# Billboard Proposal Template: What to Include (Free Outline)

URL: https://gabie.ai/learn/billboard-proposal-template
Type: Template · Published: 2026-10-08 · Updated: 2026-10-12 · By: Gabie Research

Short answer: A billboard proposal should list each face with a photo, a map and its size. It needs the flight dates, the rate per 4-week period, production and install costs, payment terms and an expiration date. Keep it to one or two pages. Quote only faces that are open for those dates, and label the traffic count as vehicles, not impressions.

Key takeaways:
- Quote only faces that are open for the flight. Check holds and bookings first.
- Price per 4-week period and say so. A year has 13 periods, not 12.
- Put production and install on their own lines.
- Every proposal needs an expiration date on page one.
- Label a DOT count as vehicles a day, with its source and year.

A billboard proposal tells a buyer what they get, when, and for how much. Keep it short and exact. One or two pages is plenty for a local buyer. Below is what every proposal needs, an outline you can copy, and the mistakes that cost deals.

## What must a billboard proposal include?

| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Header | Advertiser, contact, your rep, the date and a proposal number |
| Faces | Face ID, format, size, location, which way it reads, lit or not |
| Photo and map | A recent photo of each face and a pin on a map |
| Traffic | The DOT count in vehicles a day, with its source and year |
| Flight | Start date, end date and the number of 4-week periods |
| Rate | The rate per face per 4 weeks, and the total |
| Production | Printing, install, who supplies the artwork and when it's due |
| Digital details | Spot length, ads per loop and hours on |
| Terms | Billing, payment due date, cancellation and makegoods |
| Expiration | The date the rates and dates are no longer good |
| Next step | How to say yes, and what you need from them |

### Why price per 4 weeks?

Billing often runs in 4-week periods. [Lamar](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090425/000109042526000008/lamr-20251231.htm) says its contracts are "generally billed every four weeks" in its 10-K. A year has 13 of these periods, not 12. If you quote monthly, say so. Our [4-week rate converter](https://gabie.ai/tools/four-week-rate-converter) switches between the two.

### What should the traffic line say?

Give the DOT count in vehicles a day, with the source and year. [TDOT](https://www.tn.gov/tdot/driver-how-do-i/look-at-or-order-state-maps/maps/annual-average-daily-traffic-maps.html) counts are 24-hour counts in both directions. Don't call them impressions. [Geopath](https://geopath.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/GEOP/pages/2323448064) impressions count people likely to see an ad. That's a different number.

## A billboard proposal template you can copy

Copy this outline and fill in your own faces. The sample uses Riverbend Outdoor, an invented company.

**Billboard proposal for Hollis Family Dental**

- Prepared by: Dana Ortiz, Riverbend Outdoor
- Date: October 8, 2026
- Proposal number: 2026-118
- Good until: October 22, 2026
- Contact: [Name], [email], [phone]

**Faces**

| Face | Format and size | Location | Reads | Flight | Periods | Rate per 4 weeks | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B-114 N | Bulletin, 14 × 48 ft, lit | US-45 Bypass at Madison Ave, Jackson, TN | Northbound | Nov 2, 2026 to Apr 18, 2027 | 6 | $1,850 | $11,100 |
| D-031 | Digital, 1 of 8 spots, 8 seconds | Hwy 412 West, Milan, TN | Eastbound | Nov 2, 2026 to Apr 18, 2027 | 6 | $500 | $3,000 |

**Costs**

| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Space, 6 periods, 2 faces | $14,100 |
| Vinyl print and install, B-114 N | [Printer's quote] |
| Digital file for D-031 | No print cost |
| Total | $14,100 plus production |

**Details**

- **Traffic:** TDOT counts 21,400 vehicles a day at the B-114 N site, both directions, [year] count.
- **Photos and map:** One recent photo of each face, plus a map pin.
- **Artwork:** Due 10 business days before the start date. We can design it for you.
- **Billing:** Billed every 4 weeks. Payment due within 15 days.
- **Cancellation:** [Your terms.]
- **Makegoods:** If a face is down for damage, we add the lost days to the flight.
- **Renewal:** We offer you these faces first, 60 days before the flight ends.
- **Next step:** Reply "yes" and we send the contract. Faces are booked when it's signed.

## How do you check that each face is open?

Check three things for every face before you send:

1. **No overlap.** No other hold or booking covers any day of the flight. That includes another buyer's hold.
2. **Lease and permit.** The ground lease and the permit both run past the end date.
3. **Digital room.** For a digital face, the loop has a free spot for every week.

If a check fails, swap the face or change the dates. Then send. A proposal on a face you can't deliver costs more than a late one.

## What if the buyer wants changes?

Make a new version with a new number. Change the dates, faces or rates in one place, and check each face again. Keep the old version on file. If the buyer wants a lower rate, ask for something back. That could be a longer term, a second face or a faster yes.

## What are the most common proposal mistakes?

- **Quoting a face that isn't open.** Check holds and bookings before you send.
- **No expiration date.** Rates and dates change. Put the end date on page one.
- **Calling vehicles impressions.** It's the fastest way to lose a careful buyer.
- **Hiding production costs.** List print and install on their own lines.
- **Mixing monthly and 4-week rates.** Pick one, and label it.
- **Old photos.** Shoot each face again if the view has changed.
- **Too many choices.** Two or three faces are easier to say yes to than ten.
- **Promising results.** Offer a way to track calls or visits instead.

## How should you send it and follow up?

Send it as a PDF from your own email. Ask one question, like "Which start date works?" Follow up in two or three days. Write down the date you sent it and the date it expires. If it expires, send a fresh one with current dates and rates. Don't just change the date on the old one.

> How Gabie handles this: Gabie Proposals start from a deal in the CRM. Pick the flight dates, and Gabie lists the faces you can sell for them. Each face comes in at its card rate. When you save, Gabie checks every face against holds and bookings and reloads the card rates. A rate more than 50% off the card needs the rep's sign-off. You email the proposal yourself, then press Record sent. When the contract is signed, every face on it is booked. See [Gabie Proposals](https://gabie.ai/platform/proposals).

## Questions people ask
### What should a billboard proposal include?
Each face with a photo, map, size and location, the flight dates, the rate per period, production and install costs, payment and cancellation terms, and an expiration date.

### How long should a billboard proposal be good for?
Long enough to decide, short enough that rates and dates stay true. Pick a set window, such as two weeks, and print the date on page one.

### Does sending a proposal hold the billboard?
Not by itself. Place a hold if you need the face kept, and tell the buyer when the hold ends.

### Should production costs be in a billboard proposal?
Yes, on their own lines. Include printing, install and who makes the artwork, so the space rate stays easy to compare.

### Should I quote billboards per month or per 4 weeks?
Either works if you label it. Lamar bills every four weeks, which gives 13 periods a year instead of 12 months.

## Sources
1. Lamar Advertising Company Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, Lamar Advertising Company, via SEC EDGAR. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090425/000109042526000008/lamr-20251231.htm (accessed 2026-10-08)
2. Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) Maps, Tennessee Department of Transportation. https://www.tn.gov/tdot/driver-how-do-i/look-at-or-order-state-maps/maps/annual-average-daily-traffic-maps.html (accessed 2026-10-08)
3. Geopath Circulation, Geopath. https://geopath.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/GEOP/pages/2323448064 (accessed 2026-10-08)