Branding studios: proposal follow-up
Use this proposal follow-up exercise to restart a useful decision conversation without repeatedly asking whether the buyer has read the proposal. You are discussing a positioning and identity project with a founder entering a new customer segment. The point of the practice is to make a useful decision together, including recognising when the offer is not a fit.
Receive a meaningful next step, a clear pause or an honest no; silence is not a commitment.
The situation
In this fictional brief, different team members explain the company in conflicting ways. The buyer wants a consistent message with a documented audience and reason to choose. Your offer is a positioning and identity project, but you must first establish whether its scope addresses the actual need.
A relevant delivery constraint is that the company must preserve recognition with existing customers. Treat that as a fact in the exercise; do not remove it to make the sale easier.
| Your counterpart | a founder entering a new customer segment |
|---|---|
| Offer under discussion | a positioning and identity project |
| Evidence available | a messaging comparison using actual customer language supplied by the client |
| Terms to clarify | Separate strategy, identity, applications, trademark checks and production. |
How to approach proposal follow-up
A useful question for this stage: “Would a short scope comparison help, or has the priority changed?” Ask it when the conversation creates a reason for it, rather than reciting every question in order.
- Refer to an agreed concern or decision date. Add a specific clarification. Give the buyer an easy way to continue, pause or decline.
- Ground the discussion in the buyer’s work. Ask: “Which customer should recognise themselves in the first sentence?” Listen for a concrete example before making a claim.
- Use evidence relevant to the decision: a messaging comparison using actual customer language supplied by the client. Explain what it demonstrates and what remains unverified.
- Receive a meaningful next step, a clear pause or an honest no; silence is not a commitment.
An industry-specific concern
Buyer: “We only need a new logo.”
Possible response: “A logo may be the right deliverable. First, let us check whether the difficulty is visual recognition or explaining the offer.”
Why this response helps: it acknowledges the concern, brings the discussion back to a verifiable requirement and leaves room for a different decision. Adapt the wording to what the buyer actually said.
Run the practice
- Prepare for two minutes. One person takes the seller role and one plays a founder entering a new customer segment. Read the offer and constraint separately from your preferred answer.
- Have a five-minute conversation focused on restart a useful decision conversation without repeatedly asking whether the buyer has read the proposal. The buyer should answer consistently with the brief and ask for evidence when a claim is vague.
- Add this challenge: The proposal has been unanswered. You may send one relevant clarification and a respectful close-the-loop message.
- Pause for feedback. Quote one useful question and one missed opportunity. Repeat the difficult exchange using a different response.
- Finish by writing the actual agreement. A sensible option, when it fits, is to test two positioning statements with a small set of relevant customer conversations. A clear decision to pause is also a useful outcome.
What to avoid
| Common mistake | Sending repeated checking-in messages with no new information. |
|---|---|
| A stronger direction | I have separated the essential work from the optional items so you can assess the first step more easily. |
| Scope and claim boundary | Customer interviews are evidence to interpret, not a statistically representative market survey. |
| What to measure in real work | whether target customers can accurately repeat the offer. Establish a baseline and definition before interpreting a change. |
An example conversation
When we last spoke, the open question was how this would fit your team’s workload. Is that still the main question?
Our concern is that different team members explain the company in conflicting ways. Also, the company must preserve recognition with existing customers.
Which customer should recognise themselves in the first sentence?
We only need a new logo.
A logo may be the right deliverable. First, let us check whether the difficulty is visual recognition or explaining the offer.
Would a short scope comparison help, or has the priority changed?
Your working sheet.
Make the exercise your own. Notes are saved in this browser when storage is available. Download a copy to keep; avoid confidential information on a shared device.
Example: different team members explain the company in conflicting ways; the company must preserve recognition with existing customers.
Example: Would a short scope comparison help, or has the priority changed? Industry question: Which customer should recognise themselves in the first sentence?
Example: a messaging comparison using actual customer language supplied by the client. Customer interviews are evidence to interpret, not a statistically representative market survey.
Example: Propose a clear next step, such as: test two positioning statements with a small set of relevant customer conversations. Confirm the owner and date.
Review your work
This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions
Who is this branding studios exercise for?+
Can I use the example as a script?+
How should I assess the result?+
Fictional training scenario. The dialogue illustrates response choices; it is not a customer testimonial or a record of a real sale.
Explore more sales resourcesTake the conversation further.
Read a practical guide to structuring your sales practice, or explore the current London sales masterclass.
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