How to follow up on a proposal in six easy steps (with a sample)

A good proposal follow-up is clear, concise, engaging, polite, and friendly.

You may already know how to write a proposal letter, but do you really know how to follow up on a proposal?

How to craft an email or letter that will encourage your client to get back to you and increase your proposal’s chances of success?

We’ll take you through these six steps on how to follow up with a potential client post-proposal, providing a sample and some tips and tricks to help.

• Use a compelling email subject line
• Address the recipient directly and professionally
• Provide a concise reminder of your proposal details
• Remind them of the value of your proposal
• Gauge interest
• Sign off courteously

How to follow up with a client in six simple steps

Writing a follow-up email after a business proposal is easy when you know how. Here are six simple steps to help you. 

Use a compelling email subject line

If you want to make sure your follow-up email gets read, it’s important it stands out in the recipient’s inbox.

The right subject line can make a massive difference to your open rates, so craft one that’s clear, concise, and compelling. 

Address the recipient directly and professionally

Using the recipient’s first name helps make your email feel more personal.

It also indicates that you care about them as an individual rather than simply as a business statistic.

That being said, it’s important not to be too familiar.

While you should use the recipient’s name and address them as directly as possible, try to keep things professional.

Depending on whether you’re making a business or sales proposal, being overly friendly can come across as intrusive and even a bit creepy. 

Provide a concise reminder of your proposal details

You can’t expect your recipient to remember every detail of your proposal, especially if your follow-up comes some days after you made it.

So, provide a concise reminder of the key points.

It’s a good idea to attach any relevant proposal documents to your follow-up email after sending a proposal so they can reacquaint themselves with the full details at their leisure.

Remind them of the value of your proposal

Remind the recipient of how your proposal could benefit them.

Detail the pain points it could fix, the benefits of working with you, the results you’re hoping for, and so on. 

Remember, people are more likely to agree to your proposal if they can see obvious potential benefits.

Make these as clear and enticing as you can in your follow-up email.

Gauge interest

The main purpose of a follow-up email after a proposal is sent is to gauge interest.

If the recipient isn’t overly bothered, you can then move on and focus your efforts on someone else.

If they’re interested but unsure, you can work on persuading them.

But to do either of these things, you must first evaluate their overall interest in the proposal.

Include a line or two asking about this.

You could also offer to help out with any questions they might have.

This may encourage them to get in touch, following which you can continue to make your case more directly.

Sign off courteously

End your follow-up with the same energy you brought at the start—friendly but professional.

Be courteous, thank the recipient for their time, and indicate that you look forward to their response before signing off.

How do you write a follow-up email?

It’s often easier to demonstrate something than to explain it.

Here’s an example of what a follow-up email after sending a proposal should look like.

Subject line:

Don’t miss out on [project name]!

“Dear [first name],

I hope this email finds you well.

I’m writing to follow up on the [project name] proposal we discussed/sent to you on [date]. I’ve attached complete project details to this email, but, to refresh your memory, our proposal is [provide details].

[Project name] has the potential to provide many benefits for you, including [list the benefits]. We believe that working together on this will bring very positive outcomes for everyone involved.

Please let me know if you’re interested in this proposal. If you have any questions, I’m more than happy to discuss things with you. You can either email them to me or let me know your availability, and we can schedule a call or meeting.

Many thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

[Your name]”

How to follow up on a proposal: Tips and tricks

Here are a few tips and tricks on how to follow up on a business proposal.

Use the right software

Good proposal software increases your close rate by impressing clients from the outset.

PandaDoc’s business proposal tool looks great and also allows you to negotiate in-document and securely adjust your proposal in conjunction with clients.

Try not to leave too long or short a time between proposal and follow-up

Generally, around three days is a good amount of time to let the initial proposal settle in the client’s mind before following up.

Any sooner could be seen as pushy and later risks the proposal being forgotten.

Give the client plenty of options for getting back to you

If you want to know how to follow up on an email professionally, provide as many ways for them to contact you as possible, and make it clear that you’re open to negotiation.

This improves your chances of crafting a deal that works well for everyone.

Make proposals simple from start to finish with PandaDoc

PandaDoc’s software makes the process of following up on a proposal email simple and effective. Use our templates to create great-looking documents that get results.

Follow up with clients and adjust on the go with our innovative tools and features. You can even integrate with your CRM to streamline the proposal process.

Click here to check out PandaDoc’s innovative software and discover how it could help your business.