Recruiting firm · Business development
Retained search proposal
Turn a promising first meeting into a signed retained search without proposals copied from the last client or fees discounted on a call. The managing director approves every fee before it goes out, and the client accepts the proposal and terms through a shared link.
- Duration: 1 to 2 weeks
- How often: For every retained search proposal
- Steps: 8 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
Every proposal starts from an old one, with the last client's details still in it.
A fee or guarantee is discounted on a call, and the managing director hears about it later.
The client says yes by email, and nobody knows who signs or where the invoice goes.
Sourcing starts before the retainer is invoiced.
With it
Each proposal is drafted from this client's discovery answers and your current terms.
Every fee and deviation from your terms is approved before the proposal goes out.
The client accepts on the shared link and records the signatory, invoice email and purchase order.
The retainer invoice is raised before the search is handed over to delivery.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
A client asks for a proposal for a senior or hard-to-fill role. The account manager starts a run with the client and the role.
- 1
Hold the discovery meeting
Day 1Account manager · Team
Meet the client to understand the role, why it is open, what the hire must achieve and how the client will decide. Record the answers on the run.
Checklist
- Decision makers identified
- Budget for the search discussed
- Other agencies or internal search asked about
Fields to fill in
- Client and role (required)
- Role scope and must-haves (required)
- Salary range (required)
- Target start date
- 2
Set the fee and search terms
Hidden from the shared linkDay 2Account manager · Team
Choose the fee, how it is split into payment stages, the guarantee period and any exclusivity, starting from your standard terms.
Checklist
- Standard terms used or deviation noted
- Exclusivity period set
Fields to fill in
- Fee as a percentage of first-year salary (required)
- Payment stages (required)
- Guarantee period (required)
- 3
Draft the proposal
Day 2Proposal writer · AI agent
The proposal writer drafts the proposal from the discovery answers and the terms: the role, the search approach, the timeline, the fee stages and what the client does at each stage.
Fields to fill in
- Draft proposal (required)
Checked by: The managing director corrects the proposal and approves the fee in step 4.
- 4
Approve the proposal and its fee
Hidden from the shared linkDay 3Managing director · Team
Read the draft, correct it where needed, and approve the fee and any deviation from your standard terms.
Checklist
- Fee and stages match the terms
- Timeline is realistic for this market
- Deviations from standard terms accepted
Approval: The proposal goes to the client only after the managing director approves it.
- 5
Send the proposal and walk the client through it
Days 3 to 5Account manager · Team
Send the approved proposal with the shared link, and go through it with the client so their questions are answered before they decide.
Checklist
- Proposal sent
- Shared link sent to the client contact
- Walkthrough call held
Fields to fill in
- Link to the proposal (required)
- 6
Client accepts the proposal and terms
Week 2Client contact · Shared link
Through the shared link, the client records whether they accept the proposal and terms the account manager sent, who signs, who receives invoices, and a purchase order number if they use one.
Checklist
- Proposal read
- Terms of business read
Fields to fill in
- Decision (required)
- Signatory name and job title (required)
- Invoice email (required)
- Purchase order number
- 7
Raise the retainer invoice
Week 2Finance administrator · Team
Invoice the first payment stage to the invoice email the client gave, with the purchase order number if there is one.
Checklist
- Amount matches the first payment stage
- Purchase order number on the invoice
Fields to fill in
- Invoice number (required)
- Invoice date (required)
- 8
Hand the search over to delivery
Week 2Account manager · Team
Start the placement run for this role with the agreed details, and tell the client who leads their search.
Checklist
- Placement run started
- Lead recruiter assigned
- Client told who leads the search
Fields to fill in
- Search start date (required)
Done when
The client has accepted the proposal and terms, the first retainer invoice is raised, and the search is handed over to delivery.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Proposal writer
Turns the discovery answers and the agreed terms into a first draft of the search proposal.
What it does
- Reads the discovery answers and the fee terms on the run
- Follows the proposal outline in its step instructions
- Writes the draft proposal into its step
- Completes its step, so the managing director can review it
Checked by: The managing director corrects the proposal and approves the fee in step 4.
Questions this template answers
Build the proposal from what the client told you in discovery, and set out the approach, timeline and fee stages plainly. Step 1 records the discovery answers, and in step 3 the proposal writer turns them into a first draft that the managing director approves in step 4.
Agree the fee and split it into stages tied to milestones such as signing, shortlist and placement, with a guarantee period. Step 2 records the fee, the payment stages, the guarantee period and any exclusivity before a proposal is written.
Have one person approve every fee and every deviation from your standard terms before a proposal goes out. Step 4 is an approval gate: the proposal stays locked until the managing director approves the fee and any deviation.
Walk the client through the proposal, then give them one place to accept it with the details you need to invoice. In step 6 the client accepts the proposal and terms through the shared link and records the signatory, the invoice email and any purchase order number.
Make the first invoice part of winning the assignment, not something finance hears about later. Step 7 raises the retainer invoice from the details the client recorded in step 6, before step 8 hands the search to delivery.
Let AI write the first draft from your discovery notes and terms, and keep pricing decisions with a person. The proposal writer drafts the proposal in step 3, and the managing director corrects it and approves the fee in step 4.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.