02 · THE PROMPTS
The first four: follow-up, quote, bad news, check-in
The four you will reach for most. Each one is a prompt you can paste as-is, plus what to change when it does not quite fit.
About 8 minutes
These four cover most of what lands in your outbox in a normal week. Use them as written the first time, then adjust the tone words once you see what comes back.
1. The follow-up
Use after a meeting, a call, a quote or a proposal that has gone quiet.
Write a professional follow-up email for [Your Name] from [Business Name].
Context: I met with / sent a quote to [Recipient Name] at [their business or role] on [date] about [what you discussed or quoted]. They have not responded. It has been [X days or weeks].
Goal: gently check in, restate the value briefly, and make it easy for them to reply.
Tone: [warm and professional / friendly / direct].
Keep it under 100 words. Include a clear subject line. End with a simple question or a soft call to action — not a hard sell.
If they are a local business, ask the AI to mention something specific to the area or the season — "I know it's been flat out with harvest." It takes one line and it is the difference between a follow-up and a nudge from a stranger.
2. The quote or proposal
Use when sending a price for the first time.
Write a proposal email for [Your Name] from [Business Name].
I am sending a quote or proposal to [Recipient Name] at [their business] for [describe the service or project].
Key details: total investment [amount or range]; what is included [2–3 dot points]; timeline [when work starts and how long it takes]; next step [reply to approve / call to discuss / sign the agreement].
Tone: confident and clear. Value-focused, not apologetic about pricing.
Keep it under 150 words. Include a subject line.
Never apologise for your price in an email. No "I know it's a bit much" and no "if that's outside budget, just let me know". Clear, confident language signals you know what the work is worth, and clients read it that way.
3. The difficult one
Use for delays, mistakes, price rises, scope changes, or any time you have to disappoint someone.
Write a professional email delivering difficult news for [Your Name] from [Business Name].
Situation: [what happened — project delayed, mistake made, price going up, something you cannot deliver].
Recipient: [name and their role or business].
What I need to communicate: [the core message in plain language].
What I am doing about it and what happens next: [your action or resolution, with a date if you have one].
Tone: honest, straightforward, focused on the fix. No excessive apologising. No corporate language.
Keep it under 120 words. Include a subject line. End with a clear next step.
Do not over-apologise. Three apologies in a short email reads as panic and makes the reader more worried, not less. State what happened, what you are doing, and when. That is what they need.
4. The check-in
Use to stay in front of past clients. No agenda, no pitch.
Write a warm check-in email for [Your Name] from [Business Name] to [Client Name] at [their business].
We last worked together on [project or service] around [timeframe].
Purpose: see how things are going for them; [optional: mention something relevant — a new service, a seasonal offer, a local event]; keep the relationship warm without being salesy.
Tone: genuine and conversational — like a message from someone they know, not a marketing email.
Keep it under 80 words. Include a subject line. No hard sell. End with a question or an open door.
These are the highest-return emails you can send and almost nobody sends them. Clients who feel remembered come back, and they refer. One a week to a different past client is five minutes that pays for itself over a year.
The one thing to remember
The follow-up is the one that makes you money. Send it on day three, not day thirty.
Progress is saved in this browser only