Interactive Proposals
Proposal tracking software: know who read your proposal, and what they read
By Justin HamptonLast updated Reviewed by Justin HamptonHow we write these
Short answer
Key takeaways
- See who opened your proposal, which sections each person read and for how long, and who they shared it with.
- A new name appearing usually means your champion is selling internally, and you'll know the moment it happens.
- Every deal gets a temperature (hot, warm, cooling or dead) and an action plan, so you know where to spend your day.
- Privacy is built in: no ad or analytics trackers on proposal pages, and readers' IP addresses are never stored.
You sent the proposal on Tuesday. It's Friday and nobody has replied. Did they read it? Did the person who signs ever see it? With a PDF you're guessing. AfterDemo is proposal tracking software built into the proposal itself, so you know who read it, what they read and who they sent it to. It's one of the biggest reasons to send an interactive proposal instead of a PDF.
Stop wondering. Start knowing.
See the deal the way your buyer sees it
Every AfterDemo proposal is one web page your buyer opens with a link. On your side you get a clear picture of what's happening:
- Opens, per person. Who has opened the proposal, and when they came back.
- Sections read, and for how long. Whether they reached the pricing, lingered on security, or kept rereading their own problems.
- Shares. When your buyer shares the proposal, each colleague gets their own link. A new name appearing is often the best news in the deal.
You'll know who's engaged before anyone replies to your email.
Know where to spend your morning
Every deal gets a temperature: hot, warm, cooling or dead. Open AfterDemo and you see at a glance which deals are heating up and which need a nudge. An action plan of next steps across all your deals tells you what to do about it.
When it's time to follow up, AI drafts the email in your own writing style, so your message lands while the buyer is still thinking about you.
Tracking is part of the sales proposal software, not an add-on.
How to read the signals
Tracking is only useful if it changes what you do next. Here's how I read it after a lot of demos:
- Nobody opened it. The email didn't land, or it landed on a bad day. Resend the link with one line about their problem, not about your proposal.
- Opened, but nobody reached pricing. They stopped at their problems or your answers. Ask which part needs more, before you talk price.
- One person read pricing several times. They're doing the maths, or building the case for someone else. Offer to help with the business case.
- A new name appears. Your champion is selling internally. Find out who it is and what that person needs to see.
- Security or terms got read closely. IT or legal is involved. Ask what they need from you, and when.
- The deal goes from warm to cooling. That's your cue to follow up with something useful. For ideas, read what to do when a prospect goes silent after the proposal, or draft one with the free follow-up email generator.
Time on a section shows you where attention went. Use it to choose your next question, and you'll have better conversations than any "just checking in" email ever started.
A made-up week, to show how it plays out
Here's an invented example. You send a proposal to the operations manager at a 20-person firm on Monday.
- Monday afternoon: she opens it and reads her problems and your answers.
- Tuesday: she comes back and reads pricing, twice.
- Wednesday: a new name appears. She's shared it with the finance lead, who goes straight to pricing and the business case.
- Thursday: quiet.
You now know who decides, what they care about, and exactly what to offer. Your Friday email goes to the operations manager and suggests a short call with the finance lead about pricing and the business case. Without tracking, you'd have sent "just checking in."
Tracking your buyers will be comfortable with
Knowing who's engaged shouldn't come at the buyer's expense. Proposal pages carry no ad or analytics trackers. A reader's IP address is never stored; repeat visits are counted with a one-way hash. Proposal pages are kept out of search engines, and a link stops working when you archive the proposal. Everything is hosted in the US and encrypted in transit and at rest. The details are on our security page.
See it from the buyer's side
There's more to discover once you have a real deal in front of you. Start by opening the live example to see exactly what your buyer sees.
Open the live example proposal
Then send your next proposal with AfterDemo and watch it come to life. It's $39 per user per month, or $399 a year billed annually, every feature included, with a 30-day free trial and no card. See pricing.
Questions people ask
What does AfterDemo track on a proposal?
Who opened it, which sections each person read and for how long, and who it was shared with. It also gives every deal a temperature: hot, warm, cooling or dead.
How do I see which colleague read the proposal?
When your buyer shares the proposal, each colleague gets their own link, so their reading shows under their own name.
Is tracking respectful of my buyer's privacy?
Yes. There are no ad or analytics trackers on proposal pages, and a reader's IP address is never stored; repeat visits are counted with a one-way hash. Proposal pages are also kept out of search engines.
Is tracking an add-on?
No. It's part of every plan: $39 per user per month, or $399 a year billed annually, everything included, with a 30-day free trial and no card.
Send your next proposal as a live AfterDemo page
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