Sending a proposal is an important step in your sales process. Once your proposal is approved by your potential client, it’s time to get to work! But if you sent out your proposal and haven’t gotten an email in response, you’ve now screeched to a halt.
You feel disappointed and defeated. Your lead was interested enough to get to this stage in your pipeline, but when you sent your follow-up email after sending your proposal, now it’s just radio silence. It’s so frustrating!
How do you get the deal moving again? How do you know how often to check in with them, and what if you start following up too much? You want to push the deal forward, but you also don’t want persistence to become annoying – we’ll show you an example of a follow-up email to send a client after sending a proposal so you actually get a response!
Check out our tips for follow-up emails to a potential client after sending a proposal and scroll down for a sample email breakdown of a follow-up email sequence and timeline to make it even easier!
Follow-up email tips
Clear subject lines
People are busy and they get many emails a day. If your email subject line doesn’t get to the point by clearly stating what it’s about, it will probably get skimmed past. Use a brief, relevant subject line that will immediately explain the purpose of your follow-up email after sending your proposal.
Keep it brief
Avoid writing a novel – quickly get to your point in a few lines! If your potential client opens your email, it should only take them a few seconds to understand what it’s about and understand what next steps need to be taken. Don’t worry about the addition of any relevant information making the email longer – you can format your email to have a clear opener and direct them to the extra details below.
Refresh their memory
In the subject line and the first line of your follow-up email to your client after sending a proposal, remind your reader why you’re following up. Don’t make them dig through their inbox to find your previous email or proposal. If you have previously sent them an attachment, attach it again. Don’t ask them to scroll down and read your previous email thread – re-add any relevant information they need to know in the new email or send your follow-up email as a reply to your original email with the proposal.
Reiterate the value
Once again, people are busy! Remind them of your value proposition and why it’s beneficial for them to move forward with your proposal. Talk about the specific pain points you know they’re struggling with and how your product or service is going to be helpful. You can also list the benefits of working with you to provide a solution, like what specific results they’ll end up with. This will make your follow-up email after sending the proposal more enticing for them to respond to.
Ask why
Simply asking why they haven’t been able to respond can help you move forward. Have they just been busy? Are they waiting on someone else? Did something in your proposal give them pause? When you actually know why they haven’t gotten back to you, you can take the necessary steps to overcome the objection.
Include a call to action
Any email you send should include a call to action. What do you want them to do after they get your email? It can be replying, giving you a call, reviewing the proposal – whatever it is, be clear and specific so they know what you want them to do. For more on writing follow-up emails, check out 8 Polite Follow-Up Email Samples & Mistakes To Avoid.
Sample follow-up email sequence to client after sending a proposal
To avoid worrying about following up too much or not enough, use this follow-up email sequence after sending your proposal to a client and not receiving a response. For even more help with writing warm follow-up emails to leads and clients, read our blog How to Write a Warm Follow-Up Email [Examples Included].
First email
Type: Follow-up
When: 3 days after first sending the proposal
Subject line: [Project name] Proposal
Hi [Name],
I’m following up on the proposal I sent you on [date]. I’ve attached a copy below.
I’d love to book a time to talk about any questions you might have about how [project name] can help you [solve pain point] and give you [benefits].
Here’s my availability: [include several options]
I can work around your availability if any of these don’t work! If you’re still interested, let me know what works best for you.
Thank you!
[Your name]
Second Email
Type: Follow-up
When: 3 days after sending the first follow-up
Subject line: [Project name] Proposal – still interested in our [product/service]?
Hi [Name],
Hope you’re doing well.
Have you had a chance to look over the quote I sent you on [date] for [project proposal name]? Would love to get started on [project or services you’re providing] so you can [benefit they want].
Reply to this email if you have any questions about the proposal.
Thanks,
[Your name]
Third Email
Type: Final follow-up
When: 1 week after sending the second email
Subject line: [Project name] proposal – Can I close your file?
Hi [Name],
Hope you’re doing well. I didn’t hear back from you about [project proposal name].
Have you been too busy to get back?
Have you found another [professional services/product]?
Let me know if you’d prefer me to circle back at another time or if you’ve found another [professional services] and no longer need my services.
Thanks,
[Your name]
Last Email
Type: Closing email
When: 1 week after sending the final follow-up
Subject line: Thank you from [your business name]
Hi [Name],
Since I haven’t heard from you lately, I’m assuming [your product/service] isn’t a priority right now. I know how quickly things can change so I totally understand!
I’ll follow up with you in around 6 months to see if you’re ready to work on [pain point] again!
Thanks again,
[Your name]
It hurts to lose a potential sale, but by using follow-up emails after sending a proposal you can do your due diligence while freeing up time to pursue the deals you can close. The time you did already invest doesn’t have to go to waste, either! You can follow up with your lost deal in 3-6 months to check in again – maybe they went with another service and aren’t happy with it. Maybe their time has freed up and they’re ready to get started. Maybe their budget has increased. “No” doesn’t mean no forever – there are endless possibilities!
Having a reliable tool to track email communications can be the key factor for you to master your email skills and the art of staying on top of follow-ups. Daylite offers seamless integration with Apple Mail so that you can take action from emails right from your inbox and create new contacts, set reminders to follow up with leads and clients, delegate tasks, and much more. The Daylite Mail Assistant also saves and stores your emails in Daylite, so you always have a chronological history of email exchanges related to your contacts or projects. Start your free 14-day trial and start taking advantage of Daylite Mail Assistant.
About the author: Tucky Wong is Marketcircle’s Senior Marketing Manager. With a wealth of Marketing experience that spans nearly two decades, her expertise has become an invaluable asset in the world of small business empowerment as she’s the great mind behind impactful content and strategies. Tucky’s commitment to empowering small businesses ensures that every strategy and piece of content resonates with the spirit of growth and achievement.
