A quote that goes quiet hasn’t necessarily been turned down. The customer may be busy, checking with someone, or waiting on two other quotes, and a short, polite follow-up gives them an easy way back. Here’s a simple follow-up rhythm, nine messages you can copy, how to answer “too expensive” and “I need to think about it”, and how to stop relying on memory to chase them.
When to follow up a quote
There’s no magic schedule, and we haven’t seen a study worth quoting on the exact days. This is our suggestion for most trade and service quotes. Stretch it for big jobs like renovations, and shrink it for urgent repairs, where people decide in hours.
A short text to say the quote is in their inbox, so it doesn’t sit unread in a junk folder.
Check it arrived and offer to explain anything. One question, easy to answer.
Add something useful: a detail you didn’t mention, a photo of similar work, or your next free dates.
An honest check: are they still deciding, and is anything in the quote getting in the way?
Close the loop. Say you’ll leave it with them, and make it easy to come back.
Ask before you leave the site: “When are you hoping to decide?” Then follow up the day after that date. If they say after the school holidays, a message on day three is noise, and a message the Monday after the holidays is service.
After the day 14 message, stop. Someone who hasn’t answered four polite messages has given you an answer. Keep the quote on your list with a note, so if they come back in March you know exactly what you quoted.
Nine quote follow-up messages to copy
Swap the words in [square brackets] for your own. Send them from your business number or email, sign off with your name and business name, and keep each one about their job. They’re written for text unless they say email.
The first week, by text
Hi [Name], it’s [Your name] from [Business]. I’ve just emailed your quote for the [job] at [suburb]. If it’s not there, check your junk folder or reply here and I’ll resend it.
Hi [Name], [Your name] from [Business]. Did the quote for the [job] come through OK? Happy to talk you through any of it, or change anything that doesn’t suit.
Hi [Name], one thing I didn’t mention about your [job]: [useful detail, such as how long it takes or what the warranty covers]. I’ve got [day] and [day] free if you’d like to book it in. [Your name], [Business]
Day 7, by email
Subject: Your quote for the [job]
Hi [Name],
Following up on the quote I sent on [date] for the [job] at [suburb]. If you’re still deciding, there’s no rush. If something in it doesn’t suit, like the price, the timing or what’s included, tell me and I’ll see what I can do.
Cheers,
[Your name], [Business], [phone]
When the quote has a real end date, by email
Subject: Your [job] quote is valid until [date]
Hi [Name], a heads up that the price in your quote holds until [date], because [real reason, such as supplier prices changing next month]. If you’d like to go ahead, reply and I’ll pencil you in. If you need longer, let me know.
[Your name], [Business]
Only send that one if it’s true. An invented deadline is easy to spot, and it costs you the trust the job depends on.
How to handle “too expensive”, “I need to think about it” and silence
“It's more than we expected”
Don’t drop the price in your first reply. Ask what they’re comparing it with, because two quotes often aren’t for the same job. Then offer a choice that changes the scope, not just the number: a different product, doing it in stages, or leaving out the part they could live without.
“Thanks for being upfront, [Name]. I’d rather find an option that works than lose you on price. Is the other quote for the same [product or scope]? I could [option, such as do it in two stages], which would bring it to about [$amount]. Want me to send that version through?”
“I need to think about it”
This usually means there’s a question they haven’t asked yet, or someone else they need to check with. Make it easy to ask, and agree when you’ll follow up rather than guessing.
“No worries at all, [Name], it’s a big decision. Is there anything I can answer that would help, or anyone else who’d like to see it? I’ll check in on [day] unless you’d rather I didn’t.”
Silence
Silence is often a busy week, not a no. Keep each message shorter than the last, and on day 14 send the one that lets them off the hook. It gives them an easy way to say yes, no or not yet.
“Hi [Name], I haven’t heard back about the [job], so I’ll guess the timing isn’t right and close off the quote for now. If anything changes, reply here and I’ll pick it straight back up. Thanks for considering [Business]. [Your name]”
“We've gone with someone else”
Take it well. A short, gracious reply keeps the door open, and asking why helps you quote the next one.
“Thanks for letting me know, [Name], and all the best with the job. If you’ve got a second, was it the price, the timing or something else? It helps me quote better. [Your name], [Business]”
What not to do
- Don’t send “just checking in” with nothing new. Each message should answer something, add something or ask one easy question.
