One question, asked cold: is not having an app a decision, or a backlog item? She did not want to discuss it on the phone. She wanted the proposal and a quotation, on WhatsApp, today.
I had a proposal template. Pages of it. It was never going to be read on a phone between two customers. So the proposal became a message with a document behind it:
“Hey [name], Zafar here from Unsquare. Good speaking with you today. Proposal as promised — covers what an app would do for repeat visits, our proof, and an indicative range. The exact number comes out of one 45-minute session. More on us here: unsquare.in. Let me know when you or the team want to go through it.”
The WhatsApp message, sent the same day
The detail worth keeping
The proposal deliberately gave a range, not a price, and tied the fixed number to a working session. A number on its own invites a yes or a no. A range with a next step invites a meeting.
What I learned
- Send it in the channel they live in. For most operators that is not email.
- If the proposal takes longer to write than the call took, something is wrong with the proposal.
- A quote that closes the conversation is a quote that ends it.