How to write a follow-up email after a quote

A follow-up email after a quote is a short, polite note a few days later. Remind them what you priced, ask if they have questions, and give a clear next step. Most quotes go quiet because nobody chases them, not because the price was wrong.

Why unanswered quotes cost you time

You already went to the job, measured up, priced materials and wrote the quote. Then nothing. You cannot book the slot, and two weeks later you are not even sure if they said no or just got busy.

A quiet quote is not a no. People lose emails, they need to ask someone else, or they are waiting on another price. If you never follow up, you leave priced work sitting there. Then they ring and you quote the same job again because you cannot remember the number.

Five unanswered quotes is a week of priced work sitting idle. Chasing them is a short email. Rewriting them from scratch takes an evening.

When to send the first follow-up

Do not chase the same afternoon. They have not read it yet, and it looks needy.

For a small, urgent job, wait two working days. For a normal trade, salon or garage job, wait four to five working days. For a bigger piece of work that needs a second opinion, wait a week.

Write the chase date on the quote when you send it. If you rely on memory, the quote dies in your sent folder.

If they asked for the price by a certain day, follow up the day after that, not before. Chasing early does not speed them up. It just annoys them.

What to put in the email

They already have the quote. You are not selling the job again. Five or six lines is enough.

Do this:

1. Keep the original subject line and add Just checking at the front, so it stays in the same thread.
2. Name the job in the first sentence.
3. Ask one question: did they get it, do they have questions, or do they want to go ahead.
4. Offer one next step you can actually keep: a call, a revisit, or a start week.
5. Sign off with your name and a mobile they can tap.

A usable email:

Subject: Just checking: quote for the downstairs toilet

Hi [Name],

Just checking you received the quote for the downstairs toilet last week.

Happy to talk through any of it. If you want to go ahead I have space the week commencing 6 April.

Any questions, give me a ring.

Thanks, [Your name] [Mobile]

Skip the filler. No circling back, no guilt, no story about how busy you are.

If the quote had options, say you can trim or add so they do not feel stuck with one number. Do not paste the whole quote again unless they ask.

Email, text or a call

Use the same channel they used with you. If they texted for the quote, a text follow-up is fine. If they emailed, stay on email so the trail sits together.

A call after two quiet emails often gets the real answer. They went with someone else, they are waiting until payday, or they never saw the first email. That answer lets you close it in the book and stop carrying it.

How many times, then stop

Two follow-ups is enough for most jobs. Three if it is a large piece of work and they seemed keen on the day.

A simple rhythm:

• The day you send the quote.
• Day four or five: first follow-up.
• Day ten to twelve: second follow-up. Add a clear close: I will take it that you are not going ahead unless I hear by Friday. No problem either way.
• After that: mark it closed.

The close matters. It is polite, it gives them an easy out, and it frees your diary. People who were going to book often reply to a deadline. The rest stay quiet, and you stop carrying them.

Do not drop the price in the second email unless you genuinely overquoted. A sudden cheaper number teaches them to wait you out next time.

If they say they are still deciding, put a new chase date in the book and leave them until then. Chasing every other day is how you lose the job.

Keep a list so quotes do not go stale

You do not need a special system. A page in the job book or a note on your phone is enough.

For each quote write:

• Who, plus their number or email
• The job in five words
• Date sent
• Date to chase
• Status: waiting, chased once, booked, or no

Check it with the diary in the morning, not once a month when work is thin. If quotes live only in your sent folder, you will miss them. Sent folders are not a list.

The same idea sits behind a lot of shop floor admin: one list, one chase date, no extra evening work. You can see how we handle that kind of standing process at https://cleoagents.com/for-business.

What to watch out for

• Wrong person. If the site contact asked for the quote but someone else decides, ask who to send it to before you follow up.
• New scope in the chase. If the job has changed, send a new quote. Do not bury a new price in a follow-up.
• A different email address, or a long message they have to scroll.
• Sounding hurt. Keep it about the job, not about you waiting.
• Fixing VAT or extras in the chase, or offering a start week you cannot keep. Get the quote right first time, and only name a week you have.

What Cleo would do

A custom Cleo built for this job would keep the list of quotes you have sent, flag the ones that hit their chase date, and draft a short follow-up from the original job details so you can send it from the van. It would mark waiting, chased and closed in one place, and remind you when a second note is due. You still choose what goes out. It does the remembering and the first draft.

Common questions

How soon should I follow up after sending a quote?

For a small urgent job, wait two working days. For a normal job, wait four to five working days. For a bigger quote, wait a week. Do not chase the same afternoon.

What if they never reply at all?

Send two follow-ups, then close with a polite deadline. Mark the job as no and free the diary. Silence after that is a no.

Should I follow up by email or phone?

Stay on the channel they used with you. Email for anything with a price. After two quiet emails, one call and a short voicemail is fair. Then stop.

Is a second follow-up too pushy?

No, if it is short and you then stop. Pushy is chasing every other day, or cutting the price to force a yes.

Should I cut the price if they go quiet?

Only if you genuinely overquoted or the job changed. A random discount trains people to wait for a cheaper number.