You will be able to follow up on an open proposal with messages that help the buyer decide.
You walked the buyer through the proposal. They liked it, said they would decide by the end of the month, and promised to let you know. When two weeks have gone by without a word, you write: "Hi, just checking in to see if you've had a chance to look at the proposal." No reply. A week later: "Just following up on my last message." Still nothing. By the third message you feel like a nuisance, and you are probably right.
Sales foundations lesson 6.2, Follow-up messages that add something, set out the principle for first meetings: every follow-up should give the buyer something. This lesson applies it to the most delicate stage, when a proposal is on the table and the buyer is deciding.
A follow-up that only asks whether the buyer has decided puts pressure on them and gives them nothing. One that adds something useful gives them a reason to read it and, often, a reason to reply.
At the proposal stage, three kinds of addition work well.
An answer to an open question. If the buyer asked something in the walkthrough that you promised to check, the answer is the best follow-up you have. If they did not, look back at your notes from lesson 2.3, Walk the buyer through it instead of emailing it, where you wrote down every question. One of them may deserve a fuller answer.
A relevant example. A short, true story about a client in a similar situation, told with permission, as in lesson 1.2, Choose proof that matches this buyer.
A simpler next step. If the decision seems stuck, make the step smaller: a shorter first phase, a call with a reference, a start date later in the year.
In the walkthrough, you should have learned when the buyer expects to decide and what that depends on. Build your follow-ups around that date, and each one becomes a reminder of a timeline the buyer set, which reads very differently from a chase.
Priya walked Suresh, who runs a tuition centre in Bishan, through a smaller option for the busy months only. He said he would decide by the end of November, once he had set his budget for next year. Priya plans every follow-up around that date, however keen she is to hear sooner.
Often the buyer is not the only person deciding, and the slowest part of the process is the conversation you are not in, so offer to help with that conversation. A one-page summary for the person signing off, as in lesson 5.5, I need to check with someone else. A short call with the finance team. Answers to the questions the other person is likely to ask.
This is often the most welcome follow-up of all, because it saves the buyer work. Suresh's centre is co-owned with his brother, so one of Priya's messages offers a summary written for him.
Before you send the first message, decide how many follow-ups you will send. Three is a common choice for a proposal that has gone quiet. The exact number matters less than fixing it in advance, because without a limit, follow-ups drift on until they have turned into chasing.
When you reach your limit, send a closing message. It should be short and respectful, make clear you are stepping back, and leave the door open. That way the buyer is not left feeling avoided, and you have closed the loop in your pipeline.
Here is Priya's three-message sequence for Suresh, with dates tied to his end-of-November decision.
The first message goes a week after the walkthrough, in mid-November. It answers the question Suresh asked about whether she could handle the parents' invoices during the busy months: yes, and here is how it would work, in three lines.
The second goes a few days before the end of November. It offers a one-page summary written for his brother and asks whether a short call with both of them before the decision would help.
The third goes in the first week of December, after his decision date has passed. It is the closing message: "I know you were planning to decide by the end of November. I don't want to keep filling your inbox, so I'll step back. If the busy months turn out heavier than expected next year, I'd be glad to pick this up again. All the best for the new year." She then sets a reminder for just before the next exam season, as in lesson 7.2, Keep the door open after a no.
Each message adds something specific, each is tied to Suresh's own timeline, and the third ends the sequence on good terms.
Suresh replied to the second message. His brother wanted to see how invoices to parents would work, and the three of them met in the first week of December.
Before the activity below, pick an open proposal and find the decision date or event the buyer gave you.
Write a three-message follow-up for an open proposal, each adding something specific, with dates tied to the buyer's decision timeline.
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