Follow up on a quote: the 5-step method

To follow up on a quote effectively, pull every quote that’s gone unanswered for more than 7 days, sort it by amount, then send a short message at regular intervals until you get a clear yes or no.

The problem: quotes gathering dust

A B2B business owner summed up his problem in one number: $700,000 in quotes sitting untouched. Not small amounts either. He sells to hotels and campgrounds, big-ticket deals like that.

That number didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s work already done: quotes priced out, sent, often well received. But behind it, there was no follow-up system in place. So the client says yes in his head, then moves on to something else. And the business waits, never picking the conversation back up.

This case isn’t rare. Most business owners send a quote, then hope for a reply. But hope is not a method.

How to follow up on a quote in 5 steps, no tools or budget needed

Here’s the full method. A spreadsheet is enough, so you don’t need any paid software to get started.

Step 1: pull every quote with no reply after more than 7 days

Open your quote file. List every quote sent more than a week ago that still hasn’t gotten a reply. For each one, note the client’s name, the amount, the date it went out, and the date of the last follow-up.

Step 2: sort by amount

Sort the list from the biggest amount to the smallest. Start with your 20 largest quotes. That’s where the most money is sitting, waiting.

Step 3: send a short message, no pitch

Here’s the message to copy as is:

“Hi [first name], just circling back on the quote from [date]. Is it still on your radar?”

Why it works: zero pressure, a closed question, easy to answer. The client doesn’t need to write an essay. They answer yes, no, or ask a question. Either way, all three answers move things forward.

Steps 4 and 5: keep up the pace to follow up on a quote

The last two steps make all the difference when it comes to following up on a quote without wearing yourself out.

Step 4: note the date of the next follow-up before closing the file

This is the step everyone skips. You send the message, move on to the next client, and forget to schedule what comes next. The quote then falls back into silence. So write down the next follow-up date before closing the file, never after.

Step 5: repeat every 7 to 10 days until you get a clear yes or no

Keep going until you get a clear answer. Mix up the channel a bit: an email, then a call, then a text. That way, you’re not sending the exact same message three times in a row.

Why you need to stick with it to follow up on your quote

Here’s the number that changes everything, the one I repeat to every client: it actually takes 5 to 12 follow-ups to convert, and somewhere in that 5 to 12 range you close up to 80% of your sales.

Yet most business owners stop after a single follow-up. They send one message, get no reply, and give up. But the sale is actually won somewhere between the 2nd and the 12th follow-up.

So why do so few people apply this simple method? My answer is blunt: people are people, and they just don’t do it. In other words, willpower doesn’t change that. The real problem is the routine itself, and a manual routine always eventually breaks.

Following up is a service, not harassment

Many business owners hesitate to follow up because they’re afraid of being a bother. But one client told us the opposite. This client, a coach by trade, told us this:

He told us flat out: if he ever goes quiet, follow up on him anyway. He gets the urge to push things forward, then forgets, then feels bad about having forgotten.

That sums up the situation well. The client wants to move forward. He’s actually counting on you to follow up. Following up on a quote does a favor for someone who’s overwhelmed. It’s never a nuisance.

The automated version: the same process, without the manual effort

You can run this method by hand for months. It works. But the real challenge is elsewhere: keeping it up over the long run, week after week.

The automated version follows the exact same 5 steps to follow up on a quote, without you having to think about it. The file fills itself in the moment a quote goes out. Follow-ups go out on the right dates, with message variations already written in advance. As soon as the client replies, everything stops automatically. And if a case needs a real person, like a negotiation or an objection, a reminder comes in so you can take over yourself.

In short, the logic doesn’t change. Only the consistency does.

Setting up automatic follow-ups in your own space

So you can do all of this by hand with this article, without paying a cent. It works, as long as you keep the pace.

The real cost isn’t in the method. It’s in the time it takes every week, and in keeping it up over months on end. That’s where Meriaky comes in: we set up this system in your own space, with your own message templates, so follow-ups keep running without you having to remember them.

If you want to go deeper on this, our article on how to automate client follow-ups covers how following up on a quote fits into a bigger picture of after-sale follow-through.

Frequently asked questions

About the author

Edouard Vilver · Co-founder of Meriaky

Software engineer with 15 years of experience, including more than 7 years at the National Bank of Canada, where he rolled out electronic signatures and migrated systems to the cloud. Today, he helps small businesses automate their client follow-up and repetitive tasks with AI.

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