The most expensive quote in your business is the one sitting in "Sent" that nobody followed up. It was already 80% won — the customer liked you, the price was in range, the timing worked. Then life happened: their half went quiet, your half went quiet, and the job went to whoever rang next.
The fix isn't personality or persistence — it's a schedule. Below is the follow-up rhythm that works for UK trades and service businesses, three copy-paste message templates, and the tracking habit that makes the whole thing run without willpower.
Why Quotes Die Quietly
Understanding the other side makes chasing easier and less awkward. When a quote goes unanswered, the real reason is usually one of:
- It slipped. Your quote is in their inbox between a supplier invoice and a school newsletter. No decision was made — no decision was possible.
- The timing moved. The kitchen extension got postponed a month. They still want it. They're embarrassed to say so.
- They're comparing. You're quote two of three, and quote three hasn't arrived yet. Following up keeps you in the race.
- A detail stalled them. A question about the deposit, a date conflict, a line item they didn't understand — answerable in 30 seconds if anyone asks.
Notice what's missing: "they chose someone else". Genuine rejections usually announce themselves. Silence is almost never a no — it's a pause. Which is why the follow-up schedule exists.
The Follow-Up Schedule
Simple enough to actually run:
| When | Channel | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Email/PDF | Quote sent — logged as "Sent" |
| Day 3–4 | Check-in: "any questions on the quote?" | |
| Day 8–10 | Phone | The human touch — this one wins jobs |
| Day 14 | Soft close: "shall I pencil in a start date, or leave it with you?" | |
| Day 30 | The long-tail: "still happy to help if the timing's changed" |
Two rules make the schedule work:
- The day-8 phone call is the one that matters. Email is easy to ignore; a friendly five-minute call isn't. Most accepted jobs in this segment trace back to a call, not a message.
- Five touches, then stop. After the day-30 note, move the quote to "Dormant" and stop carrying it in your head. If they come back in six months — and plenty do — the quote's still there.
Three Copy-Paste Templates
Day 3–4 (email):
Hi [Name], just checking you got the quote for [job] — happy to talk through any of the line items if anything needs clarifying. If the timing's moved, no problem at all, just let me know either way. — [Your name]
Day 8–10 (phone, five minutes):
"Hi [Name], [Your name] here — I sent the quote for [job] last week. Just wondering if you'd had a chance to look at it, and whether anything in it needs explaining? ... And is the timing still right for you?"
Day 14 (email, the soft close):
Hi [Name], I'm planning next month's schedule — shall I pencil in a start date for [job], or would you rather leave it for now? Either way is completely fine, I'd just rather know. — [Your name]
The tone throughout: helpful, unhurried, zero pressure. You're being useful, not pushy — because you are.
The Tracking Habit That Makes It Work
The schedule fails without a trigger — which is where most follow-up systems actually break. Three requirements:
- Every quote has a status. Draft, Sent, Accepted, Rejected — and "Sent" needs a date attached, because the schedule keys off it.
- The "Sent" list is visible. A weekly five-minute review: what's in Sent, what's overdue for a chase, what goes to Dormant. This is the highest-return five minutes in the sales week.
- Chasing doesn't depend on memory. If follow-ups live in your head, they lose to the day's emergencies — every time. The trigger has to be the system, not you.
This is why quote status is a core part of SME System: every quote moves Draft → Sent → Accepted/Rejected, the Sent list is one click away, and the pipeline view makes stale quotes obvious — which pairs naturally with the pipeline stages that get you to a sent quote in the first place.
What This Is Worth
Run the numbers for your own business: average job value × quotes in "Sent" right now × your realistic recovery rate. Even recovering one job a month at £2,500 is £30,000 a year — from work you'd already priced and pitched. No other sales activity comes close to that return on five minutes a week.
If you want the tracking half handled automatically — statuses, dates, a visible Sent list, and quotes that convert to jobs when they're accepted — that's built into SME System. Start a free trial, send your next quote through it, and let the schedule do the chasing.