A proposal follow-up email is what you send after a proposal has gone out and the client has not replied. Most of them fail for the same reason: they ask the same question again, in a slightly more apologetic tone, on a schedule the sender invented.
The nine templates below are organised by what the client actually did, not by how many days have passed. Merge fields are marked in [square brackets]. Download as Markdown or CSV.
The rule that decides everything
Send a different email depending on whether the proposal was opened.
- Not opened after 48 hours is a delivery problem, not a decision problem. The email went to spam, went to the wrong person, or arrived during a bad week. Do not ask for a decision on something nobody has read. Re-send, or ask whether it reached the right person.
- Opened and silent is a decision problem. Something inside the document created hesitation, or the reader is not the decider. Address the hesitation, do not repeat the document.
- Opened repeatedly, especially by more than one person is the strongest buying signal you will get. A proposal being re-read is a proposal being circulated internally. That is the moment to offer a call, not a discount.
Most people cannot tell these apart, so they send the same "just checking in" email to all three situations and it underperforms in all three. If your proposal tool reports opens and re-opens, this is what that data is for.
Timing
Follow up on a cadence that matches deal size. A £2,000 project deserves three touches over two weeks. A £50,000 engagement deserves six over six weeks, because the internal process genuinely takes that long and giving up at day ten reads as disinterest.
Never apologise for following up. "Sorry to bother you again" tells the client the contact was an imposition, which invites them to keep ignoring it.
1. Not opened after 48 hours
2 days after sending, if there is no open
Subject: Did this reach you? — [Project name] proposal
Hi [First name],
Checking this landed rather than chasing a decision — proposals from us occasionally end up in spam.
The proposal for [project name] is here: [link]
If it should be going to someone else on your side as well, tell me who and I will send it across.
[Your name]
2. Opened, no reply, first follow-up
3 to 4 days after the first open
Subject: One thing I should have made clearer
Hi [First name],
You have had a chance to look at the [project name] proposal, so let me pre-empt the question it usually raises: [the most common objection, answered in one or two sentences].
If that is not what is on your mind, tell me what is and I will answer it directly.
Still happy to start [start date] if you are.
[Your name]
3. Opened more than once
Immediately on a re-open, especially a second reader
Subject: Happy to join the internal conversation
Hi [First name],
Looks like the proposal is doing the rounds. That is usually the point where someone has a question I can answer faster live than you can relay.
Want me to jump on 15 minutes with whoever else is weighing in? [booking link]
If it is easier, I can also put together a one-page version for [finance / your boss / the board] — say the word.
[Your name]
4. Second follow-up, no response
7 to 10 days after sending
Subject: [Project name] — still worth pursuing?
Hi [First name],
I have not heard back on the proposal, which usually means one of three things: the timing has moved, the budget is not there this quarter, or something in it did not land.
Any of those is fine, and knowing which one helps me either fix it or stop chasing you.
Which is closest?
[Your name]
5. Deadline or capacity nudge
When a start date or price genuinely expires
Subject: Holding [start date] until [date]
Hi [First name],
Quick heads-up rather than pressure: I am holding capacity for a [start date] start, and I can keep it until [date] before it goes to another project.
The proposal is still here if you need it: [link]
If [start date] no longer works, tell me what does and I will re-quote around it.
[Your name]
6. Went quiet after a good call
5 to 7 days after a positive conversation with no follow-through
Subject: Following up on [day]
Hi [First name],
We spoke on [day] and it felt like we were aligned on [specific thing they were enthusiastic about], so I want to check what changed, if anything.
Often it is just that the next step needed someone else's sign-off. If that is where it is sitting, tell me who and what they need to see.
[Your name]
7. The break-up email
After 3 to 4 unanswered follow-ups
Subject: Closing the file on [project name]
Hi [First name],
I am going to stop following up on this — you have enough in your inbox without me adding to it.
I will close the file at our end. If [project name] comes back around, the proposal stands and you can reply to this email to restart it.
Genuinely good luck with [something specific about their business].
[Your name]
8. Lost to a competitor
Within 24 hours of being told you lost
Subject: Thanks for telling me
Hi [First name],
Appreciate you letting me know rather than leaving it hanging — that is rarer than it should be.
One question, and no pitch attached: was it price, scope, timing, or a better fit on their side? I ask everyone, and the answer genuinely changes how we quote.
If anything shifts in the next few months, I would be glad to look again.
[Your name]
9. The revival
3 to 6 months after a proposal went cold
Subject: [Specific trigger] made me think of you
Hi [First name],
[Specific reason you are getting in touch: something they launched, something that changed in their market, a piece of work you did that is relevant].
We talked about [project name] back in [month]. No idea whether it is still live, but if it is, what we proposed would look a bit different now — [one concrete way it has changed].
Worth a conversation, or should I leave it?
[Your name]
Why "just checking in" fails
It puts the work on the client. They now have to reconstruct where the decision stood, decide what to say, and reply — for no benefit to them. So it goes to the bottom of the pile, and the next one goes lower.
Every template above gives the client something instead: an answer to the likely objection, a specific question with three options, a deadline, a one-page summary for their boss, or permission to walk away. That is the difference between a follow-up that gets read and one that gets archived.
The three that do the most work
Template 3 (opened more than once) is the highest-value email here and the one almost nobody sends, because almost nobody knows the re-open happened. A proposal being re-read is being circulated. Offering to join that conversation while it is live converts far better than any nudge sent on a schedule.
Template 4 works because it offers three specific outs instead of asking an open question. People who will not compose a reply will happily pick from a list.
Template 7 (the break-up) reliably produces replies from people who ignored everything before it, because it removes the obligation. Send it meaning it, not as a trick.
Knowing when to send which
All of this depends on one thing: knowing whether the proposal was opened, and whether it was opened again.
That is what OnboardHive is built around. Each proposal goes out as a single link that reports when it was opened, how long it was actively read, which version, and it alerts you the moment it is re-opened. When the client says yes, the same link becomes their onboarding, so there is no second tool and no second email.
The free plan tracks a real proposal end to end. If you want the rest of the sequence, the client onboarding email templates pick up from the signature onward.