Anthony Mellor’s Post

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Specialists in Sustainable Streetwear Manufacturing → Design → Sampling → Production → UK, Turkey, Italy & Chinese Production → Accredited Factories

I spent 9 + hours on a proposal only to get ghosted A popular YouTuber approached us to help them scale their merch brand - currently stuck on around £360k p/ year revenue We showed them how we could scale them to £1.2m by the end of month 12, all whilst saving them £150k + in product cost based on what they were currently paying The initial discovery phase went well - they were an inbound referral, they needed our help and we could solve their problems I spent 5 hours on a hyper personalised proposal (re designed their landing page, created some custom designs for their products), drove down to the client (2 + hours each way) to show them it and deliver custom samples we made for them.. for free It looked promising - they loved it, communicated well and it looked like it was going over the line Then.. like Houdini they just vanished I went through the process, seeing if we could change anything to prevent this from happening again.. and lot's of people would say don't spend so long on a proposal But I believe how you do one thing is how you do everything We didn't win this one, but this approach will win us one in the future So with that in mind, we go again Happy Monday - let's get it 🚀 #proposal #business #marketing

Ronke Fashola

Creative Director and Course Director

7mo

So sorry to hear this.. Did you charge anything for the proposal? I had a service business for 10 yrs and learnt in the 1st year to charge a deposit to book my time in my diary. Those last minute cancellations hurt without a deposit. Not only did it waste my time, but others who could have been my customer on that day. The same model is used for wedding dress shops, hairdressers etc.. If people really want you knowledge a small deposit is a little ask..

Offer your Linkedin network the proposal - see if there's anyone in here that's in the same niche... We did this last year and got some interest in the same niche. Just means the proposal/data doesn't always go to waste.

Craig Kent

CRM Strategy Consultant Contractor | DMA accredited

7mo

I've learned that beyond the basic pitch you have to charge for that level of work. It happened to me and I point blank refuse to give prospective clients my work for free

Leonard Dumitru

Tech Geek | No-Code Automation & API Enthusiast | Growth Strategist with 10+ Years in Digital Marketing, OSINT & CyberSecurity Certified | Driving Scalable Success in SaaS & Mobile Marketing

7mo

That's what I hate about such clients. You do the work, share some insight (aka show them how you'll help them) and they ghost you thinking they can do that themselves... It happened to me. You just need to build trust (if they came to you - they need you) or if you reached out to them - they need you. Give them sufficient information to build trust in your ability to accomplish their goals, but never detail what you use, structure etc..

Natalia Chappell

Digital Marketing Consultant | Luxury Fashion, Lifestyle and Beauty | Ecommerce & Digital Marketing | Ex THG

7mo

So disappointing when this happens but do really agree that if you were ghosted then it was most likely not going to work out in the end. People have their own agenda's and I've worked really hard not to take it too personally. I couldn't just ghost people, or keep asking people for their 'advice', it's time spent as well as all the expertise! Sadly people just don't care and I do believe in karma! Keep doing what you're doing, as it sounds like you're amazing and it's most certainly their loss! 👏

Thomas J. Vosper

🤷🏻 Kind of a big deal or not, depends who you ask 🍻 Historic Pub Crawls® ✍️ Bestselling Author 📻 Media Star 🧙♂️ Hates Bang Average 🗣️ TEDx 💪 We've no time for that, we've got pubs to go to 🍻

7mo

there's a special place in hell for people that ghost. I am not talking about spammy/mass mail messages. But if you ask for a proposal you need to have the balls to say 'not for me'.

The more you put in, the more you get out indeed. So I don't think it's wrong to spend 9 hours on a proposal, especially on a high-ticket client. A solution to this could be charging an "exploration" low-ticket fee in the beginning, so: 1. The time you spend on the proposal isn't wasted; 2. The customer is already committed and familiarised with your business and giving you money. At least that's how we started doing it.

Ted Parry

Digital Marketing Consultant | Google PPC, Shopping & Search Marketing | Amore Digital

7mo

Sorry to hear that. With all the effort you put in you'd expect at least an email. I still deal with it at time to time, but thankfully happens less.

Ben Etchells

Co-Founder: Alpas Media & Cirqul | Helping celebs, influencers and brands achieve their goals through high quality video content.

7mo

A good read based around this exact problem - "The Win Without Pitching Manifesto"

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Paul Martin

Revolutionising hospitality service skills strategy to transform guest experiences and maximise sales. TEDx Speaker & Author.

7mo

This is one of my big issues. People who are happy to use your time to get a proposal but can’t find a single moment in their own schedule to send a quick message saying ‘no thanks’. On the other hand, I always think that I’ve dodged a bullet when this happens. As Thomas J. Vosper wrote in this thread, ‘there’s a special place in hell for people who ghost 👻’ 😂😂😂

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