A message arrives: "hello, we would like some videos for our product". Everything is decided in the hour that follows, and above all in the vocabulary you use.
On the other side it is often the owner
In much of the Italian business fabric there is no marketing department. The person writing runs the company, decides alone, and checks their messages between two other tasks.
That changes everything. They do not know the trade vocabulary, they have no brief to send you, and they have neither the time nor the wish to learn how you work.
A reply talking about usage rights, formats, deliverables and approval cycles will not be read to the end. It feels like administrative homework, and the conversation stops there.
Speed counts more than perfection
An imperfect reply within the hour beats a perfect one the next day. Not because the person is in a hurry, but because they handle messages in waves: if you are not in the wave, you are in the forgotten pile.
If you cannot answer fully straight away, answer anyway: "I will send you a proposal before this evening" is enough to hold your place.
The questions to ask, translated into ordinary language
Do not ask about usage rights. Ask: where will the video be published? The answer, "on our page", or "we want to promote it", gives you exactly what you need.
Do not ask about the target. Ask: who do you want to talk to, and what makes them hesitate today?
Do not ask about the format. Ask: would you rather I show the product being used, or have someone talk about it to camera?
Do not ask about the budget first. Give your price and let the person react. Many small businesses have no set budget and feel trapped by the question.
What to write in the proposal
A sentence showing you have read: the product's name, a precise detail of their request.
What you deliver, in number and length. The lead time, in working days, from receipt of the product.
The price, in figures. And what is included, notably the number of revisions, which is the most frequent source of misunderstanding.
What not to do
Proposing a call before giving a price. That is extra load for someone who just wanted to know whether it was within reach.
Sending a ten-page document. It will not be opened on a phone, between two customers.
And negotiating against yourself: lowering your price in the same message where you announce it is the surest signal that it was not serious.
What a seven-line reply contains
| Line | Content | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thanks and the person's name | Show you read it |
| 2 to 4 | Understanding, proposal, sample | Prove the fit |
| 5 to 7 | Price, deadline, question | Let them decide |
What speeds up the decision
A price with a scope, a date in working days and a single question at the end.
What slows it down
A block of self-presentation, three equivalent options, a heavy attachment and no date.
After the reply
If nothing comes back after five days, follow up once, with one sentence and a link to your example closest to their category.
If the person says it is too expensive, do not lower the price: reduce the content. One video instead of three, at the same unit rate. That protects your grid and leaves the door open.
And note what you proposed, to whom, and when. Many of these conversations return three months later, when the need becomes urgent, and whoever kept the record answers in two minutes.
