Following up a quote without being pushy: when, how, and an example email
The quote has gone out, the customer said they would let you know, and three weeks later nobody in the office remembers who was supposed to call back. If you do not follow up a quote, you leave the decision to the customer, and sometimes to a competitor who does call.
Published by Abdelhay Rahou (opens in a new window)5 November 20266 min read
Why quotes get left lying around
In a service company, the quote is often written by the managing director or by the technician who was on site, in between two interventions. Sending it still happens. The follow-up falls through the cracks, for a few familiar reasons:
- Nobody owns the follow-up. The quote has gone out, but who calls back is not written down anywhere.
- The follow-up has no date, only a good intention.
- The validity runs out without anyone noticing, while the prices of parts may have changed in the meantime.
- The quote sits in a mailbox or a folder, not in a list with a status.
- After a “yes” on the phone, the work does not go to the schedule straight away, and the customer is kept waiting again.
So following up is mainly a matter of organisation: who, when, and what happens after the answer.
When do you follow up a quote?
A fixed rule works better than looking for the right moment each time. These four moments make a simple rule for quotes for maintenance, repairs and installations:
- When you send it. Tell the customer when you will call back, and note that date straight away. An agreed call does not feel pushy to the customer.
- After a few working days. A short phone call: did the quote arrive safely, and are there any questions? With technical work, the questions are often about how the work will be done, the timing or access to the installation, and a customer finds it easier to ask those on the phone than by email.
- About a week before the expiry date. A short email that recalls the validity and suggests a next step.
- After the expiry date. Extend it, possibly with updated prices, or close it with a reason. A list full of expired quotes no longer tells you anything.
On the phone, you ask three questions: is the proposal clear, does it fit what the customer needs, and what still has to happen before they can decide? The answer to that last question, for example “the owner has to agree”, is your next follow-up.
An example email to follow up a quote
Short, concrete and with one question. Adapt the words in brackets.
Subject: Your quote [number] for [the work]
Good morning [name], last week we sent you our quote for [the work] at [address]. Did you receive it, and do you have any questions about how the work will be done or the scheduling? The quote is valid until [date]. As soon as you give your approval, we will schedule the intervention and let you know the date. Kind regards, [name and phone number]
What this email does well: it recalls what it is about, mentions the validity, asks one question and says what happens after approval. What it avoids: apologising for following up, a long repetition of the quote, or pressure with a deadline that does not exist.
A fixed way of working for the office
At any moment, every quote has a status, an owner and a next step. This is what that looks like:
| Status | What needs to happen | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Check and send | Whoever wrote the quote |
| Sent, waiting for customer | Follow up on the agreed date | Sales or managing director |
| Expiring soon | Send a reminder or extend | Sales or managing director |
| Expired | Extend or close with a reason | Sales or managing director |
| Accepted | Confirm and schedule the intervention | Office and planning |
If the request for a quote comes in by email, the follow-up already starts in the shared inbox: whoever picks up the email also becomes the owner of the quote.
Once a week, someone goes through the list: what is due for follow-up today, what expires this week, what has been accepted but not yet scheduled. It takes little time and stops a “yes” from sitting there for weeks.
Short video · 0:30
Offerte verstuurd, en daarna stilte?
U ziet welke offertes wachten, wat binnenkort vervalt en wat de volgende stap is. Zegt de klant ja, dan bevestigt u en maakt u de interventie aan.
Video in Dutch, with Dutch captions
All short videos (in Dutch)How it works in Digitalnatie Service Suite
The quotes screen tracks your price proposals from draft to confirmed order.
- Key figures: the drafts, the quotes sent and waiting for the customer, and the outstanding amount excluding VAT. Only people allowed to see the financial figures see the amounts.
- Alerts: expired quotes are flagged, as are the quotes that expire within 7 days.
- Next step: for each quote, a column says what needs to happen, for example check and send, or, for an expired quote, extend or cancel it.
- Scheduled follow-ups: in the service CRM, you schedule a follow-up activity on the lead. Overdue follow-ups appear in red, today’s in orange, and after a conversation you can record the next step straight away by scheduling the next activity.
- Confirmation: when the customer says yes, the quote becomes a sales order. Depending on the products, Service Suite creates the interventions straight away; otherwise you create the intervention, the project, the maintenance contract or the invoice yourself from the sales order, after which the intervention goes to the schedule.
Good to know: a quote is not sent by email from the application. You open the PDF, send it to the customer yourself and then mark the quote as sent. From then on, Service Suite tracks the validity and the next step.
Frequently asked questions
How long after sending a quote should I follow it up?
Agree on a date when you send it, and stick to it. Without an agreement, a short phone call after a few working days is a good first step, and a reminder well before the expiry date a second one.
Can I follow up a quote more than once?
Yes, as long as each follow-up adds something: an answer to a question, a reminder of the validity or a proposed date. After the expiry date, you extend the quote or close it, so that your list stays accurate.
What do I do if the customer does not answer?
Try another channel, for example a phone call after an email, and ask whether someone else makes the decision. If you still hear nothing after the expiry date, close the follow-up. In the service CRM, you record a reason and a note when you mark the lead as lost, so that you can see later why quotes did not go ahead.
Can I send a quote by email from Service Suite?
Not today. You open the quote as a PDF, send it to the customer yourself and then mark it as sent. After that, Service Suite tracks the validity and the next step until the customer decides.