What to do when a proposal goes quiet, and the Expert Accelerator starts October 22

Three moves from October 15 office hours, plus four free Thursdays to your first booked call.

The Expert Accelerator starts Thursday, October 22, at noon ET. Four free live sessions built around one number: paid calls booked on your page. Open to every member, join any week, and every session is recorded. Save your seat here. Details at the bottom.

Most advice on follow-up tells you to send more. More reminders, more value, more reasons. In our last office hours, the best stories came from people who sent less: one question, or a message that made it easy to say no.

Here are the three moves from Thursday worth stealing. Each one comes with the steps, so you can run it without watching a minute of the video.

Block off 30 minutes and work through all three. By the end you will have one message sent, one set of questions in your call notes, and one reminder set.

Prefer to watch? The edited session, the same one that went out to the office hours community, runs about 57 minutes: https://share.descript.com/view/w30cgfqsdnD

1. Follow up with one short question.

I once waited six months on a company that loved my proposal and then went silent. I watched them open my email thirteen times in my tracking tool, which did nothing for my nerves. So I did what many of us do. I sent longer and longer notes with more reasons it would be great, which only gave them more to weigh.

My short follow-up got no answer either, so I stopped adding and put my time into other leads. They came back after six months and told me they had been through layoffs right before they were about to hire me. The talk went well when it finally happened.

Use this one for a proposal sent in the last two weeks. For one that has been quiet longer, skip to move 2.

How to run it:

  • Write the first follow-up: "I sent you that proposal and I know you're probably talking it over with your team. Would it be useful for us all to hop on a call and chat about it together?"

  • Write the second, to send about a week later: "Is this still something you're interested in?"

  • Save both as a template, and set a reminder for five days after each proposal goes out.

2. Give them an easy out.

One member shared an email from a builder he follows in the UK. It reads:

I haven't heard back in quite a while, so I'm assuming the timing isn't right. No problem at all, I'll leave it for now. If anything changes, just drop me a line and we'll pick it up then.

It works because it takes the pressure off. The person who went quiet is usually busy or embarrassed, and you have just made it simple to come back. The builder says most clients return straight away.

How to run it:

  • Pick the proposal that has been quiet the longest, more than a couple of weeks.

  • Write your own version of the email in your voice, with no hint of guilt in it.

  • Send it, then move your attention to your next opportunity and leave the door open.

3. Ask three things before the call ends.

The best follow-up starts on the call. Before it ends, ask who else is involved in the decision, what their timeline is, and when you should talk again. The timeline gives you a real reason to write later: "You mentioned you want to start by November 15. For us to do that, we need to begin onboarding by the 1st."

Quote their own date back to them and you have a real reason to write. Then book the next call before you hang up. It is awkward for about ten seconds and far easier than weeks of finding a time.

How to run it:

  • Add the three questions to your call notes template today.

  • On your next call, ask them, and put the next call on both calendars before you leave.

  • When you send a proposal, ask if they can share a redacted proposal they have accepted in the past. About half the time they will, and you will see the length and structure they like.

Three questions you can answer.

  1. Which proposal or conversation has been quiet for more than a week?

  2. What would your one-sentence follow-up say?

  3. What will you ask before your next call ends?

Hit reply with your answers. I read every one.

The Expert Accelerator starts Thursday, October 22.

A follow-up only matters if there is a page worth booking at the end of it. That is what the next four Thursdays are for.

The Expert Accelerator is four live sessions, Thursdays at noon ET. It is free, it is open to every member, and you can join any week. The whole run is built around one number: paid calls booked on your page. Every week you leave with something published and one booking action taken. Every session is recorded, and everyone who registers gets the recaps.

Lesson 1, October 22: the page check and the ten notes. We run the page check live on a member's profile and fix what fails. Then you write ten notes to people who already know you. This is the fastest route to a first paid call.

Lesson 2: pick one route and ship its first piece. Newsletter, social, or events, with your booking link in it.

Lesson 3: run it. Replies and comments become conversations, and conversations become booked sessions.

Lesson 4: the ask, the follow-up and the review. The step most experts skip.

Matthew Casteel from the EveryExpert team joins every week for a short platform segment. If Stripe, your calendar or your availability is what is in the way, that gets fixed live.

Before Thursday, open your EveryExpert page on your phone, logged out, and ask whether a stranger could book you in under a minute. Bring what you find.

Save your seat: https://kajabi.zoom.us/meeting/register/5iHmHWDcRF2FN3wFvyUVIw

Can't make it live? Register anyway and the recording comes to you.

Talk soon,
Terry Rice
EveryExpert