Win Proposal Follow Up

---
name: win-proposal-follow-up
description: Plans how one proposal gets an answer, with the walk-through call booked before you send, a shared next-step list with dates both sides agree, two follow-ups that each add something useful, a close-the-loop note that makes no easy to say, and a log. Use for "run win-proposal-follow-up", "the client went silent", "follow up on my proposal", "no reply to my proposal", "how do I chase without being pushy", "mutual action plan", "close the loop", part of the Claude Guide for Finding Clients Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# Proposal Follow-Up Plan

## When To Use
The proposal went out and the client went silent, or you are about to send one and do not want that to happen again. Use it per proposal, ideally before you send, so the answer is planned rather than chased.

## When Not To Use
If you want to see every open deal at once, run Pipeline Review. If the client has come back with a concern ("too expensive", "we could do this with AI"), run Objection Response; that is an answer, not silence.

## Inputs
- The proposal, the date it went (or will go) and who received it
- The client's decision date and process, if you know them
- The last exchange: paste it, or I read the thread with the Gmail connector (read only)
If you have none of this, I start from the proposal alone and mark the plan as a first draft.

## Approach
Two practices, both described generically. First, walk the client through the proposal before or as you send it, so it is presented and questioned live rather than read cold in an inbox. Second, a mutual action plan: a short list of steps both sides take to a decision, with owners and dates, proposed to the client and agreed, never imposed. The failure it prevents is the proposal emailed into silence, followed by weekly "just checking in" notes that add nothing and make a no harder to say. Claude writes every note here in the chat; you edit, book and send.

## Workflow
1. Ask three questions: has the walk-through been booked; what did the client say about how and when they decide; and how long you will wait between follow-ups (you set the interval).
2. Book the walk-through before sending. Draft a short note asking for a time, in your voice; you book it in your calendar. If the proposal already went, the first follow-up is the offer to walk through it.
3. Draft the shared next-step list for the walk-through: both sides' steps to a decision (questions answered, a colleague consulted, an option chosen, a start date), each with an owner and a date. You propose it as a suggestion; the client changes or drops it.
4. Draft two follow-ups at most, each adding something useful: an answer to a question they raised, a relevant case, a resource that fits their problem. A follow-up with nothing to add is not sent. No fake deadlines, no "offer expires".
5. Draft the close-the-loop note: short, warm, and written so no is easy ("if the timing or fit is not right, a one-line reply is plenty and I will close this on my side"). It ends the silence either way.
6. Keep the log: each touch, the date, what it added and any response. Tell me when something comes back and I update the plan.

## Output Format
```markdown
# Proposal Follow-Up Plan: [project]
## Walk-through
Booked for: [date] with [client roles]. Note to request it: [draft]
## Shared next steps (proposed, to agree with the client)
| Step | Owner | Date | Agreed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| [step] | [client role or you] | [date] | [yes / changed / dropped] |
## Follow-ups
| # | Send after | What it adds | Draft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [interval you set] | [answer / case / resource] | [text] |
| 2 | [interval you set] | [something new] | [text] |
## Close-the-loop note
[Draft that makes no easy to say]
## Log
| Date | Touch | Response |
|---|---|---|
| [date] | [what you sent or said] | [reply or none] |
## Decision
You decide by [date] whether to send the close-the-loop note or keep the deal open, and record the outcome in your pipeline.
```

## Done When
- The walk-through is booked, or its request is drafted for you to send.
- The next-step list has owners and dates on both sides and is marked as proposed.
- Each follow-up adds something specific; there are two at most.
- The close-the-loop note gives the client a one-line way to say no.

## Quality Bar
- No pressure tactics, no fake deadlines, no invented urgency.
- Gmail is read only; nothing is drafted in or sent from your inbox by Claude.
- No more than two follow-ups before the close-the-loop note.
- You choose who to contact, put it in your own words and send it yourself; nothing is invented or sent for you.

## Next
Run win-objection-response (Objection Response) to answer the concern that comes back.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).