proposal before anyone writes one. Enter the three dates on the first task: due dates count from the date the proposal is due to the buyer, the buyer’s decision date and the date the proposal expires.
Play back what you heard before you write anything. A proposal built on a recap the buyer has confirmed holds no surprises for them.
Scope the work with the people who will deliver it. Every line here becomes a promise in the proposal.
Price from your price list and the scope above. A discount above the account executive’s own limit adds an approval task for the sales manager, who passes it to finance when it is above their limit too.
Agree the commercial terms before they go into the proposal. Non-standard terms requested by the buyer add a legal review.
Write for the buyer, in the buyer’s words. The sales manager approves the proposal before it is sent, and nothing after that step can be completed until they record a decision.
Present the proposal in a meeting where you can rather than only by email. The walkthrough and follow-up count from the due date, and a reminder falls due a week before the proposal expires.
Record every change as a new version. The outcome decides the close tasks: a win hands the customer to delivery or customer success, and a loss or no decision records the reason and holds a debrief.
Most B2B proposals share the same sections, whatever their length. This table is a practical guide drawn from common sales practice, not a standard: adapt the sections to your buyer and what they asked for. The last column matches who checks each part in the checklist.
| Section | What it should say | Where it often goes wrong | Checked by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive summary | The buyer’s problem, the outcome they want, how you will get there and the price, on one page | It opens with your company history instead of the buyer’s problem | Account executive, then the sales manager |
| Understanding of the problem | The discovery recap the buyer confirmed, in their words | It describes the problem the product solves, not the one the buyer has | The buyer, before the proposal is written |
| Solution and scope | What you will deliver, what is not included and what the buyer must provide | Out-of-scope items are left unsaid and turn into disputes after signature | Solution or delivery lead |
| Timeline | A start date, milestones and go-live the delivery team has agreed | A start date promised to win the deal with no one free to deliver it | Solution or delivery lead |
| Pricing | Every line from the price list, any discount and what the buyer gives for it | A discount agreed on a call that nobody with authority approved | Sales manager, and finance above the manager’s limit |
| Terms | Payment, contract length, renewal, notice and any agreed changes to your standard terms | Non-standard terms accepted in the proposal and found by legal at signature | Legal or contracts reviewer, when terms change |
| Case evidence | A real customer story or reference that customer has agreed you can share, or nothing | A result or quote shared without permission, or a figure nobody can source | Account executive |
| Next steps and expiry | How to accept, who signs, what happens next and the date the offer lapses | No expiry date, so an old price stays open for months | Sales manager, at the approval to send |
Length. Write as much as the buyer needs to decide and no more. A short proposal that answers their problem, their questions and their approval steps beats a long one full of material they did not ask for.
A formal RFP is different. When the buyer sets the questions, format and scoring, follow their structure exactly with the RFP Response Checklist, even where it differs from the sections above.
The sales manager approves the proposal before it is sent, and nothing after that approval step can be completed until they record a decision. A discount above the account executive’s limit adds its own approval task, non-standard terms add a legal review, and a commercial change during negotiation is re-approved before the buyer sees it.
Three dates on the first task drive the run: the day the proposal is due, the buyer’s decision date and the expiry date. Preparation counts back from the due date, follow-up counts forward, and a reminder falls due a week before the proposal lapses. Overdue alerts go to the person assigned, and every open proposal shows on the Reports Grid.
The buyer’s problem in their words, the scope, the pricing worksheet, every version sent and the follow-up log sit on the tasks that produced them. The outcome shows the signature and hand-off tasks for a win, or the loss reason and debrief for a loss or no decision.
CheckFlow does not write the proposal, set your prices or replace your CRM. Those stay with your team, your price list and your pipeline. It makes sure each proposal is qualified, scoped, priced and approved before it goes, that nobody forgets to follow up, and that every deal closes with a reason recorded. Workflow software shows how handoffs between sales, delivery and legal run in CheckFlow.
Run the discovery conversation with the Sales Pitch Checklist, keep the deal moving after you send it with the Sales Follow-Up Checklist, and check each stage of the deal with the Sales Pipeline Stages Checklist. Answer a formal tender with the RFP Response Checklist, and when the deal is won, pass it on with the Sales to Customer Success Handoff Checklist.
Describe the process in a sentence and the AI checklist generator drafts the phases and tasks for you.
An executive summary in the buyer’s terms, your understanding of their problem, the solution and scope (including what is not included), a timeline, the price with any discount, the terms, case evidence only where it is real and you have permission to share it, and the next steps with an expiry date. The table above sets out what each section should say and who should check it. A formal RFP follows the buyer’s own structure instead.
You write a sales proposal for one buyer after discovery, in a shape you choose. An RFP response answers a formal request the buyer has issued, usually to several suppliers, in their format, by their deadline, and is scored against criteria they published. Missing a requirement or a deadline can rule an RFP response out. If the buyer issues an RFP, run it with the RFP Response Checklist rather than this one.
Usually the sales manager, who checks that the price matches the price list and scope, that any discount was approved by someone with the authority to approve it, and that any non-standard terms have been through legal. A discount above the manager’s own limit normally goes to finance as well. Set the limits in your own discount policy; the checklist adds the approval task when the discount is above the account executive’s limit.
Long enough for the buyer’s approval steps and short enough to keep your prices and delivery dates current. Many businesses use 30, 60 or 90 days, set by their own policy. Put the expiry date on the proposal, and decide before it lapses whether to extend it, re-issue it at a new price or let it go. The checklist sets a reminder a week before the date.
Agree the next step and its date in the walkthrough, then follow up when you said you would. Send the first follow-up within a few working days if no date was agreed, and make each one useful: an answer to a question, a revised figure or a reference call, rather than just asking whether they have read it. The Sales Follow-Up Checklist sets out a full cadence.
Present it if you can. A meeting with the decision makers lets you take them through the proposal, answer questions and agree the next step there and then, and send the file afterwards. A proposal that only arrives by email is easy to forward without context or leave unread. If the buyer insists on email, send it with a short note and book a call to go through it.
Give every revised proposal a new version number and date, mark the old one as replaced, and log each change the buyer asks for with your answer. Have any change to the price, discount, scope or terms re-approved before the buyer sees it. Send only the latest approved version for signature, so the contract matches what everyone agreed.
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