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
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.
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
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..
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! 👏
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.
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.
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 👻’ 😂😂😂
Creative Director and Course Director
7moSo 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..