The quote that never got answered

Every business that quotes work has a pile of these. The site visit went fine, the customer seemed keen, the quote went out that evening, and then nothing. A week later you are not sure whether to chase, and a fortnight later it feels too late to.

Here is what is usually going on, and what to do about it.

It is almost never a no

When somebody decides not to go ahead, they mostly say so, because it is the easy message to send. The ones who go quiet are usually somewhere else:

• They are waiting on a second quote that has not arrived either.
• They meant to reply and the week ate it.
• They have a question they feel silly asking.
• The money is not there this month and they are embarrassed to say.

None of those is a rejection. All of them are helped by a short, friendly message that makes replying easy.

The follow-up that works

The temptation is to ask “Did you get my quote?” Avoid it. It puts the customer on the spot and invites a one-word answer.

Try this instead, three or four days after the quote:

Hi Dana, just checking whether the fence quote made sense. Happy to hold the date if you want to go ahead, and no problem at all if not.

It does three things. It assumes they read it, it offers something (the date), and it gives them an easy exit, which paradoxically makes people more likely to say yes. Nobody wants to be chased; everybody appreciates being checked on.

Then stop

One more message a week later, shorter still:

Still want to go ahead with the fence? Happy to hold the date.

If that gets nothing, leave it. Two follow-ups is a person being helpful. Four is a system pestering, and it costs you the referral even if it never cost you the job.

Why it does not happen

Not because owners do not know this. Because the follow-up falls due on a Thursday afternoon when you are on a roof, and by the time you are off the roof you have forgotten which quotes went out when.

That is a scheduling problem, not a sales problem, and scheduling problems are what automation is for. A quote that goes quiet should trigger the first check-in on its own, in your words, and stop the moment the customer replies. You do the talking; the system does the remembering.

A worked example

Say you send eight quotes a week and three go quiet. If a single friendly follow-up turns one of those three into a yes, that is a job a week you were already most of the way to winning, with no extra site visits and no extra advertising. Multiply by your average job and by fifty weeks, and it is usually the largest number on this page.