Proposal follow-up email: three templates to move the decision forward

01A proposal is waiting for a decision, not for a read

A B2B proposal usually involves several people: the one who met you, the one who signs, the one who pays, sometimes the one who will use what you sell. Your contact rarely decides alone. If they go quiet, they are often waiting for an answer internally themselves, or they lack the arguments to defend your offer in front of colleagues. An email asking “have you had a chance to review our proposal?” does nothing for them.

A useful follow-up finds out where the decision stands and what is missing to make it. It helps your contact carry the deal internally: a summary they can forward, answers to their colleagues’ questions, a meeting with the people they cannot convince on their own.

02When to follow up after sending a proposal

The best delay is the one the buyer set. At the end of every presentation, ask: “When do you expect to decide, and who will be around the table?” The follow-up then falls on that date, and nobody can call it pushy. Without an announced date, we recommend one week after sending: time enough for a team meeting or a committee. After that, wait ten days, then two weeks. Treat this rhythm as a starting point. A tender or an investment committee runs on its own calendar, which is better known than guessed.

03Three proposal follow-up emails to copy

This email is designed to be forwarded. The three points use the client’s vocabulary, not your brochure. The closing question opens the door to the other decision makers without going around your contact.

Two precise slots save a round trip. “You stay in charge of the agenda” reassures your contact: you are not trying to go over their head, you are sparing them from handling objections alone that you know better than they do.

Answering with a single letter looks casual, and it works remarkably well: it takes five seconds. A reply such as “B, in March” is worth far more than silence, because it lets you plan instead of hope.

04The LinkedIn version, to reach the decision maker

Writing to the decision maker behind your contact’s back can offend them and cost you the deal. Tell them you are going to do it, or ask them to make the introduction. The message stays short and never attaches the proposal again: it offers a conversation.

05When the silence lasts

• Call your contact. Ask what was said internally, not whether they have read your proposal.
• If the answer is “the project has been pushed back”, get a date and a reason, then schedule the restart.
• If the project has been dropped, ask why in a single question. The answer improves your next proposals.
• With no news at all after the third follow-up, mark the deal as lost with the reason “no decision”, and plan to come back in three months.

06Mistakes to avoid

07In Kasar, the whole deal sits under your follow-up

The proposal is an opportunity, linked to each contact who weighs on the decision. Emails, LinkedIn messages and meetings land on the record. If the presentation was recorded, its summary is there too, captured by the Kasar Chrome extension or imported automatically from Granola or Fathom, with the decisions and the next steps.

To write the follow-up, ask Leo: “Draft a follow-up for @{First Last} on our proposal”. He works from that history, picks up the client’s words and the objections on file, and lets you review before anything is sent. Leo can also spot the deals that are stalling in your pipeline. If you track proposals in a spreadsheet for now, the sales pipeline tracker gives each deal its stage, under column names the Kasar import recognizes. Every other situation is in the follow-up email templates.