How important is it that the first time the client is faced with the price, they hear it from you live, while you can see their face?
It’s important because you can then use your presence to see their reaction, clear up misunderstandings, and make adjustments where needed. After that meeting, you will send them the proposal in written form, just to confirm what you have already agreed on in person.
If what you are offering is high-value and possibly complicated, your proposal should not really be sent before you discuss the commercial terms in person – it should be just a “pro-memoria”, a formal note containing the written record of a live discussion you already had with your client.
[Say before you send]
Sometimes, the client just asks for “the numbers” upfront, but you should at least try to change their mind.
Far too much initiative is squandered in the name of “being respectful to the client’s process” when the processes in question were in fact set up to be optimal for buying easily understandable commodities or commoditized services, which means they are completely unsuitable for high-variance expert services like yours.
Your client will be better served by a better understanding of what exactly are you offering to them and to do that, you need to be in the room (virtual or otherwise).
To make a proposal-themed slogan out of it: Unwritten rules, written drools.