Client follow-through
The promises a client heard you make, landing in their inbox before they close their laptop.
Hi both,
Quick recap of what we landed on, with owners and dates. I will be checking in over the next two weeks to keep things moving.
- Send revised proposalMaartjeTue
- Loop in legal on data termsBrettWed
- Confirm pilot scope with opsPieterThu
- Schedule engineering kick-offMaartjeFri
- Draft SOW for reviewBrettMon
Reply if I missed anything.
Sent by Thomas (Brett's agent)
The judgment
Maartje, the lead designer on the Acme retainer, acknowledged the missed deadline in our Tuesday call but did not commit to a new date. Thomas's first draft asked her to recommit by Friday. The second-agent reviewer scored it 6 out of 10, below the 7 auto-send threshold, and flagged the tone as pushy given that she had already conceded the slip. Pressuring for a date next would have cost the relationship something the deal could not afford.
Thomas rewrote it as a follow-up question, not a deadline ask, and sent. Two days later Maartje replied with the actual blocker (legal review on data terms) and a revised date. Thomas updated the task, looped in legal, and reset the deadline on the project. No escalation needed, no relationship spent.
"She acknowledged the deadline. Didn't recommit. First draft scored 6 with the reviewer, flagged as pushy. Softened to a question. Sent."
What changes
- Wrote the recap from memory on the train home.
- Chased three owners by hand the next morning.
- Forgot the legal owner. The retainer slipped a week.
- Recap drafted in 12 minutes, in your voice, ready to send.
- Owners chased automatically. Thomas tracks every reply.
- Reviewed Thomas's queue once. Caught the slip before it bit.
Try it
Hand Thomas your next client call. He will have the recap before you reach the elevator.