- Don’t message every day. A few days’ gap feels like service; daily messages feel like pressure.
- Don’t text at night. Send in business hours, even if you write the message at 10pm.
- Don’t send from a number they can’t reply to. ACMA points out that texts sent from a business name, rather than a number, generally can’t receive replies.
- Don’t invent discounts or deadlines you won’t stand by.
- Don’t keep going after a no, or after they ask you to stop.
- Don’t add them to your newsletter or specials list just because they asked for a quote.
Follow-ups and the Spam Act
Under the Spam Act 2003, if you send marketing emails or texts you must first have the person’s consent, and each message must identify you as the sender, include your contact details and make it easy to unsubscribe. Unsubscribe requests must be honoured within five working days. ACMA: Avoid sending spam, checked 09/10/2026.
A follow-up about a quote the customer asked you for is a reply to their enquiry, about their job. Keep it that way. Once you add specials, a newsletter or other services, it’s marketing, and asking for a quote isn’t consent to that. ACMA also says you can’t send an email or text asking for consent, because the request is itself a marketing message. Ask with a tick box on your quote form or in person, and keep a record of who agreed, when and how.
We’re not lawyers, so take advice for your own business. As a habit, name your business in every message, give people an easy way to say stop, such as “reply STOP and I won’t message again”, and honour it straight away.
Automating the follow-up
Following up is simple, but it has no deadline, so it slides. On Growth, customers who go quiet get a follow-up text, and people whose call you missed get a text straight away. Here’s what each LeadGenie plan does, from a list of who to chase to messages sent for you.
A CRM with every job on a board from new to quoted to won, and a filter for quotes that haven’t moved in seven days. It shows you who to chase; it doesn’t message anyone for you.
An AI assistant answers web chat, Facebook, Instagram and email, and follows up enquiries that go quiet up to three times, in your hours, stopping the moment they reply, say no or ask it to. It doesn’t chase quotes you email from your own quoting app.
Adds an Australian mobile number, so calls and text conversations that go quiet can be followed up by text, plus missed call text back. Texts cost A$0.11 sent and A$0.02 received, billed by use. Chasing a quote you email from your own quoting app is a custom workflow on Pro, from A$799 a month.
All prices are AUD ex GST, locked in for your first 12 months, and month to month with 30 days’ notice to cancel. Starter has no phone line and sends no texts, so if your customers live in text messages, Growth is the plan that follows up there. If you already chase every quote within the week, keep doing it: a board that shows who’s next may be all you need. AI plan pricing
Want quotes chased for you? See how automated follow-ups work, or book a free demo to see one running.
Questions about following up quotes
How long should you wait to follow up on a quote?
Follow up the day after you send it, to check the quote arrived and offer to answer questions. Then send something useful around day three, an honest check at day seven, and a message closing the loop at about day 14. Treat that as a starting point, not a rule: an urgent repair needs a reply within hours, and a renovation may take weeks. The most useful timing is the date the customer gave you, so ask when they’re hoping to decide.
How many times should you follow up a quote?
Three or four messages over about two weeks is plenty for most quotes, ending with one that closes the loop. After that, stop unless they come back to you. Each message should add something, such as an answer, a detail or your next free dates, rather than repeat the last one. Stop straight away if they say no or ask you to stop.
Should I follow up a quote by text or email?
Use whichever the customer used to reach you, and mix the two if it helps. A text suits quick checks, like whether the quote arrived. An email suits longer messages and anything they might want to keep, like a revised quote. Either way, send it from your business, in business hours, from a number or address they can reply to, and sign it with your name and business name.
Is it legal to follow up a quote by text in Australia?
In most cases yes, as long as the message is about the quote they asked for. Under the Spam Act 2003, marketing messages need consent, must identify your business and must make it easy to unsubscribe. Asking for a quote isn’t consent to your newsletter or specials, so keep follow-ups about their job, name your business and honour any request to stop. We’re not lawyers, so check ACMA guidance or take advice.
What are the alternatives to following up quotes by hand?
The main alternatives are a CRM that shows you who to chase, reminders you set up in the quoting or job app you already use, and software that sends the follow-up for you. If you want messages sent for you, look for a tool that stops the moment someone replies, keeps to your hours and only messages people who contacted you. LeadGenie’s AI assistant does that on Starter from A$199 a month ex GST, and Growth adds texts. On Pro, from A$799 a month, a custom workflow can chase quotes. How LeadGenie follow-ups work