THE BUSINESS SIDE OF YOUR AGENCY
A five-minute agency follow-up routine.
For freelance web designers and small agencies: give every open opportunity one clear next action, then make time to act on it.
By ISR Desk · October 30, 2026 · 3-minute read
When client work fills your day, a proposal can sit unanswered while you assume the prospect is still thinking. A small daily review helps you notice those conversations. Try the routine below as a starting point; a busy pipeline may need more than five minutes.
1. Find the conversations due today.
Open your lead tracker and review overdue items and follow-ups due today. Keep won and lost opportunities out of this working view. If a prospect asked you to wait until next month, respect that date.
In the free ISR Desk tracker, overdue follow-ups are highlighted red and items due today are yellow. The spreadsheet highlights dates; you send the messages yourself.
2. Choose a specific next action.
Replace a vague note such as “follow up” with something you can finish: “Ask whether the homepage scope needs changing” or “Confirm who will review the proposal.” Check the last conversation before you write.
3. Send a useful, short message.
Make the next decision easy. Adapt one of these examples to what the prospect actually discussed; these are fictional examples, not guaranteed scripts.
After a proposal
Hi Sam — following up on the website proposal I sent Tuesday. Does the scope still match what you need, or would it help to separate the homepage work from the rest of the site? Happy to clarify either option.
When a project has gone quiet
Hi Alex — is the website project still something you want to move forward with? If the timing has changed, no problem. Let me know whether to check back on a specific date or close the loop for now.
Use the person’s real context and agreed timing. If they decline or ask you to stop, close the opportunity and stop following up.
4. Update the row before moving on.
Record the last contact date, what happened, and the next action and date. “Waiting for a reply” is a status; “Review on Thursday” gives you a decision point. If you have no sensible next step, decide whether the opportunity belongs in your active pipeline.
Try it with three open opportunities.
Start small. Replace three sample rows with your own opportunities and give each one a next action and follow-up date. The workbook includes eight fictional examples and a setup guide.