To follow up on a quote, write a next step and a date on it the moment you send it. When that date arrives, send a short message. A quote with no date attached is easy to forget, and a customer who hasn't answered hasn't said no.
This guide gives you the list to keep, the six situations you'll find in it, and a message for each one. The messages are short enough to send from a phone between jobs.
Why quotes go quiet
You send the quote and go back to work. The customer goes back to their day. Nobody says no, nobody says yes, and a week later you've both stopped thinking about it.
The customer may have been busy. They may have asked three people and picked whoever answered first. They may have meant to reply and the text sank under the others. You rarely find out which, and silence doesn't tell you.
A follow-up gives the quote a chance to get an answer. It doesn't promise one.
Give every quote a next step and a date
Keep one list of every inquiry, even the ones you think you'll never quote. A notebook works. So does a spreadsheet. Use eight columns, in this order:
- Name
- Phone or handle
- Came in via
- What they want (put the town here)
- Last contact
- Next step
- Next step date
- Status (New, Quoted, Booked, Won or Lost)
The two columns that matter most are Next step and Next step date. Fill them in when you send the quote, not later. A next step is a small, specific action: "text to ask if the quote made sense", "call about the oven add-on", "send the invoice". The date is the day you'll do it, not the day you hope they'll answer.
Type a real date, like 10/28/2026. A date typed as a word, like "Tue", can't be sorted or counted.
The six situations and what to send
Check the list once a day. Every row is in one of six situations. These are the same six flags that the free tracker (below) puts in its Due column.
| Situation | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Overdue | The next step date has passed | Do the step today, then write the next step and its date |
| Today | The next step is due today | Do it today |
| Next 2 days | Due tomorrow or the day after | Nothing yet. Know it's coming |
| Needs next step | The next step is blank | Decide what happens next and write it down |
| Needs date | There's a next step but no date | Pick a date and type it |
| Fix date | The date was typed as words | Retype it as a real date |
The last two are housekeeping, so they need no message. For the others, reply the way the customer reached you. Fill in the brackets.
Overdue (a quote you sent, with no reply):
Hi [first name], it's [my first name] from [business]. Checking in on the quote for [job]. Any questions I can answer? If plans changed, that's fine, just let me know and I'll close it out.
Today (the step is "send quote"):
Hi [first name], here's the quote for [job]: [what's included and the price]. It's good through [date]. If it looks right, reply yes and I'll find you a spot.
Next 2 days (a call or visit coming up):
Hi [first name], I'm planning to [call / stop by] on [day] about [job]. Is [time window] still good for you?
Needs next step (a lead you've gone quiet on):
Hi [first name], I'm going through my list and wanted to check: do you still need [job] done? If so, I can [next step]. If not, no problem.
After any message, write the next step and its date on the row. A row shouldn't leave your check without both.
When to stop
Decide now how many times you'll follow up before you let a lead go. Two is a reasonable number to start with. You can change it after you've seen how your own customers answer.
After the last one, send a note that closes the loop and set Status to Lost:
Last note from me on [job]. I'll close it out on my end so I'm not bugging you. If you want to pick it back up, text me anytime.
Closing it politely leaves the door open and takes the lead off your list. If the customer writes back months later, add a new row.
Winning a job doesn't finish it
When a customer says yes, the row isn't done. The visit still has to happen, the invoice still has to go out, and you may want to ask for a review. Each of those is a next step with a date.
A job is finished when nothing is left to do. Only then clear both Next step and Next step date. A Won job with both cells empty shows nothing. A Won job whose invoice hasn't gone out should say "Send invoice" with a date, so it stays on your list until it does.
When the list gets long
With a handful of open quotes, a notebook is fine. With more, you'll want something that checks the dates for you.
SoloBackOffice has a free follow-up tracker for Excel. It has the same eight columns, comes with 14 made-up inquiries so you can watch the flags work (typing a word like "Tue" in a date cell shows Fix date), and fills in a Due column with the six situations above. It's made for Microsoft Excel. If you open it in another spreadsheet app, check the Due column before you rely on it.
It also has limits. It won't remind you, because Due only updates when you open the file. It won't collect inquiries, so texts, calls and Facebook messages still get typed in by hand. You open it once a day and work the flagged rows.
The full guide, The One-Person Back Office, covers this job and 17 more.