Happy Friday, friends!
I spent 11 hours on the road on Wednesday and am functioning on the bare minimum of sleep thanks to said road trip, coyotes, and my upstairs neighbors, so we might get a little chaotic today - because of course, I’m writing this on Thursday night. It was all in service of making sure my dog could attend the annual puppy pool party in my dad’s neighborhood earlier this week, so well worth it:
Anyway. At my fractional Q&A sessions over the last few weeks, the same topic kept coming up - there seems to be demand, and proposals are going out…but nothing’s closing. I’ve been there, and it’s so frustrating. Although I’ve addressed bits and pieces of this in the past, I thought it would be helpful to pull everything together in one place - and go a little deeper.
The good news is, if you’re sending out proposals, that means something is working. People know about you and they’re interested enough to get on a call. That’s a good thing!
The harder part is that hiring processes seem to be moving slower - there are more ways to hire, more people doing fractional and consulting work, and in many industries, more hesitation around spending. (I noticed this in my business starting in 2023, and it’s been a driving force behind the shifts I’ve made to my biz dev framework.) All of that means that identifying the disconnect when proposals aren’t closing matters a lot.
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So - let’s start the diagnosis:
Are they ready to hire?
Sad-but-true facts:
→ Just because someone books a call with you doesn’t mean they’re ready to hire.
→ If you offer to send a proposal, prospects generally won’t say no - even if they know it’s going to collect dust in their inbox.
Both of these were mind-blowing to me early in my business. As someone who avoids unnecessary meetings at all costs, I couldn’t fathom why someone would get on a call if they weren’t serious - and as a result, I’d close every call by promising to send over a proposal.
Back then, I was custom-scoping everything (here’s how I finally put an end to that), so each proposal was a ton of work; getting ghosted wasn’t just discouraging - it was a drain.
Here’s the save: Instead of offering to send a proposal, ask what next steps make sense.
This will tell you where they’re actually at in their process and save you the time and energy of putting together a proposal that’s not gonna go anywhere.
(See exactly where this conversation fits within my sales call structure in my Sales Call Playbook post.)
Is their budget aligned?
There are people out there with wild ideas about how much things should cost.
Case in point: Back in 2023, I had an ideal-fit lead I’d spoken with in 2021 reach back out. He said he was still thinking about something I’d said during our initial conversation and wanted to bring me in to help with that. So I put together a proposal…and he came back expecting my rate to be about half what I’d quoted. (He was “open to a counter offer,” though.) Sir, you have been thinking about this for TWO YEARS and now you’re asking for a rate lower than what I proposed back then? Absolutely not. Feel better. 🙄
I wasted so much time going back and forth with that guy - although I happily spent time educating him on what he could actually expect for his budget. 😏
The issue here was that I hadn’t aligned on budget upfront. I was in the process of transitioning from hourly rates to flat monthly retainers, and although I’d been in the habit of asking about budget over the last couple of years, I hadn’t practiced sharing my new pricing model and I was nervous about it. So I skipped that part of the conversation. Oops.
If you’ve been here a while, you already know this, but it bears repeating: always ask about budget on that initial call.
In my experience, at least 90% of the time the answer will be “I don’t know” or the dreaded “we value this work and want to pay someone what they’re worth” (which, by the way, is rapidly becoming a red flag for me). In those cases, share context: “My rates for that type of work generally start at $XYZ - does that feel aligned?”
Practice it with your dog, your cat, in front of the mirror - just get comfortable saying it. And if you don’t have set offers yet, try to come up with a rough ballpark ahead of a call. If you’re just getting started and really have no idea, you can share an hourly rate - I did this for several years, and while I wish I’d transitioned to a flat rate retainer model sooner, starting out hourly ultimately helped shape my retainers.
And remember: if a prospect pushes back, it’s not that your rates are too high - it’s that their budget is misaligned.
(Find all my thoughts on negotiating rates here. And if you’re feeling stuck on setting rates, developing offers, and creating a plan that maps to your revenue goals, you can book a Nail Your Pricing 1:1 session here.)
