What to say when a customer goes quiet on a quote

1. Why do customers go quiet on a quote?

You priced the job, sent the quote, and heard nothing. It's easy to read that as a no, or as plain rude. More often, it's one of these:

• It's buried. Your quote landed between a school newsletter and a parcel update, or it went to spam.
• They're comparing. They asked three trades for a price and they're waiting on the other two.
• The money or the timing isn't sorted. They need to talk to their partner, wait for payday, or check with the landlord.
• They have a question. Something in the quote isn't clear, and asking feels like haggling.
• The price was a shock. Saying no feels awkward, even by email, so they say nothing.

A short, friendly message fixes every one of those. Waiting fixes none of them.

2. How often should you follow up a quote?

Once a week, three times. The rhythm matters more than the words:

• A week between messages. Long enough for them to decide. Short enough that they still remember who you are.
• Each one a little firmer. First check it arrived, then offer to help, then name the day the price runs out.
• Weekdays, in working hours. A "please get back to me" at ten on a Sunday night reads like you're desperate. Send them when you'd take a call yourself.
• Stop the moment they answer. Yes, no or "not yet": once they reply, you're talking, and the follow-up has done its job.

It helps to put an end date on every quote. Thirty days is common, and it's what ToolboxFox uses unless you change it. It's fair to you, because material prices move, and it gives your last message a real reason to exist.

3. The three messages to send

These are the reminders ToolboxFox sends for a quote, word for word. Say Mary asked Doyle Roofing to price a rear roof repair. Pat sent the quote on Tuesday 15 September, and the price is held for 30 days. Swap in your own names and they're yours.

Why it works: it assumes nothing is wrong. It covers the quote that went to spam, and replying takes one line.

Why it works: "adjust anything to suit" opens the door to the question they didn't want to ask, without knocking money off. Maybe they only need the back done this year. And the date tells them the price won't last forever, without saying it.

Why it works: the deadline is real, not pushy, and saying yes takes one tap. "Get you booked in" puts the job in their diary before they've decided.

4. By text or WhatsApp

If you usually talk to customers by text or WhatsApp, send the same three, shorter:

• Day 7Hi Mary, it's Pat from Doyle Roofing. Just checking the roof quote came through OK?
• Day 14Hi Mary, Pat here. Happy to go through the quote or change anything. Would a quick call be easier?
• Day 21Hi Mary, last one from me: the roof quote is held until 15 October. Want me to book you in?

Put your name at the start. A text from a number they haven't saved is easy to ignore.

5. When to pick up the phone instead

Messages are easy to send and easy to ignore. A call is better when:

• The job is big. For a full reroof or an extension, ring after the first message. Five minutes on the phone answers more than three emails.
• They've opened the quote but haven't answered. They're interested, and there's probably a question. Ask it for them: "Anything in there you'd like me to explain?"
• Time matters. A leak or storm damage can't wait three weeks, and they know it.

If they don't pick up, leave a short voicemail and follow it with a text, so they have your number in writing.

6. What not to send

• "Just following up." With nothing new in it, it leaves them all the work. Give them something to answer.
• A discount they didn't ask for. It tells them your first price had padding in it. Offer to change the job instead: some of it now, the rest later.
• Guilt. "I've turned down other work to keep this slot for you" makes people defensive, even when it's true.
• Messages at night or at the weekend. Keep to working hours, like any business.
• A fourth, fifth and sixth message. Three and done. After that, you become the reason they don't answer.

7. When to stop, and how to leave the door open

After the third message, stop. Keep the quote on file, though. People come back months later, when the next storm comes through or the money does.

If they do say no, thank them and ask one question: "Was it the price, the timing, or did you go with someone else?" Plenty of people will tell you, and the answer helps you price the next job.

And once they've said yes and the job is done, here's how to chase an unpaid invoice.

8. Or let ToolboxFox send them for you

Knowing what to say is the easy part. Remembering to say it a week later, in the middle of another job, is the hard part.

ToolboxFox sends these three messages for you, in your name, and replies land in your own inbox. They go out on weekdays in working hours, stop the moment your customer answers, accepts or declines, and never go out after the quote expires. You can change the words and the days, or pause anyone, and every email has a link your customer can use to stop them.