Before
Close dates had passed. Next steps were not on the record. Some pursuits were already decided. Follow-up depended on memory.
Results Anonymized
$15,500 in proposals approved in October 2026.
At a mid-size engineering firm, from pursuits that had gone weeks without an answer. Nothing new was pitched. Proposals already written got an answer.
- Approved
- $15,500
- Period
- October 2026
- Confirmed by
- The client
- New pitches
- None
The case
What happened.
The problem
Most open proposals had passed their close date. Few carried a next follow-up date. Some that looked open had already been decided. The follow-up lived in busy principals’ memories.
What was done
One CRM export. Every proposal given a verdict and a priority. Each follow-up drafted in the principal’s voice; the principal sent it. Then a weekly rhythm: a Monday brief, a dated next step on every proposal, a Friday report.
The result
$15,500 in proposals approved in October 2026, from pursuits that had gone weeks without an answer. The figure is the client’s own count, confirmed by the client on October 23, 2026. Riftmark counts only proposals approved after a Riftmark follow-up, not work the firm’s own team won. The firm is not named.
The process
Before and after.
After
A verdict on each proposal. A priority order. Follow-ups drafted for the principal to send. A dated next step every week, and a Friday report.
How it was achieved
Three things, nothing clever.
01
A verdict before any outreach
Every proposal was read and called alive, dead, or already decided. Nothing was chased that was already over.
02
The principal’s voice, the principal’s inbox
Each follow-up named the project, offered one useful thing, and asked for a decision or a date. The principal approved it and sent it.
03
A weekly rhythm that held
A Monday brief, a dated next step on every open proposal, and a Friday report. Replies were logged the day they arrived.
Example
What a Monday brief looks like.
Illustrative only. Not a client record. No fees, no names.
Touch this week 2
- Pursuit A
Close date passed three weeks ago. Note drafted and attached.
Tue Principal sends - Pursuit E
Quiet for three weeks. Offer the revised schedule, then ask for a date.
Wed Project lead
Ask for a decision 1
- Pursuit B
Alive and warm. Ask for a date, not a status check.
Thu Principal calls
Close the record 1
- Pursuit C
Awarded elsewhere in September. Mark it lost so it stops looking open.
Today Riftmark updates the CRM
Waiting, on schedule 1
- Pursuit D
Call booked for Thursday. No action.
Thu J.R.
Friday: what moved, who replied, who went quiet.
More results
This is the only published result, for now.
A result is published here only when the client has confirmed the figure, and the client is never named. Until there is another, this page stays short. A single result is not a promise about yours.
For later
The case study and the checklist.
The 10-step process, one page, ready for your Friday pipeline review. This is the path if you are not ready to request an audit.
Preview
The checklist.
Export the open pipeline
One export of every open proposal: client, fee, close date, last touch, owner.
Close out what is already decided
Mark anything won, lost or dead. Only what is truly open stays on the list.
Give every proposal a verdict
Alive, dead, or decided without the record saying so.
Rank what is still waiting
By fee, by time waiting, and by how warm the relationship is.
Draft each follow-up in the principal’s voice
Name the project, offer one useful thing, ask for a decision or a date.
The principal sends it
From their own inbox, under their own name. Nothing goes out unapproved.
Put a dated next step on every proposal
Not “follow up”. A day, and one person who owns it.
Monday: decide the week
A short brief: which proposals need a touch, and who does it.
Friday: report what moved
Who replied, who went quiet, what was decided, where a principal should step in.
Repeat weekly, and log every decision
A yes, a no, or a date. The record always matches reality.
Next step
Your pipeline, read the same way.
A free 30-minute call. We look at your open proposals together.
You’ll speak with David Chaidez, the founder, who runs every engagement.