Proposal Builder
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From [current state] to [where you want to be]
What the next twelve months look like, and what gets done.
Prepared by [Your Name], [Firm]
One advisor. Your full picture.
Most of the people I work with came to me in the middle of something they did not plan for. A retirement that arrived early. A liquidity event after years of grinding. A parent who needs help. The numbers come second. The first thing I do is listen, and then we build the plan from there.
[Your Name]
I work with people in transition. Retirees, business owners after a sale, families coordinating around a parent or a spouse who is no longer driving the finances. The work tends to look the same from the outside: a lot has changed, the paperwork is messy, and you need one person who actually knows your full picture.
I listen first
Money decisions during a transition aren't just math. They sit on top of grief, stress, or a deadline. The first call is mostly me asking questions and writing down your exact words, not pitching anything.
I look around the corner
What kills most plans isn't the big decision. It's the small thing nobody flagged: the missing beneficiary, the wrong account title, the trust that was never funded. I find those before they cost you.
I hand you the next two things, not fifty
You don't get a fifty-page financial plan. You get the next two or three things to do, in order, with what each one costs and what it gets you. When those are done, we move to the next two or three.
Here's what I took away from our call.
Before any plan, I want to make sure I have your situation right. If anything below is off, tell me, and we'll fix it before we go further.
Theme one in their own words.
A short paragraph capturing what they said, in plain language. Speak in second person to the prospect.
Theme two in their own words.
What matters most to them right now. Pull a specific phrase or detail from the call.
Theme three in their own words.
What they're trying to navigate. Reflect back the human dimension, not just the financial.
Theme four in their own words.
Their biggest blind spot or worry. Validate it before moving on.
If any of this hits a nerve, that's normal. Most of the people I work with arrive feeling exactly this way. The plan handles it from here.
Everything in one place, on one page.
Right now, your money probably lives across five or six places, with separate logins, statements, and tax forms. This is what it looks like once it's all on one screen, mine and yours.
Category one (e.g., Retirement Assets)
Specifics from the conversation: institution, account types, dollar amounts where relevant, what each piece does for them.
Category two (e.g., Real Estate)
Properties, ownership structure, intended use. Identify primary residence vs. investment vs. retreat.
Category three (e.g., Banking & Cash Flow)
Where the daily money lives. Mortgage account, household account, personal hub, current emergency reserve.
Category four (e.g., What We're Building Toward)
The forward-looking sentence: the system we're building, the freedom we're creating, the cap we're honoring.
The moves I'd make first, in order.
These are the things I'd handle first if this were my situation. Listed in the order I think they should happen, with the dollar impact called out where I can name one.
Action item one
Why this matters for their specific situation. Tie back to a quote or detail from the call.
Action item two
The tax, estate, or planning piece. Make the dollar impact specific where you can.
Action item three
The decision they need to make and what we'll model for them.
Action item four
The estate planning, beneficiary, or document gap to close.
Action item five
The cash flow or system design step. The "give every dollar a job" piece.
What happens in the first 90 days.
Three phases, each one with a short list. You always know what's next. You never get a fifty-item to-do list dumped on you at once.
Organize & Clarify
- Pull every account into one inventory.
- Audit beneficiaries and account titling.
- Flag the urgent risks and the easy wins.
- Stand up your one-page financial overview.
- Set the cadence for how we stay in touch.
Optimize & Coordinate
- Loop in your attorney and CPA so we're all working from the same picture.
- Fix the trust and account titles that don't match.
- Cut the fees you're paying without realizing it.
- Run the pension reinstatement math, if it applies.
- Build the cash flow plan that replaces your paycheck.
Implement & Maintain
- Execute the action items from page 5.
- Finish consolidating accounts where it makes sense.
- Close out the estate plan updates.
- Put the quarterly review and rebalance schedule on the calendar.
- Move into long-term wealth management.
I've looked around this corner before.
I don't show up to a first meeting cold. By the time we sit down, I've already gone through what you sent and what I could find on my own. Here's what I did before this call.
Read your documents
Trust documents, account statements, beneficiary forms. I read them, made notes, and flagged the items that don't match what you told me you want.
Mapped where everything sits
Every account, who owns it, who's named as beneficiary, which custodian holds it. So you and I look at the same picture from the first meeting.
Found the misalignments
The places where your account titles, beneficiary designations, and estate documents don't agree with each other. These are the things that turn into expensive surprises later.
Sorted by what matters
Most urgent first, highest impact next. So you don't have to rank a fifteen-item list yourself, and so we both know what's on deck.
Six months from today.
Most of this won't be done in a month. Some of it will. Here's what changes between now and the end of the year.
Today
- Specific challenge from the call.
- Pain point in their words.
- Frustration they expressed.
- A worry that came up.
- A decision still pending.
In six months
- Specific outcome we'll deliver.
- Improvement they will feel.
- A decision made with confidence.
- Documents finalized.
- A system that runs without you having to check it.
What gets done
- The headline win, in their words.
- Tax savings, with the dollar number.
- Every dollar has a job, no more juggling.
- A buffer for the surprises so the core plan stays intact.
- The trips, the gifts, or the free Tuesdays they actually want.
- Family handled if anything happens to them.
Account & Cash Flow Roadmap
Current State of Your Accounts
- 100% concentrated in single position.
- No paycheck replacement system yet.
- Pension election decision pending.
Proposed Structure
Cash Flow
Two ways we can work together.
Most people start with Option A and decide later whether Option B makes sense. There's no requirement to choose today.
Where we go from here.
You've already done the hardest part of any first meeting, which is showing up and being honest about what's actually going on. From here, there are basically two paths.
If you want one person who knows your full picture and won't disappear when life gets weird, that's what I'm offering. Not a sales pitch. Just the work.
Start the work
We sign the agreement this week and start with the 90-day plan. The first item on it depends on what's most time-sensitive for you, usually beneficiaries, the cash flow system, or whichever decision has a deadline.
Take a little more time
If you want to sit with this for a week or two, that's fine. Read through the proposal again, talk to your spouse or your kids, and we'll pick a time to talk through whatever questions come up.
Either way, no pressure. The decision should match what you actually want, not what feels expected.
"This is your money and your decision. My job is making sure you have everything you need to make it without second-guessing."
Advisory services are offered through [Your Firm], a [State]-registered investment adviser. This proposal is for informational and discussion purposes only; it does not constitute a recommendation, an offer, or a contract for advisory services. Figures, projections, and roadmap items shown above are estimates based on the information shared in our discovery conversation and may change as additional documents are reviewed.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Please review our Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS, linked at the top of this document, before engaging the firm.