Mailbag: The “Magic Email,” Insurance Basics, and the Tools We Actually Use
What the group recommends: follow-up scripts, inbox tools, E&O vs. GL, and small-claims playbooks. White paper sign-up inside.
I’ve been collecting questions from our consultant community. Here’s a batch the group weighed in on. It’s great to be able to share the collective wisdom, patterns, and links that came up most!
→ Sign up to help write the nonprofit “Working With Consultants” white paper
(More on this idea below!)
Proposal ghosting (templates + the “magic email”)
Q: “I pour time into proposals and then… silence. Not always RFPs, either. Sometimes it’s a warm convo out of which I write a thoughtful scope, then crickets. Anyone cracked this?”
A (from the community):
There was a lot of empathy for the chaos inside organizations. Sometimes “ghosting” is internal dysfunction, not a signal about you. Two themes kept coming up as ways to handle this likely situation, though:
Spend less time per proposal. Keep a lightweight template ready to use that you don’t have to spend a lot of time on: brief recap of the problem, tight scope, numbers, clear next step. Save the deep writing for after green lights.
Close the loop with a script. Folks use a version of the “magic email” (h/t Josh Nelson) when a thread stalls:
Since I have not heard from you on this, I have to assume your priorities have changed.
The magic email often triggers a response (re-engage or clean “no”). Several folks reported >50% reply rates on conversations that had gone cold after using the “magic email.”
Safety & security (baseline + “spicy times”)
Q: “I’m doing advocacy/comms and worry about doxing/harassment. Is there a practical baseline for consultants, and a simple checklist to share with client teams?”
A (from the community):
Start with threat modeling. Name the risk, estimate likelihood, rank by impact. Focus on the few that matter. Then translate to a short checklist with owners/dates.
Helpful links that circulated:
Salim Shariff of Radicle Digital is putting together a resource to share. We’ll include a link in a future newsletter when it’s ready.
Day-to-day systems (email, calendar, tasks)
Q: “Five inboxes. Mac desktop. Want one view for email + calendar, and light tasking. Paid is fine. Needs to work on phone.”
A (from the community):
Mimestream for Gmail/Workspace on Mac (fast, unified inbox, full Gmail power).
Notion Calendar for multi-account calendars (good enough).
Asana for personal PM.
Shortwave got nods for a Gmail-native, real-time feel across Mac + iPhone.
Q: “What kind of backend systems are you all using for business admin? I used HoneyBook for proposals/invoicing for a while. It worked for individual coaching clients but not orgs, and it wasn’t worth the price. Right now I’m piecing things together with Google Workspace and Wave, but I’m spending too much time on admin and tracking. What’s working for others?”
A (from the community):
One person just uses QuickBooks (~$150/mo in one report, including payroll).
Another uses a combo of Asana + Google Docs + Wave + Gusto.
One consultant tried Collective for S-Corp + bookkeeping + payroll + taxes. But they felt it was too expensive for the value at solo scale.
Common extras: Toggl Track, OpenSign, Canva, Wix, zcal, Instrumentl/Iwave, Shield.
Our community issued a Tech Stack for Consultants guide here. We’ll update it annually with new recommendations.
Q: “I need to fax the IRS. Securely. Is that still a thing?”
A (from the community): DocuSign supports faxing.
Q: “Is there one Mac app for Signal/WhatsApp/Google Chat in tabs?”
A (from the community): A startup (Pookie) is building this, but it’s only early-access waitlist for now.
Lead-gen directories
Q: ““Has anyone landed work from nonprofit.ist? Is their survey worth it?”
A (from the community): The directory has produced work for some. Mixed visibility on the survey. General advice: set up the profile; track referral source for 30–60 days before investing more.
Insurance (what to carry, and when)
Q: “A client contract is asking for insurance. What’s actually useful for a solo consultant?”
A (from the community):
Professional Liability (sometimes called Errors & Omissions or E&O) protects advice/work product. Many folks in the community carry it by default, and many have it through The Hartford. A few folks shared their pricing, and it averaged out to about $100/month.
General Liability is usually attached to a specific physical location and covers property-type risks like damage or slip-and-falls onsite. Some clients require it, but unless you have a physical office, you probably don’t need it.
Workers’ Comp can pop up even for solos if a client contract requires it (sometimes waivable; sometimes not). No one had obtained WC on their own without a client request.
Cyber used to to be included in PL/E&O but is getting upsold more as a standalone policy. Read carefully to determine if you need it. Unless you’re handling sensitive data and storing it, unlikely you will.
Some folks reported clients requiring specific coverage limits. Get the numbers in writing, price it out, and consider passing through cost if it’s client-driven.
A few community members mentioned newer carriers felt competitive (e.g., Vouch) and that costs are business-deductible.
NDAs, RFPs, and contractors-as-“third parties”
Q: “A tech vendor said I couldn’t read their RFP under the NDA because I’m a contractor to the client. Normal?”
A (from the community): It depends on the NDA. Most allow sharing with “professional advisors” at the discretion of the info-receiver. Make sure to check the NDA text and, if needed, have the client/vendor name you or amend the NDA. Generally speaking, though, the client is liable for breaching the NDA by sharing with you, though you should make sure to keep confidential information protected.
Collections: when clients don’t pay
Q: “Leadership for one of my clients turned over and now a big invoice sits unpaid. Any routes that actually work?”
A (from the community):
Try one reset first. Meet with the new leadership, and try to agree to a short payment plan that works for their cashflow.
If they aren’t meeting the payment plan, then the next escalation step is to send a demand letter on attorney letterhead. This often moves things.
If you’re still not getting paid, and the amount warrants it, you can try small claims court or filing a motion. But you should expect that to take months even when it’s uncontested.
No matter what, keep a dated paper trail.
Time off during projects (life events)
Q: “I need time off for a wedding/move/caregiving. How do you shift timelines without burning a bridge?”
A (from the community): We wrote about this topic in its own newsletter! Read it here:
Help write the “Working With Consultants” White Paper (for nonprofits)
A bunch of us brainstormed a resource for nonprofits that demystifies how to scope, select, and succeed with consultants. It would cover things like pricing norms, realistic timelines, governance, equity in hiring, and what actually drives outcomes. The idea got strong support in recent meetups (and even funder/spec partner interest).
Want to contribute? Add your name here and we’ll spin up a short kickoff call + outline.
→ Sign up to contribute to the White Paper
Sections we’re considering:
When to hire a consultant (and when not to)
Budgeting and pricing models (incl. retainers, fixed-fee, hourly)
RFPs vs. relationship-driven sourcing (equity tradeoffs)
Decision cadence and stakeholder roles
Data access and security baselines
What good looks like: case snapshots (wins and misses)
We’ll keep it practical and open-source the template so folks can adapt it.
That’s the mailbag for this round. If you’ve got a tool, a policy line, or a mess the group should see, send it in. I’ll fold it into the next mailbag and keep names out of it.