Why it matters:

The decision-maker reviewing your proposal may not be the person you've been working with - and may not have any context on the conversation so far.

Best practice:

Include a short value summary or marketing-style document before the quote. This should clearly state the customer's problem, how your solution addresses it, and what outcomes they can expect. Think of it as a pitch deck for someone you won’t get to meet.

Even if your main contact is aligned, this gives them a tool to champion the deal internally and ensures the economic buyer understands the “why” behind the numbers.

Pro tip: Embed this summary directly into the proposal flow so it’s the first thing a signer sees. Turnstile refers to this as adding a PDF before or prepending a PDF.

Why it matters:

Without auto-renewal, every contract becomes a manual renewal motion, increasing churn risk due to inaction or procurement delays. You could then be left to make a difficult decision to turn off your customer’s access to your product during renegotiation, which leads to a poor experience.

Best practice:

Include a clear auto-renewal clause in your terms or quote. This creates continuity and reduces the operational overhead of tracking down renewals. It also gives you leverage to proactively drive expansion instead of scrambling to secure renewal signatures.

Why it matters:

The decision-maker reviewing your proposal may not be the person you've been working with - and may not have any context on the conversation so far.

Best practice:

Include a short value summary or marketing-style document before the quote. This should clearly state the customer's problem, how your solution addresses it, and what outcomes they can expect. Think of it as a pitch deck for someone you won’t get to meet.

Even if your main contact is aligned, this gives them a tool to champion the deal internally and ensures the economic buyer understands the “why” behind the numbers.

Pro tip: Embed this summary directly into the proposal flow so it’s the first thing a signer sees. Turnstile refers to this as adding a PDF before or prepending a PDF.

Why it matters:

Without auto-renewal, every contract becomes a manual renewal motion, increasing churn risk due to inaction or procurement delays. You could then be left to make a difficult decision to turn off your customer’s access to your product during renegotiation, which leads to a poor experience.

Best practice:

Include a clear auto-renewal clause in your terms or quote. This creates continuity and reduces the operational overhead of tracking down renewals. It also gives you leverage to proactively drive expansion instead of scrambling to secure renewal signatures.

Align Line Items with Your Packaging to Prevent Scope-Based Negotiation

Why it matters:

When line items appear modular or piecemeal, prospects may try to reconfigure the quote—asking to remove or swap components and expecting a price reduction in return.

Best practice:

Structure your line items to reflect your standard packaging, not as a menu of optional components. For example, if “Professional Plan” includes three modules, quote it as a single bundled line item, not three separate ones. This reinforces that the package is priced and delivered as a whole with no ability to negotiate.

Pro tip: Use footnotes or descriptions to clarify what's included in each bundle, but avoid listing out items in a way that invites à la carte negotiation.

Why it matters:

Customers often assume discounts apply at renewal, which can create friction or missed expansion opportunities.

Best practice:

Label all non-recurring or one-time discounts explicitly in the quote. Use language like:

“One-time launch discount of 20% for Year 1 only. Renewal pricing will be based on standard rate card.”

This sets the right expectations and paves the way for expansion conversations down the road.

Why it matters:

Offering multiple options can create confusion and open the door to negotiation against yourself.

Best practice:

Present a single, clear proposal tailored to the buyer’s stated needs. If you want to offer trade-offs (e.g., monthly vs. annual pricing), provide them only when the customer explicitly asks. Otherwise, you risk negotiating against yourself (e.g., a customer saying they want the annual price paid monthly) or creating the perception that pricing is fluid or more negotiable than you intend.

Why it matters:

If you sign first, you're committing to terms without knowing if the customer will reciprocate or try to make late-stage edits.

Best practice:

Send the quote to the customer for signature first. This gives you a final opportunity to confirm their commitment before executing the agreement on your side. Once they sign, you can countersign to make it fully binding.