How to Handle Buyer Silence After Sending a Proposal: Tips and Strategies from Professionals

Sent the proposal. Now what? Genuinely curious how others handle this. I've been in situations where I send a proposal, the buyer goes quiet, and I have no idea what's actually happening on their end. Is it being reviewed? Did it land with the wrong person? Did someone internal pull the plug before it even got a fair look? The weird thing is everything before the proposal feels trackable. Calls, emails, CRM notes. But the moment you hit send it's like the lights go out. What I've started paying attention to: Are they coming back to it more than once or did they open it once and disappear. Whether someone new is looking at it that I never sent it to — because that usually means my contact forwarded it internally which is actually a good sign. Which sections they're spending time on versus skipping entirely. Not perfect but it gives me something to work with instead of just waiting and hoping. What do you guys actually rely on at this stage? Gut feel, follow up cadence, something else entirely? Would love to know what's working for people.