Following Up a Quote
Sending the quote is where most tradies stop, and it's where a good share of the work is lost. Here's the follow-up sequence, what to actually say, and how to get a straight answer instead of silence.
You've priced the job properly, written the scope, put your exclusions on it and sent it. Then nothing. Most tradies treat that silence as a no and move on, which is expensive, because a quote you've already done is the cheapest work in the business — no driving, no measuring, no pricing, and the client has already had you at their place. This guide is about the fortnight after you hit send: when to make contact, what to say so it doesn't sound like nagging, how to get a reason when you lose, and what your acceptance rate is really telling you.
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Silence is almost never a decision
When a quote goes quiet, the assumption is that you were too dear and they've gone elsewhere. Sometimes that's true. Far more often nothing has happened at all — the quote is sitting in an inbox behind forty other emails, one of the two people who has to agree hasn't looked at it yet, or they meant to reply on Tuesday and it's now the following week.
That matters because the two situations need opposite responses. A client who has chosen someone else is finished and you should close it off. A client who simply hasn't got to it needs one nudge, and a decent share of them become jobs.
You can't tell the two apart without asking. The whole point of following up is to convert an unknown into a yes or a no, because both of those are useful and silence is worth nothing to you.
Set the follow-up up before you leave site
The reason following up feels awkward is that it usually arrives out of nowhere. Fix that while you're still standing in the driveway and the whole thing becomes an appointment rather than a chase.
- Say when the quote is coming. "I'll have this to you tonight." Then send it when you said. Half your competition won't.
- Book the follow-up out loud. "Is Thursday alright for me to give you a ring and see what you think?" Almost nobody says no, and now the call is expected.
- Find out who else decides. A partner, a landlord, a property manager, a body corporate. Quoting to one of two decision-makers is the most common reason a quote stalls with no explanation.
- Ask what else they're looking at. Not to talk down a competitor — to find out whether they're comparing three prices, waiting on an insurer, or already decided and being polite.
- Ask when they want it done. A start date in their head gives you the natural reason to make contact, and tells you whether this is a fortnight decision or a spring one.
Two minutes of that on site saves the whole awkward dance later. It also tends to surface the real objection while you're there, which is the only place you can properly answer it.
The sequence: when to make contact
Three contacts over about a fortnight suits most residential work. Bigger commercial jobs and anything going through an insurer or a builder run to a longer clock — follow their timeline rather than this one.
- Send it when you said you would. Same day if you promised same day. A quote that arrives three days late has already told them something about how you'll run the job, and it lands after they've read two others.
- Day two or three — check it landed. The purpose of this one is genuinely practical: did it arrive, and does the scope match what they had in mind? It's the least awkward call you'll make, and it catches the quotes that went to spam.
- About a week — give them a reason to answer. Not "just checking in". Bring something new: your availability, a lead time on a part, a price that's about to move, or a cheaper option you've thought of since. Something that makes replying useful to them.
- About a fortnight — ask for a decision. Plainly and without resentment. You're not asking them to say yes, you're asking them to say something, so you can either book it or stop thinking about it.
- Then close it and diarise it. Mark it lost, note the reason, and put anything that was a timing problem into a list to revisit in three or six months. A quote that wasn't a no, only a not-yet, is the easiest work you'll ever pick up later.
Match their channel. If they've only ever texted you, don't ring them and leave voicemails — text. If they're an older client who rings for everything, don't email. The follow-up that gets answered is the one that arrives the way they already talk to you.
What to actually say
The reason "just following up on my quote" fails is that it puts the whole burden on them and gives them nothing to respond to. Every message should carry a reason to reply.
- Checking it landed. "Sent that quote through Tuesday — did it come through alright? Happy to run through any of it on the phone if something's not clear."
- A real deadline. "Supplier prices on the fittings go up on the 1st, so if you want it at that number I'd need to order by Friday." Only say this when it's true.
