We analyse the two-dimensional spin-fermion model in the strong-coupling regime relevant to underdoped cuprates. We recall the set of general sum rules that relate the moments of spectral density and the imaginary part of the fermion self-energy to the static correlation functions. We show that the two-pole approximation of the projection method satisfies the sum rules for the first four moments of the spectral density and gives an exact upper bound for the quasiparticle energy near the band bottom. We prove that the non-crossing approximation that is often made in perturbative considerations of the model violates the sum rule for the third moment of the spectral density. This leads to incorrect positioning of the lowest quasiparticle band. On the other hand, the projection method is inadequate in the weak-coupling limit because of the approximate treatment of the kinetic energy term. We propose a generalization of the projection method that resolves this problem, and give a fermion self-energy that behaves correctly in both the weak- and strong-coupling limits.