Waiting on client approval: what to send, and when
How agencies can make approvals easy to give, keep feedback to one round, follow up on a clear cadence, and stop a quiet client from moving the launch.
·
4 min read
The concepts went to the client on Monday. It is now Thursday, the print date is fixed, and the project sits in a column called "waiting on client." Approvals stall for two reasons: the request was hard to answer, or the follow-up did not say what was at stake.
Waiting on a sign-off right now? Nori can draft the approval follow-up, with the date that moves, for you to approve.
Why client approvals take so long
Approval is a larger ask than it looks. The client has to review the work, form an opinion, collect other opinions, and commit. Each step is a place to stall.
It is also getting slower. Research from the IPA found that the average number of revision rounds before approval rose from three in 2007 to five. Only 23% of agencies said the approval process works well, compared with 56% of marketers. And while 52% of marketers said they give clear, constructive feedback, only 30% of agencies agreed.
Each side believes the process works from where it sits. Timelines slip in that gap.
How to ask for client approval
The best follow-up is the one you never need to send. A good approval request has five parts.
One link, one version. Not a folder. A single link, with the version number in the file name.
A specific question. "Thoughts?" invites an essay. "Can you approve direction A, or tell us what to change?" invites a decision.
Clear options. Two or three choices, with the one you recommend and why.
What approval unlocks. "Once approved, we start production and you will see final files on the 14th."
What happens without an answer. "If we don't hear back by Thursday, the launch moves to the following week." Stated early, as a fact.
How to get consolidated feedback
Feedback that arrives in five places (an email, a file comment, a WhatsApp voice note, a remark in a meeting, a forwarded message from a director) is not one round. It is five partial rounds that sometimes disagree.
Ask for one consolidated set of comments from one person on the client side, and write that into the scope. When feedback still arrives scattered, combine it before acting on it:
Hi Sam, here is everything we've received on the homepage concepts, in one list. Two comments conflict: Priya prefers the darker palette, Tom asked for lighter. Could you confirm which way to go? Once we have that, this counts as round two and we'll send revisions Tuesday.
This shows you listened, surfaces conflicts before you build the wrong thing, and keeps the round count accurate. Extra rounds are the most common form of agency scope creep.
A follow-up cadence for approvals
Assume the request went out Monday with a Thursday deadline.
Wednesday, midday: the reminder
Hi Jordan, a reminder that we need approval on the key visuals by tomorrow to keep the print date of the 22nd. Link here: [link]. A quick "A" or "B" is enough.
Friday morning: one day late
Hi Jordan, we didn't receive approval yesterday, so the print date is now at risk. If we have it by Monday, we can still make the 22nd by moving our proof review. After Monday, the earliest print date is the 29th. A 10-minute call works if that is easier.
The following Tuesday: a smaller ask
Hi Jordan, to keep things moving, could you approve the hero image and headline? We can start the layouts with those and add the rest of your feedback after.
The following Friday: the timeline update
Hi Jordan, a short schedule update. Since the visuals are still in review, the new print date is the 29th and the launch moves to the 3rd. Everything else is ready once we have approval.
Each message is a fact with a date. Clients respond to those faster than to "just following up." For general timing and tone, see how to follow up with a client.
How to protect the timeline
Put the approval window in the contract. "Client feedback within three working days; delays move the schedule accordingly." Later conversations then point to something you both agreed to.
Confirm verbal approvals in writing. "Looks good" in a meeting or on WhatsApp is an approval worth recording. "Confirming you approved v3 of the homepage on October 12. We're moving to development."
Review open approvals weekly. List each approval, who owns it on the client side, and the date it affects. Most delays are visible a week before they cause harm.
Do not absorb the delay quietly. When the team works the weekend to cover a late approval, the client learns that deadlines are flexible. Say what moved, every time.
How Nori helps
I watch email and Slack (WhatsApp and text are coming) for approvals that are due or overdue, and for feedback that arrives in pieces.
I combine scattered comments into one list and draft the follow-up with the link, the decision needed and the date that moves.
You review and approve every message before it reaches a client.
I keep a record of what was approved, when, and in which channel, and what is still open.
Nori is in early access, by invitation, at heynori.ai.
