Proposals and payments
Unanswered proposals: when to write again
A follow-up rhythm for the proposal nobody answered, with what to say in each message.
If a proposal has gone two or three business days without a reply, write once to confirm it arrived and ask whether there are questions. If the silence continues, write again a week later with something useful, and one last time before its validity date. After that, close it as lost for no response and note when to pick it up again.
It happens in almost any consultancy or agency. The meeting went well, the client asked for the proposal "this week", the team put it together carefully and it went out on a Thursday. By the following Tuesday nobody has answered. The person who sent it is torn between writing and looking pushy or waiting and looking uninterested. Meanwhile the proposal cools off and the client's purchasing contact has already received two others.
Why a proposal goes unanswered
Silence is rarely a no. More often the proposal is waiting for someone who was not in the meeting: the manager who signs, the purchasing department, or the partner who reviews the budget. It also happens that it landed in a full inbox and nobody opened it, that the client has a question about scope and does not want to put it in writing, or that the project lost priority for reasons that have nothing to do with you.
Each cause calls for a different message. That is why follow-up works better when every message brings something, instead of repeating "did you get a chance to look at the proposal?".
A follow-up rhythm that does not annoy
No number of days fits every client, but a rhythm of three contacts covers most B2B service cases:
- After two or three business days: confirm it arrived and offer to answer questions.
- A week after the first follow-up: bring something new, such as a scope clarification or an alternative.
- A few days before the validity date: mention the date and ask whether they are still interested.
If the client gave you a decision date in the meeting, use that date instead of this schedule. And if they asked to talk by phone or WhatsApp, follow up on that channel. Formal email is good for keeping a record, but it is not always where the client replies.
What to say in each message
The first message is short. Confirm that you sent the proposal, sum up what it includes in one line and ask whether someone else should receive it. That last question uncovers a lot of silences, because the person you spoke with is often not the one who decides.
The second message needs substance. You can offer a smaller-scope version if price was the obstacle, explain a line that usually raises questions, or suggest a fifteen-minute call to go through the document together. If the client raised an objection in the meeting, answer it here.
The third is honest: the proposal expires on a given date, and if the project moved to later, it is fine to say so. A reply like "we'll look at it next quarter" is worth more than silence, because it tells you when to come back.
The validity date as a reason to write
A proposal with no validity date can stay open forever, and so can your sales forecast. Giving it an end date protects your prices and also gives you a natural reason for the last contact, without inventing urgency.
In AgentticCRM Proposals you set how long each one is valid. The platform warns you about the ones about to expire and marks as expired the one that passed its date, without anyone having to open it. The Dashboard shows the proposals expiring in the next seven days next to the invoices falling due, so the week's follow-up list builds itself.
How to keep up follow-up without relying on memory
Follow-up fails when it lives in the head of whoever sent the proposal. If that person gets sick or goes on vacation, nobody knows the client was about to decide.
In the Sales pipeline, each deal's next action is saved as a task with a date and an owner, and it shows up in that person's task list. The board counts how many deals have no next action and how many have an overdue one, which is the most direct way to see which proposals nobody is following. When the client accepts in their portal, the deal moves to Won; if they never answer, you close it as lost with the reason "no response" and that reason stays for the year's review.
What happens after the yes is covered in From proposal to payment without switching programs. And if your operation ends in equipment moves and site visits, see how to follow each logistics exception with its client.
Frequently asked questions
How many times should I follow up on a proposal?
Three contacts after sending are usually enough. Beyond that, insisting rarely changes the decision and does wear down the relationship. Close the deal with its reason and schedule a task to pick it up when the client said to.
Is it better to call or to write?
Use the channel the client used with you before. If the conversation was by phone, a short call settles more than three emails. Put what you agreed in writing, even if it is just a note on the client record.
What if the proposal already expired and the client comes back?
Check whether the prices and scope still hold. In AgentticCRM you duplicate the proposal and get a draft with its lines and prices to adjust and send again; the original document does not change.