Why Quotes Go Quiet, and When to Follow Up

You go out, measure up, write the quote and send it. Then nothing. No yes, no no. Most owners read the silence as a polite no and get on with the next job.

Often it isn't a no yet. The customer is waiting to talk it over at home. They're waiting on two other quotes. They have a question they feel daft asking, like whether the price includes hauling the old stuff away. The email went to a folder they never open. Or they got busy, the same way you did.

A short message can move every one of those. None of them fixes itself.

Level CFO looked at when quotes get accepted. The ones that win are usually accepted in about two days. The ones that lose tend to sit unanswered for about a month before anybody calls them dead. Source: Level CFO (levelcfo.com/blog/quote-follow-up-7-day-rule/).

Two things follow. A quote that's gone past a couple of days without an answer has left the easy-yes group. The customer hasn't decided against you, but something is in the way. And the long quiet stretch where lost quotes sit is the window where a follow-up can still work. At two weeks, most of it is still open.

Waiting for them to come back to you is the one plan the timing argues against.

A schedule that fits the timing:

Day three. Just past the two-day window, and early enough that you're fresh in their mind. Check the quote arrived and ask if they have questions.

Day seven. They've probably seen the other quotes by now. Send something useful: the answer to a question people often ask about this job, a date you could start, or a photo of a similar one you finished.

Day fourteen. The last one. Make it easy to say no. Some people who would never answer a push will answer a message that lets them off the hook, and a no is still worth having, because you can stop wondering.

Stop as soon as they reply, whichever way. Nobody wants a fourth check-in after they've said yes.

Short, from you by name, about their job, with one question that's easy to answer. For example:

Day three: 'Hi [name], it's [your name] from [your company]. Just checking the quote for the bathroom came through okay. Anything you'd like me to explain?'

Day seven: 'Hi [name], people often ask whether the price includes taking the old tub away. It does. I've got a start date free on the 14th if that suits.'

Day fourteen: 'Hi [name], I don't want to keep bothering you. Shall I close this quote out, or is it still on your list?'

What to leave out: a discount nobody asked for, which teaches customers to wait you out. Warnings that prices are going up, unless they are. And the same message sent three times.

Use whatever the customer used to reach you. If they called you, a text is usually the better bet, because a quote sent as an email attachment can sit unopened for days. Send the quote by email if you need to, and the check-ins by text.

Almost every owner agrees with all of this and still doesn't do it. The reason is simple. Day three, seven and fourteen land on days you're out on other jobs, and nothing reminds you. The quote is in an email thread or a folder, and by the time you think of it a month has gone.

The fix is to take the remembering out of your hands. A calendar reminder for every quote works if you'll keep it up. So does a list the office works through each morning. Some quoting software can send follow-ups too; check that they come from you by name and stop when the customer replies.

Doesn't following up look desperate? Not if it's short and useful. A customer comparing three quotes notices the company that bothered to check in. Five messages in a week looks desperate. Three over two weeks looks organized.

What if they've gone with someone else? Then the day-fourteen message gets you that answer and you can close it. Now and then it's worth asking what tipped it, as long as you ask plainly and take the answer.

Should I drop the price? Only if they ask, and only if you'd be happy doing the job at the new number. Plenty of quiet quotes are waiting on something other than money, so find out which it is before you cut anything.

Quote check-ins on a set schedule (day three, seven and fourteen for a roofer), sent in your name and stopped when the customer accepts or declines, are part of the business dashboard I set up at theyname.com, at $499 a month plus a one-off setup. Everything above works just as well by hand, as long as somebody actually does it.