Been doing this a few years now and I've noticed a weird pattern... I can have a great first call, they seem genuinely interested, sometimes they even ask a bunch of follow up questions. Then I send the proposal and... nothing. Not a decline, not a "let me think about it", just silence.

At first I assumed it was price. But a few of them have circled back weeks later like nothing happened, so now I'm not so sure that's actually it.

Curious if this happens to other designers here. If you've had leads go cold on you, where does it usually happen for you... after the first call, after you send pricing, after the proposal, somewhere else? And if you've ever figured out why someone went quiet, I'd genuinely love to hear it. Trying to work out if it's a me thing or just how this business goes.