You have written a solid proposal and sent it to the client. However, you receive no response, even after waiting for days.
What should you do?
The best way to take the deal forward is to write a sales follow-up email. It helps you understand what your prospect is thinking and if anything is wrong.
How do you write a follow-up email after sending your proposal?
Here is how you can go about it.

Think of a Great Subject Line
The subject line of your email is the first thing your client will notice. It can be the difference between your mail being opened or ignored.
Therefore, make an effort to write a well-thought subject line personalized to your client’s requirements.
You can remind your prospect about your proposal or discussion. Moreover, you can try to add value to your subject line to boost your email’s appeal.
It may help to be creative, funny, or cheerful. Don’t adopt an aggressive approach, as it may irritate your client.
A few examples of potential subject lines are:
- Our offer still stands for the next 3 days. Respond to take action.
- Do you still want your website to attract more traffic?
- Reply to this email to boost your sales by 50%.
Keep It Concise
You might be wondering what went wrong after you sent your proposal. It may lead you to write a long sales follow-up email expressing your thoughts.
However, your follow-up emails must be short. Your goal should be to determine the barriers stopping the deal.
Therefore, prevent the urge to write a long email. You can send more follow-up emails after the initial one if you don’t get any response.
Moreover, you can write better follow-ups after you learn about your prospect’s concerns.
Don’t be Afraid to Ask Questions
The objective of your follow-up is to take the deal forward. You must learn what is stopping your client from signing the deal.
Therefore, ask questions to find out what is wrong. Be direct and ask something like:
- May I know if you have any concerns about the deal?
- Do you need more clarification about our pricing?
- Do you want assurance our product will work for your requirements?
Wait to see what your client says. You can write the next follow-up email based on that.
Offer the Right Solution
Your prospect may express some concerns or issues preventing them from closing the deal. It is a must to listen proactively and offer them the right solution to make the deal happen.
Sometimes, it may be as simple as appealing to the right authority. If your prospect needs a go-ahead from someone above, you just wait for a few days.
Moreover, you can send more proof to back the value of your product. It helps your client get more information to finally sign the dotted lines.
For example, you may send case studies of similar clients from the same industry to create trust. It helps your prospect see your product work for others like them; so they can expect due returns.
At times, a prospect may be waiting to strike a bargain at the final moment. They may want a discount for the proposed service.
You may allow a discount if it suits you, but with a clause. Say, “Will you sign the contract today if we can agree on your price?”
Try Sales Closing Strategies
Sales closing strategies are excellent for getting your lead to act. You can try a few closing techniques in your sales follow-up email to win the deal.
FOMO
FOMO, or fear of losing out, creates an urgency. It persuades your leads to act and make the purchase.
Your email can contain a FOMO offer like:
We will reserve our special price for you for the next 5 days. You can enjoy this special offer by signing the attached PDF right now.
Summary Close
Summarize your proposal offering in your follow-up email. It reminds your prospect about your product and helps make the final decision.
You will also know if they are not ready to proceed.
Takeaway Close
Kids want something more when you take it away. You can try the same technique on your client to nudge them to sign the papers.
An example would be:
The extra features we offered will cease to be a part of the contract in 3 days. Please reply to this email to prevent missing out on this valuable offer.
Don’t be Salesy
A sales follow-up email is not supposed to be salesy. You must prevent the urge to sell your product in your follow-up emails.
You have already explained your product’s value and sent your proposal. Therefore, your objective, as we said earlier, should be to discover barriers to finalize the deal.
Be empathetic and avoid putting pressure on your prospect. Look for opportunities to provide valuable information or ease the way forward.
Being genuine in your intentions is a must in the final stages of lead nurturing.
Recheck Your Contacts
The person you sent your proposal may not be the final decision-making authority. It may be the reason behind the unresponsiveness of your prospect.
Therefore, recheck your contacts and determine if you pitched to the right guy. If not, head to LinkedIn or other services to find out who you should address your email.
Final Thoughts
A sales follow-up email can go a long way to closing the deal. Be empathetic and try to resolve the problems your prospect is facing. You can also try a few closing strategies to finalize the deal.
To close the deal, a sales follow-up email might be quite helpful. Show empathy and make an effort to address the issues your prospect is having. To seal the transaction, you can also attempt a few different closing techniques. These lines made my day. It is secret of success
I have experience not having responses after sending my proposals and have felt the emotion and frustration due to the time and effort it took to send proposals just for it to be ignored. I have got new information and great value from this post about sending follow up emails. This post is very useful for other freelancers like me because it not only lists the actions and tips that should be taken it also give specific examples on how these tips could be worded and allow for a better understanding towards its readers.
Insightful read! Crafting a compelling subject line is crucial for follow-up emails. Keep them concise, aiming to understand barriers rather than a lengthy pitch. Direct questions about concerns or clarifications guide the conversation. Offering solutions tailored to prospects’ needs, backed by proofs like case studies, enhances trust. Sales closing strategies, minus the salesy tone, add urgency. Finally, double-checking contacts ensures you’re engaging the decision-maker. Empathy and problem-solving make follow-up emails potent deal-closers.