Lost a $1200 retainer because my follow-up template was too soft

I was at a coworking space in Austin last month and overheard this guy talking about how he closes deals with a single email. So I looked at my own follow-up sequence and realized I was using this wishy-washy template I found online. It had all this 'no pressure' and 'just checking in' language that basically told clients to ignore me. I rewrote the whole thing to be direct and give a specific deadline. First client I used it on ghosted me after the initial call. Has anyone else had to completely rework their follow-up approach because their old one was too passive?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.diana2d ago

The missing piece here might be that your old template was too soft, but the new one could be too hard. There is a middle ground where you show you respect their time while still being clear about next steps. The real trick is to frame deadlines around your own workload, not as a pressure tactic on them. Something like "I have room in my schedule on Thursday if you want to discuss this further" can work better than "You need to decide by Friday." Maybe the ghosting happened because your email came across as pushy rather than helpful.

henry_anderson542d ago

omg that scheduling around your own workload thing is such a good point. I tried something similar once but for asking about a job follow up. I said "hey I'm free Tuesday afternoon if you want to chat about next steps" and the recruiter actually replied saying that was super considerate. then they ghosted me anyway lol. but I think the mindset shift is what matters, not the exact wording.

david_palmer2d agoMost Upvoted

Wow, they actually complimented you and then ghosted anyway?