Follow up on a quote within two days, again around day seven, again around day fourteen, and then once a month or once a season until the customer books or tells you no. Most quiet quotes are still undecided, waiting on a spouse, other quotes or money. A short text that names their job and asks one easy question gets more replies than a long email, and dropping the price usually doesn't win them back. Follow-up is also how the ad money you spent finding that customer turns into a booked job.
Why do customers go quiet after you send a quote?
Usually because they haven't decided, and very rarely because they've written you off. Most home jobs over a few thousand dollars are a two-person decision, so the quote sits on the kitchen counter until both people sit down with it. A lot of homeowners are also waiting on the second and third quotes they asked for. Some need to move money around, or wait for a bonus or a tax refund. And some already decided against it and feel awkward saying so, which is why one polite question that's easy to answer gets more replies than silence. To you the quiet reads like a no, and to them you're one of several things they meant to get back to this week. A homeowner who took the time to have you out and get a number is about as warm as a lead gets, and dropping them after one message wastes the cost of getting them there.
How soon should you follow up after sending a quote?
Within two days. By then they've had time to read it and talk it over, and you're still the company they remember from the walk-through. Wait a week and you're competing with whoever called them back first. The first follow-up should be the easiest one to answer, something like "Did the quote come through OK, and is there anything in it you want me to explain?" That gives them a reason to reply that isn't yes or no. Speed counts at the front of the job too. The same habit that wins a quote also wins the first call, which I went through in speed to lead, and in the cost of a missed call for leads that ring and get no answer. A customer who waited two days for a callback and another two weeks for a quote has usually booked someone else.
How many times should you follow up on a quote?
Three times in the first two weeks, then about once a month until they book or say no. A rhythm I'd use is day two, day seven and day fourteen, then monthly, or once a season for bigger jobs that people plan a year out. Each message should be shorter than the last. After the third message with no reply, slow it down rather than stopping, because a lot of jobs book months after the quote. A homeowner who got a patio quote in August often books it in February, and the company that sent a short note in January gets that call. Stop right away when someone tells you no or asks you to stop, and thank them. Some contractors worry that following up makes them look desperate. A short, useful message every few weeks makes you look organized, and plenty of homeowners take it as a preview of how you'll run their job.
What should a quote follow-up message say?
The job, one useful thing, and one easy question. Name their job so they don't have to remember which contractor you are, like "the interlock patio on Elm, the 14 by 20." Then give them something useful, like a photo of a similar job you just finished, an answer to a question they asked on site, or the date your next opening is. End with a question they can answer in one word. A few that work:
- "Still thinking about the roof, or did you go another way? Either answer helps me plan."
- "I've got an opening the week of the 18th if you want to get the furnace in before it gets cold. Want me to hold it?"
- "Sending you the patio we finished on Bayview last week, same stone you picked. Any questions on the quote?"
Use text first for most homeowners, and email the quote itself so they have it in writing.
Should you lower your price to win a quote back?
Usually no. A price drop after someone goes quiet tells them your first number was padded, and it trains them to wait you out on the next job. If money is the hold-up, change what they're buying. Offer a smaller first phase, like the front walkway this year and the backyard next spring, or a simpler material, or a slower month when you'd rather have the work. A homeowner who says your number is high is often comparing it to a cheaper quote that leaves things out, so walk them through what's in yours line by line. The one time I'd move on price is when you'd take the job at a lower margin anyway, like a crew sitting idle in a slow week. Even then, take something out of the scope rather than cutting the same job for less. Each job you win back also lowers what a booked job costs you.
What should you do with old quotes from earlier in the year?
Send each one a message between January and March, because that's when homeowners plan the spring and summer jobs they didn't get to. Pull every quote from this year that didn't book and sort them by job type. Write one message per type, name their job, and offer a spot on the spring schedule, something like "You got a quote from me for a retaining wall back in July. I'm booking April and May now. Want me to update the number and hold a week?" Some will have hired someone else and a few will have moved, which is fine. The ones still undecided are some of the cheapest jobs you'll book all year, since you already paid to find them. This works alongside your spring ads, as I covered in booking the slow season and should you turn your ads off for the winter.
Can quote follow-up run without you doing it?
Yes, most of it can, and it should, because follow-up that depends on someone remembering on a busy day usually stops by June. A follow-up system can send the day-two, day-seven and day-fourteen messages from your business number, stop the moment the customer replies, and hand the conversation to you or your office. The part that stays with a person is the reply, since a homeowner asking about drainage needs an answer from someone who knows. This is also what makes your ad spend pay back. LocaliQ's 2025 numbers for US search ads put the median cost per lead around $228 for roofing and $129 for plumbing, so a quote that goes quiet without follow-up throws away a lead that cost that much to find. Leads that look bad on paper often book with follow-up, as I went through in why your Facebook leads are junk.
How follow-up is built into what I set up
On most packages, every new lead gets a text and an email within minutes, and a missed call gets a text back, so nobody waits on you to get back from a job. The same system chases the ones who go quiet, in the client's voice, and stops the second the customer replies. The ads bring in the people, and the follow-up makes sure they hear from you again. If you've got a pile of quotes from this year that never booked, book a call and bring a rough count of how many went out and how many closed.
