Configuring Automatic Proposal Follow Ups

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Overview

The Proposal Follow-ups feature is a powerful tool designed to streamline your sales process by automating email communications after a proposal has been sent to a client. Its primary purpose is to ensure timely and consistent engagement with potential customers, increasing the likelihood of proposal acceptance without manual intervention.

This feature allows you to define a series of default follow-up emails that can be automatically scheduled when a proposal is sent. These follow-ups can be customized system-wide and also adjusted on a per-proposal basis, offering flexibility to suit various client interactions. The key benefits include:

• Time Savings: Automate a crucial but often time-consuming part of the sales cycle.

• Consistency: Ensure every proposal receives appropriate follow-up, maintaining a professional image.

• Increased Engagement: Keep your proposal top-of-mind with clients through gentle reminders.

• Improved Close Rates: Timely follow-ups can address unspoken questions and encourage clients to move forward.

• Smart Automation: Follow-ups are automatically canceled if a proposal is accepted or closed, preventing redundant communication.

Insight: The Power of Automation Automating proposal follow-ups not only frees up valuable time for your sales team to focus on other critical tasks but also ensures that no lead falls through the cracks due to missed manual follow-ups. This consistent touchpoint can significantly impact client decision-making.

Configuration

Configuring proposal follow-ups involves setting up system-wide defaults and understanding how to manage them when sending individual proposals.

Setting Up Default Follow-ups

Default follow-ups are configured in the admin settings and serve as the baseline for your automated communications.

1. Navigate to Settings from the main menu.

2. Under the Settings sub-menu, select Proposals.

3. Scroll down to the Default Follow-ups section. Here, you'll see any existing default follow-ups.

4. To add a new one, click the Add Follow-up button. This opens the Add Follow-up modal.

5. Schedule for:

   • Days After Proposal is Sent: Specify the number of days after the initial proposal email is sent that this follow-up should go out.

   • Time: Set the specific time of day for the follow-up email.

6. Content:

   • You can use an existing email template by clicking the Template button and selecting from your pre-configured templates. Learn more about creating Email Templates [add link to relevant article on Email Templates].

   • Alternatively, you can manually enter the Subject Line (if not replying to the original email) and craft the Message body.

   • Utilize Template Variables (e.g., {Contact First Name}, {Project Name}, {Proposal Link}) by typing { to populate the message with dynamic, project-specific information.

7. Reply to original email:

   • If this checkbox is selected, the follow-up email will be sent as a reply to the original proposal email. The Subject Line field will be disabled, and the subject will automatically be "RE: [Original Proposal Email Subject]". This keeps all communication within a single email thread.

   • If unchecked, the follow-up will be a new email, and you can define a custom Subject Line.

8. Click Add to save the default follow-up.

You can edit or delete existing default follow-ups using the three-dot menu next to each entry in the Default Follow-ups list.

Managing Follow-ups When Sending a Proposal

When you send a proposal:

1. After preparing your proposal and clicking Send, the Send Proposal modal will appear.

2. Compose your main proposal email as usual.

3. Scroll to the bottom of this modal, and you will see a Follow-ups section.

4. By default, all your configured Default Follow-ups will be listed and checked (selected) to be scheduled.

5. You can deselect any follow-up by unchecking the box next to it if it's not appropriate for this specific proposal.

6. The scheduled date and time for each follow-up will be displayed, automatically calculated based on your default settings (e.g., "2 days after proposal is sent").

7. You can expand each scheduled follow-up by clicking the arrow next to it to review its Subject and Body before sending.

Insight: Threaded Conversations for Clarity The "Reply to original email" option is powerful. Using it keeps the conversation organized for both you and your client, making it easy to reference previous communications. However, for a follow-up designed to grab fresh attention, a new subject line (by unchecking this option) might be more effective.

Use Cases

When you send a proposal, it's just the beginning of a conversation. Automated follow-ups help continue that dialogue effectively. Here’s when and why you should use this feature:

• Persistent Gentle Reminders: Use automated follow-ups to remind clients about a pending proposal after a few days, ensuring it doesn’t get lost in a busy inbox.

• Proactive Q&A: Schedule a follow-up to offer assistance or answer any questions the client might have after reviewing the proposal.

• Maintaining Momentum: If a client hasn't responded within a week, a follow-up can re-engage them and keep the discussion moving.

• Standardizing Sales Processes: Implement a consistent follow-up strategy across your sales team for all outgoing proposals.

• Nurturing Leads: For proposals that might have a longer decision-making cycle, a series of spaced-out follow-ups can help nurture the lead over time.

Pro Tip: Tailor Your Message While defaults are great, remember you can customize follow-up messages. For high-value proposals, consider slightly more personalized default templates or be ready to adjust them at the point of sending for maximum impact.

Examples

Let's explore how Proposal Follow-ups can be used in various real-world scenarios:

Example 1: Standard Two-Touch Follow-up Cadence

A company wants to ensure every proposal gets at least two automated touchpoints.

• Configuration:

  1. In Settings -> Proposals -> Default Follow-ups:

     • Follow-up 1: Scheduled for "2 days after proposal is sent at 9:00 AM". Message: "Hi {Contact First Name}, Just wanted to make sure you received our proposal for {Project Name}. It can be viewed here: {Proposal Link}. Please let us know if you have any questions!" Subject: "Re: Proposal for {Project Name}" (using "Reply to original email").

     • Follow-up 2: Scheduled for "5 days after proposal is sent at 9:00 AM". Message: "Hi {Contact First Name}, Bumping this to the top of your inbox. You can find your proposal here: {Proposal Link}. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out." Subject: "Re: Proposal for {Project Name}" (using "Reply to original email").

• Functionality: When any new proposal is sent, these two follow-ups are automatically selected in the Send Proposal modal. The sales representative can choose to deselect one or both if needed for a specific client, but otherwise, they are scheduled by default.

Example 2: Handling Early Proposal Acceptance

A client receives a proposal and signs it before any automated follow-ups are sent.

• Scenario: A proposal is sent on Monday with follow-ups scheduled for Wednesday (2 days later) and Friday (5 days later). The client views and signs the proposal on Tuesday.

• Outcome: The system automatically detects the proposal acceptance. The scheduled follow-ups for Wednesday and Friday are canceled. No unnecessary emails are sent to the client.

• Verification: In the project's Proposal tab, clicking Events will show the Follow-ups section as "No scheduled email found."

Example 3: Modifying Scheduled Follow-ups Post-Send

A sales rep sends a proposal with default follow-ups scheduled. Later, they have a phone call with the client and realize one of the automated follow-ups is no longer appropriate.

• Action:

  1. Navigate to the Project.

  2. Go to the Proposal tab.

  3. Click the Events button in the top right.

  4. In the Proposal Events window, under the Follow-ups section, locate the specific follow-up that needs to be changed or removed.

  5. Use the three-dot menu next to that follow-up to Edit its content/schedule or Delete it entirely.

• Result: The automated communication is adjusted to reflect the new context, ensuring relevant messaging.

Example 4: Tracking Sent Follow-ups

To review which automated follow-ups have actually been sent for a particular client:

• Navigate to the Contacts section.

• Open the specific contact record.

• Review the Activity section. Sent proposal follow-up emails will appear here as "Email" events, along with their subject and body, providing a complete communication history.

Pro Tip: Leverage Automatic Cancellation The automatic cancellation of follow-ups upon proposal acceptance (or if the project is manually moved to an accepted/closed status) is a key benefit. Trust this automation to prevent awkward, out-of-sync messages, and focus your manual efforts on post-acceptance communication.