On this page
Lead with their problem, not your gear
The first page should read like you listened. Restate what the client is trying to achieve, in their words, and sketch how the film gets them there. Camera packages and crew lists matter, but nobody has ever signed because of a lens. They sign because the first paragraph proved you understood the assignment.
The order that sells
Cover, overview, approach, deliverables, investment, timeline, terms, signature. That order is deliberate: idea before money, money before fine print. Proposals that open with terms and conditions ask the reader to do paperwork before they get to feel anything. Put the excitement first and the lawyering last, where it belongs.
Present the investment as a story
Group your costs the way you produce: crew and labor, equipment, travel and logistics, post. Give each group a subtotal, then one total, then the deposit. An itemized wall of line items invites the client to shop each row; grouped costs invite them to judge the whole. If you discount, show the original figure and the discount explicitly, so generosity is visible instead of invisible.
Make it signable the moment they say yes
Every extra step between "yes" and "signed" is a place for a deal to stall. The modern standard is a proposal the client opens in a browser, reads on their phone, signs with a finger, and pays the deposit on the same page. If your proposal is an attachment that requires printing, you are asking a corporate buyer to find a scanner in 2026.
Speed is a feature of the proposal itself
The company that sends a beautiful proposal in a day beats the company that sends a slightly better one in a week. Build a master template with your standard sections, terms, and pricing, and personalize the overview per client. A free template gets you started; a system that remembers your pricing history gets you fast.
What to do after you hit send
Proposals are opened, skimmed, forwarded, and forgotten. Follow up on day two with something useful, not "just checking in": a reference film, a location idea, an answer to a question they asked on the call. If you can see which sections they actually read, follow up about the section they lingered on. That is not surveillance; it is listening.
A one-page outline
| Section | What it says | Length |
|---|---|---|
| The brief | What they want, in their words | 3 sentences |
| Your approach | The idea, and why it fits | 1 paragraph |
| What you get | Shoot days, finals, rounds | A short list |
| Packages | Two or three, with prices | A table |
| Timeline | Key dates, working back from their date | 5 lines |
| Terms | Payment schedule, cancellation, usage | Short |
| Next step | Sign and pay the deposit | One button |
A sample pricing table
| Core | Standard | Full | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finals | One film | Film, 3 cut-downs | Film, 6 cut-downs, captions |
| Shoot days | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Rounds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Price | $6,500 | $9,800 | $14,000 |
Those are sample prices. Mark one as recommended. Keep the top package real: it should be something you want to make, and some clients will buy it.
Payment schedules
| Job | A common schedule |
|---|---|
| Under $5,000 | 50% on signing, 50% on delivery |
| $5,000 to $25,000 | 50% on signing, 50% on approval |
| Over $25,000 | 50% on signing, 25% before the shoot, 25% on approval |
| A wedding, booked a year out | A retainer, then a plan that ends a month before the date |
What to leave out
- Your company history. They asked for a film.
- A page of gear. Say what they get, and leave the camera out.
- Unlimited revisions, ever.
- Vague finals. "A video" is how scope creep starts.
After you send
Follow up on day 3, day 7 and day 14. A proposal with no reply has often just been forgotten. A short note with one useful thought does more than "just checking in".
Video proposal software compares the tools, and the proposal template is a free place to start.