Why do prospects go quiet after asking for pricing or portfolios?
Prospects often vanish after showing initial interest because they use early conversations to extract free consulting, detailed proposals, or custom mockups they can hand off to cheaper alternatives. This leaves sellers stranded in a prolonged vacuum of uncertainty, unable to close deals or move on from open pipelines.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- This comes up 245.8× more often in r/Entrepreneur than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Offering a discounted trial projectDid this help you?
- 2Switching from free trials to a paid trial project with a paywallDid this help you?
- 3Transitioning conversations to email-only back-and-forthDid this help you?
- 4Waiting four to six weeks to send a short check-in emailDid this help you?
- 5Holding off on creating detailed drafts, mockups, or doing free upfront work until a contract and deposit are securedDid this help you?
- 6Asking the client to send a day with a few times that work.Did this help you?
- 7Pre-emptively sending three days with wide blocks that work for your schedule.Did this help you?
- 8Sending the meeting invite or link immediately once a time is found and watching for the accept.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Here's the pattern I keep running into. A prospect is preparing an RFI or scoping a project, and I help them shape it. As an example on two recent projects I wrote detailed 10 to 14 page documents for them. Good conversations, positive signals. Then nothing.”source ↗
“What wears on me is the vacuum. I'd much rather hear "it's dead" than keep a deal open in my head for months.”source ↗
“My last cold email campaign had strong top-of-funnel numbers, but I can't get people over the finish line.”source ↗
“2 asked about pricing, one said it was outside their budget, then went quiet”source ↗
“2 asked to see our portfolio, then went quiet”source ↗
“1 asked general questions, then went quiet”source ↗
“I'm in the graphic design/mural industry and it's becoming common knowledge to not waste time creating mockups for clients until we have an agreement/down payment because - worst case scenario - they could just take that draft you made for them and have AI (or some Fiverr freelancer) use that as a jumping off point and do the job on the cheap”source ↗
“I'm currently trying to coordinate a meeting with one of those businesses and the contact seems very busy but wants to meet, however he seems to forget and I have had to follow up a few times to get a meeting time nailed down.”source ↗
“How often do y'all run into this kind of thing and how do you go about reminding clients you still exist?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6Why do I keep getting calls after getting quotes online?
- 5Users not replying to follow-up questions on IT tickets
- 35Why do employers ghost you after a job interview?
- 2Is it rude to not invite someone who didn't invite you to their wedding?
- 2Why does my car act like it's in neutral after sitting?
- 7Why do people love my product but not buy?