- Your availability. "I've got a spot the week of the 14th. After that I'm into next month — did you want me to hold it?"
- Offering an alternative. "If the number's more than you were after, there's a version where we do the switchboard now and the rest later. Want me to price that?"
- The closing message. "No dramas either way — just let me know if it's a no so I can stop chasing you and get out of your inbox."
That last one does more work than any of the others. Giving someone explicit permission to say no is what gets you an answer, because most people go quiet out of awkwardness rather than dislike — and a clean no today is worth more than a maybe you carry around for a month.
Don't drop your price in a follow-up. The moment a nudge turns into a discount, you've taught that client and everyone they talk to that your first number is negotiable, and you've given away the margin you priced deliberately. If the number genuinely needs to change, change the scope with it.
Losing well: get the reason
When someone tells you they've gone with someone else, ask one more question before you let it go. It costs nothing, most people answer honestly, and it's the only thing you can still take from a job you've lost.
Something like: "Fair enough — do you mind me asking, was it price or timing?" The answer usually falls into one of four buckets, and each one points somewhere different.
| What they say | What it usually means | What to do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Someone came in cheaper | Either your pricing is out, or you're being compared against a quote that doesn't include what yours does | Check whether the other quote covered the same scope before you touch your rates |
| They could start sooner | A diary problem, not a price problem | Nothing wrong with your quote — book these in a follow-up list, because the fast tradie often lets them down |
| We've decided to hold off | Genuine, and usually money or a change of plan | Diarise for three to six months; this is the easiest revisit you'll get |
| We weren't sure what was included | Your quote wasn't clear enough | Fix the document, not the price — this one is entirely within your control |
| No answer at all | Your follow-up, or you never found the second decision-maker | Work on the sequence, and ask who else decides while you're on site |
Write the reason down each time. After twenty or thirty quotes you'll have your own pattern rather than a feeling, and it's usually not the one you expected — most tradies who assume they're losing on price discover they're losing on availability or on quotes that were never followed up at all.
Know your acceptance rate
Count them over a quarter: quotes sent, quotes won. That single fraction tells you more about where to put your effort than any amount of thinking about marketing.
- Winning nearly everything isn't the triumph it looks like. Either you're pricing under what the market will bear, or you're only quoting work you were always going to get. Try raising a price and see what happens.
- Winning a small fraction means more leads won't help — you'd just be quoting more work you don't win. Look at your pricing, your scope clarity and your follow-up in that order.
- Somewhere in the middle is where most established trade businesses sit, and the lever with the best return is usually the follow-up, because it's the one nobody is doing.
Track one more number alongside it: how many of the quotes you sent got followed up at all. In most trade businesses that number is well under half, and it's the gap between the two figures where the recoverable work is sitting.
ServiceYak builds quotes from your saved rates and sends them as a link the customer accepts on their phone — so you can see what's been sent, what's been opened and what's still sitting there waiting on an answer, and one tap turns an accepted quote into the job.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I wait before following up a quote?
Two or three days for the first contact — long enough that they've had a chance to read it, short enough that you're still the tradie they met. Then about a week, then about a fortnight for the one that asks for a decision. Anything that's gone quiet past that is better closed off and diarised than chased.
How many times should I follow up a quote?
Three is plenty for residential work: one to check it landed, one that gives them a reason to reply, and one that asks for a straight answer. After that you're spending time on someone who has already decided. Close it, note the reason, and put the timing-related ones in a list to revisit in a few months.
Is following up a quote pushy?
Not if you booked it on site and not if each message has a point to it. What reads as pushy is the same content-free "just checking in" arriving repeatedly. What reads as professional is a tradie who said he'd ring Thursday and rang Thursday with something useful to say.
Should I follow up after the job as well?
Yes, and it's the follow-up most tradies skip. A quick call once the work's done — before the invoice goes out — is how you find out about a problem while it's still a ten-minute return visit rather than a reason not to pay. It also lets you tell them the invoice is coming, which noticeably speeds up payment.