Are you actually talking to the right people?
This can mean two different things, and both can stall proposals.
→ Are your offers aligned with the leads you’re talking to?
A few years ago, I was networking like crazy and having tons of conversations with leads, but nothing was actually going anywhere. The reason should have been obvious, but it was hard for me to see at the time - I was talking to early-stage brands, and my offers and pricing were built for growth-stage brands.
Those early-stage founders needed help, but they were looking for an all-in-one solution: someone to come up with the strategy and execute on it. And while I’ll happily jump into Meta Ads, Shopify, or Klaviyo when needed, that’s not where I want to spend most of my time - I prefer to work with small teams to execute.
So I either needed to come up with a solution that fit those early-stage needs (and budgets) or commit to focusing on growth-stage brands. I chose the latter, and eventually built a couple of back-pocket offers for early-stage brands I was particularly excited about working with.
(I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love Fathom and ChatGPT for this. I drop a batch of call transcripts and proposals into my custom GPT to break down where the disconnects are, then use it as a thinking partner for how I might better serve that audience.)
If your proposals are getting ghosted, check for alignment with your ideal client’s needs, then decide if you need to shift your ICP, your offers, or a little of both.
→ Are you talking to the actual decision-maker?
I often help my clients build out their marketing teams with other fractionals, consultants, freelancers, and agencies. I’m usually the first conversation in the hiring process - but I’m not the ultimate decision-maker. So no matter how great a fit I think someone might be, the founder, CEO, or investors may ultimately decide to pass.
This is where asking about next steps comes back into play - it’ll help you learn more about the decision-making process (and who else is involved) before you put time and energy into a proposal.
Are they appropriately whelmed?
I can handle a lot of things in life and in business, but ask me to open an email attachment and read through a doc? I’m immediately overwhelmed. It’s not just me, right?
If opening an attachment feels like a chore to me, why would I make my proposals feel like a chore for someone else?
So here’s my hot take: I don’t send docs or decks. I just send the proposal in the body of an email. I know plenty of “experts” will advise otherwise, but it works for me - and I’ve seen zero impact to my win rate compared to the days when I’d obsess over pretty proposal docs. In fact, the few times I’ve tried going back to a doc format, responses slowed down.
I shared details (as in, a literal copy-paste from a recent proposal) with paid subscribers a couple of weeks back - find it here.
Okay, there is one catch - if the proposal’s going to be passed along to someone else, a more robust format that highlights why you’re the right fit is probably helpful. Yet another reason to ask about next steps. 😉
Bottom line: proposals don’t need to be fancy, they need to be clear, easy to digest, and show value. If your proposals are stalling, it might not be the offer — it might be how you’re packaging it.
Before we wrap up here, I have to address the second half of this 10 Things I Hate About You reference. As important as it is not to overwhelm prospective clients, you definitely don’t want to leave them underwhelmed. To that end:
→ Even if your offers are set, tailor them based on your conversation and tie back to the client’s goals. (Fathom and ChatGPT are once again my friends on this front.)
→ Illustrate impact (and time-to-impact) to show value and build excitement. I keep a database of short (2-3 sentences) case studies handy and drop a few relevant ones at the bottom of the proposal email; these not only show impact, but also the timeframe in which I delivered that impact.
A word on follow-ups.
I have bad news: you can’t email-stalk your way into a closed deal. I know because I’ve tried - and also because I’ve been on the receiving end of endless “just checking in!” messages.
Here’s my rule: two follow-ups - one at the one-week mark, and one at the two-week mark.
(Paid subscribers, you can grab my exact two-week follow-up script and my nudge for leads who are replying, but dragging their feet, in my Post-Call Playbook post here.)
If it’s ultimately a no (or they ghost, which is rare if I’ve nailed the earlier steps), I’ll move them to the appropriate status in my CRM (I use and love Folk) so I can continue building the relationship down the road.
Below the paywall, I’m sharing what I’ve learned from analyzing leads that didn’t close.
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