# After a positive reply

What to send once a prospect replies with interest in Victoria AI, give first and then ask for the meeting, framed as a valuable next step.

A positive reply is the start of the deal, not the end of the outreach. What you send next decides whether it turns into a meeting.

## After a positive reply: give first, then ask for the meeting

When a prospect says yes to your offer or replies with interest, the order is the same every time:

1. **Give**: deliver what you offered (the intro, the sample, the audit) or answer their question properly.
2. **Ask**: then ask for the meeting.

The give proves you meant it. The prospect now has something useful from you, so the meeting reads as more of the same, not as the catch.

Don't skip the give and jump to "great, when are you free?". A prospect who said yes to a sample and got a calendar link instead learns that the offer was bait.

## When to ask for the meeting after a positive reply

Ideally, ask once they've had time to realize the value. Deliver the give, let it land, and follow up a day or two later with the meeting ask:

```text
Hey {first_name}, did the [sample / intro / audit] help?

If it's useful, I can walk you through how we'd do the rest for {company} in 15 minutes. Want the link to grab a time?
```

The alternative is to ask in the same message as the give. Do this when the give is quick to take in, or when the prospect has already said they want to talk:

```text
Here's the [sample] for {company}: [what it is, in a line].

The [first finding] is the one I'd look at first. If you want, I can walk you through the rest on a 15-minute call. Want the link?
```

Either way, ask once per message, and ask for one thing.

## Frame the meeting as a valuable next step, not a favour

How you ask matters as much as when. A meeting framed as a donation of their time is easy to decline:

```text
Weak: Would you be open to hopping on a quick call?
Weak: Could I grab 15 minutes of your time this week?
```

Frame the meeting by what the prospect gets from it:

```text
Better: On a 15-minute call I can show you [the three accounts in your market that are hiring right now] and how we'd reach them.
Better: Happy to walk you through the rest of the audit live. It's the fastest way to see which fixes matter for {company}.
```

- Name the outcome of the call, in their terms: what they'll see, learn or leave with.
- Keep it short and specific: 15 minutes, one topic.
- Make it the natural continuation of the give, not a new pitch.
- Don't call it a demo when you can call it what they get.

## How the Appointment Setter handles a positive reply

When a campaign runs the Appointment Setter in **Autonomous** mode, it picks up the positive reply. It answers from your **Campaign description** and **Knowledge base**, can share one of your **Assets** when it's relevant, and asks for the meeting with your **Booking link** once the prospect shows interest. It asks them to reply once they've booked, because it can't see your calendar.

To make it give first and frame the meeting your way, say so in **Custom instructions**:

```text
When a prospect says yes to [the give], share the [asset] first. Ask for a 15-minute call to walk through [what they'll get] in the same message or the next one. Always frame the call by what they'll see on it.
```

If the give is something a person has to make, such as a custom audit, add it to **Always hand off when…**, for example "the prospect says yes to the audit". The agent then hands the conversation to you. See [Appointment Setter configuration](https://docs.versionseven.ai/playbook/appointment-setter-configuration).

## When you answer a positive reply yourself

When a conversation is yours, from **Take over** in the **Inbox** or a hand-off marked **Needs you**:

- Answer the same day. Interest cools fast.
- Deliver the give in the reply. Here, unlike in a sequence, a link or an attachment is fine, because the prospect asked for it.
- Ask for the meeting, framed as above.
- When they tell you they booked, select **Mark meeting booked** so it counts in analytics.

See [Inbox basics](https://docs.versionseven.ai/help/inbox-basics).