You priced the job properly, sat in the customer’s kitchen and sent a tidy quote the same day. Then silence. Most trade firms never follow up on quotes like that one, because the diary is full and the phone keeps ringing.
If you run a trade business with a team and a few hundred thousand a year coming through it, that silence costs you more than any bad debt. Learning how to follow up on quotes properly is one of the cheapest growth levers you have, because the hard work of winning the enquiry is already done.
The catch is that the owner shouldn’t be the one doing the chasing. So here’s the system I get my clients to build, so every quote gets followed up without anyone sounding desperate.
The short answer: the best way to follow up on quotes is a fixed sequence your office runs, not a reminder in your head. Use five touches over about three weeks, mixing a call, a text and an email, and make each one useful. Then track every open quote in one place and check your conversion rate monthly.
Why most trade firms never follow up on quotes
In almost every business I coach, the quoting process stops at “send”. The reasons are nearly always the same.
- The owner is the only person who knows the job. So the follow-up waits until the owner has a spare hour, which never comes.
- There’s no list. Quotes live in an inbox, a notebook and a quoting app, so nobody can see what’s still open.
- Fear of sounding pushy. Most tradespeople would rather lose the job than feel like a double-glazing salesman.
- A full diary hides the problem. When you’re busy, unconverted quotes don’t feel urgent. Then January arrives.
None of those are sales problems. They’re systems problems, which is good news, because a system can be fixed in a week.
What an unchased quote really costs
Do this sum with your own numbers, not mine. Take the quotes you sent last month and add up their value. Then add up the value of the ones you won. The gap is your open pipeline, and some of it went to a competitor simply because they rang back and you didn’t.
As an illustration only: a firm sending 25 quotes a month at an average of £6,000 has £150,000 of work going out of the door. Winning two extra jobs a month through better follow-up would add £12,000 of turnover, for the cost of a few phone calls. Run it with your real figures and the case makes itself.
That’s why quote conversion is on my list of KPIs every tradesman should track. If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it.
The 5-touch system to follow up on quotes
Here’s the sequence. Adjust the days to suit your trade, but keep the shape. Each touch should give the customer a reason to reply, rather than just asking whether they’ve decided yet.
| Touch | When | Channel | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Same day | Email with the quote | Thanks them, recaps the scope in plain English and says when you’ll be in touch |
| 2 | Day 2 to 3 | Phone call | Checks they received it and understood it, and answers questions while the visit is fresh |
| 3 | Day 7 | Text or WhatsApp | Short and friendly, with one useful thing: a photo of a similar finished job or a review |
| 4 | Day 14 | Phone call | Asks where they’re at and uncovers the real objection: price, timing, partner or another quote |
| 5 | Day 21 | A polite close-out: shall I keep this open or close it off for now? |
That last message matters. Giving people permission to say no takes the pressure off, and in practice it’s the one that gets answers. Some say yes, some say not yet, and some tell you why they went elsewhere, which is useful in itself.
Who should follow up on quotes? Not you
If you’re turning over £400k or more with a team, you should not be chasing quotes yourself. Your job is to build the system and check it’s working. Instead, hand it to whoever runs your office: an office manager, an estimator or a virtual assistant.
To make that work, give them three things.
- A single quote tracker. A CRM, or even a shared spreadsheet, showing every open quote, its value, the date sent and the next touch due.
- Scripts for each touch. Written once, in your voice, so they never have to guess what to say.
- A rule for when to pass it back. Technical questions and price negotiation go to the estimator or owner. Everything else, they handle.
This works even better when it starts earlier. If you qualify every enquiry before you go out to price it, your quotes go to people who were serious in the first place, so the follow-up lands better.
Two myths about chasing quotes
“Chasing makes you look desperate”
It doesn’t. What looks desperate is dropping the price on the second call. A well-timed, helpful follow-up looks organised. After all, a customer hiring a firm for a five-figure job wants to see that you’re on top of things, because that’s how they’ll expect you to run their job.
“80% of sales happen after the fifth contact”
You’ll see this on every sales training slide. I’ve never found a solid source for it, so don’t build your business on it. The honest version is simpler: plenty of jobs are won by the firm that stays in touch, and you’ll only know your own numbers once you start tracking them.
What to say when you follow up on quotes
Keep each message short, specific and human. Here are a few lines that work.
- Day 2 to 3 call: “Just checking the quote came through okay and made sense. Is there anything you’d like me to go over?”
- Day 7 text: “Hi Sarah, thought you’d like to see a kitchen we finished last month with the same worktop. Any questions on your quote, just shout.”
- Day 14 call: “Where are you at with it? If something’s holding you back, I’d rather know, because we can often adjust the spec.”
- Day 21 email: “I don’t want to keep chasing if the timing isn’t right. Shall I keep your quote open, or close it off for now?”
If the objection is price, don’t discount on reflex. I’ve written about what to say when a client says you’re too expensive, and the same principles apply here.
One compliance point. Following up a quote someone asked you for is normal business contact. However, adding them to a marketing list afterwards is different. The ICO’s guidance on direct marketing sets out the rules for emails and texts, so read it before you start sending newsletters.
Measure it, then improve it
Once you follow up on quotes the same way every time, review three numbers each month with whoever runs the system.
- Quote conversion rate, by number of jobs and by value.
- Average time to decision, from quote sent to a yes or no.
- Reasons for losing, logged honestly from the day 21 replies.
After three months you’ll know where the leaks are. If people go quiet after seeing the price, your quote document needs work. Meanwhile, if you lose on timing, you need to book further ahead. That’s the kind of thing we fix together in 1-1 business coaching, and it’s one of the business systems every tradesman needs to grow.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I wait to follow up on a quote?
Call within two or three days of sending it. That’s soon enough that the visit is still fresh, and long enough that the customer has had a chance to read it properly. Waiting a fortnight for the first follow-up is where most jobs quietly drift to a competitor.
How many times should I chase a quote?
Five touches over about three weeks is a good default for domestic work. After that, close it off politely and set a reminder for three months’ time. Some customers come back when their timing changes, and a friendly check-in at that point often wins the job.
Should I follow up by phone, text or email?
Use all three. A phone call is best for uncovering objections, a text is quick and gets read, and an email gives the customer a recap they can forward to a partner. Mixing channels means you reach people the way they prefer, without repeating yourself.
Who in my business should chase quotes?
Not the owner, once you have a team. An office manager, estimator or virtual assistant can run the sequence from a tracker, using scripts you’ve written. Technical questions and price talks come back to the estimator. That way quotes get chased every time, even in your busiest weeks.
What if the customer says the price is too high?
Ask what they’re comparing it with before you react. Often the other quote is for a different spec. Explain what’s included, offer to adjust the scope rather than the rate, and then decide. Discounting straight away teaches customers that your first price isn’t your real price.
If quotes are leaking out of your business and you want a system your team runs without you, let’s talk. Book a free 20-minute call and we’ll look at your numbers together.
