Sales
Intermediate
17 min
Follow-up and objections — the eleven days between interest and silence
The problem
Day 3: 'Just following up on my proposal.' Day 8: 'Checking in.' Day 15: 'Wanted to see if you had any thoughts.' Day 22: 'Circling back.' Four messages, zero new information, and each one slightly more awkward to reply to than the last. Eventually replying requires an apology, so they never do.
The workflow
1Log the last contact
2Decide what to add
3Send follow-up
4Explore the objection
5Answer the real one
6Support the internal case
7Close out cleanly
★Record the reason
What you need
Said: 'It's a good solution but honestly the price is on the higher side for us right now.' Context: operations director said it on a call, after the MD had seen the proposal. MD not on the call.
The tool
Any assistant, with the deal context
The prompt
Subscribers. The full prompt is part of the SMEMinds AI Playbook. See plans.
What comes back
1. WHAT IT MIGHT ACTUALLY MEAN (a) Genuinely above available budget this year.
Verify before you use it
Human review required. Check every line below before this leaves your screen.
- Verify the person-day cost calculation with real loaded-cost figures before putting it in front of an MD. An estimate that does not survive scrutiny damages the champion, not you.
- Confirm the competitor's quote genuinely excludes multi-site consolidation. Asserting it without knowing is a serious credibility risk.
- The year-end angle is only usable if it is genuinely relevant to them. A manufactured deadline is transparent and it works once.
- Check the internal case sounds like the operations director, not like you. If it reads as vendor material, it will not be forwarded.