Sometimes it seems like eons pass before a response comes in these days. There is a fine line between pestiness and persistence when following up with client project bids. Here are five tried-and-true techniques marketing guru, Ilise Benun, suggests to use to speed up the process:

	1.	Ask for a simple "yes" or "no." Author and physician Evan Lipkis got silence from a reporter from Lady's Home Journal after submitting an article idea. So he wrote a simple e-mail message that said, "Just give me a yes or no!" He got a 40-minute interview and a story in the magazine.
	2.	Put "Second Request" in the e-mail subject line. When faced with silence, Howard Stone, co-author of Too Young to Retire, sends the same e-mail message a week later with "Second Request" in the subject line.
	3.	Give them a deadline to respond. Some people only take action when a deadline is looming. So ask your prospects to respond by a certain date, even if that date is arbitrary.
	4.	Express concern. On a second or third try, express concern by saying "I hope you are all right." This works especially well with people you know personally. It brings the interaction to a human level, reminds them that there's a real person trying to reach them, and usually provokes a response.
	5.	Put them on auto-drip. Whether or not you have a deal pending, you should have an automated marketing tool in place to help keep your name in all your prospects' minds. The three best ways to remind them of the service that you provide are with a monthly (or even quarterly) e-mail newsletter, a print newsletter, or a direct-mail postcard.

Read the full article at the link below:
http://www.creativepro.com/article/what-do-when-a-prospective-client-doesnt-respond-your-proposal