A made-up story, stitched together from conversations with lots of business owners. The names are invented. The pattern isn't.
Aroha runs a commercial cleaning company in Palmerston North. Twelve staff, a couple of vans, and a reputation for turning up when she says she will.
On a Tuesday she walked through a new office building on the edge of town. Three floors, a busy staff kitchen, and a facilities manager called Dean who clearly wanted it sorted. Great meeting. He asked good questions. He said, "Send me something by Friday and we'll go from there."
She sent it Thursday. Two evenings of work. Floor plans, a proper cleaning schedule, pricing she was proud of.
Then nothing.
The week it slid
Aroha did what most of us do. She waited. Chasing felt pushy, and she didn't want to look desperate.
Besides, a cleaner called in sick, a regular client wanted an extra deep clean, and the proposal sank down her inbox under everything that was actually on fire.
On day nine she wrote "follow up Dean" on a sticky note. The sticky note is still on her monitor.
What was happening on the other side
Dean wasn't ignoring her. He was flat out. Three proposals on his desk, a boss asking questions, and a lease renewal going sideways. He liked Aroha's proposal. He meant to reply.
On day eight, another supplier rang him. Not a hard sell. Just: "Did that come through okay? Anything I can clarify?"
That call gave Dean an easy next step, and he took it. By day 23 the contract was signed, with a supplier who was slightly dearer.
What this wasn't
It wasn't price. It wasn't quality. Aroha didn't lose on anything she'd put in the proposal.
She didn't lose on anything in the proposal. She lost in the gap after it.
That's the bit most owners never see, because nobody rings to say "I went with someone else because they got back to me first." The work just drifts off.
What would have changed it
Not a better proposal. A system that did three small things:
- Put the proposal somewhere she'd see it again, not buried in her inbox.
- Reminded her on day two to check it had arrived.
- Gave her a friendly, useful reason to get in touch before anyone else did.
None of that is clever. It just needs to happen whether Aroha remembers or not.
If this story made you think of a proposal sitting in your own sent folder, that's the one to look at first. Here's how to follow it up without feeling pushy.
Sally Jones
Founder of Fernforge Growth Advisory. 15 years delivering systems for organisations large and small, with a background in organisational psychology. Based in Levin, working across New Zealand and Australia.