Follow up on a quote within two days, ask one easy question about it, and offer to adjust the job instead of the price. That's the whole approach. Pushy follow-ups say "Have you decided?" Useful ones say "Is any part of this unclear?" and make the next step simple.

Below are the reasons quotes go quiet, a two-day-to-two-week path through them, and copy-ready email, text and phone wording. The examples come from a commercial cleaning company, but the moves work for anyone who sends prices to customers.

Why quotes go quiet

When a customer doesn't reply to your quote, they haven't said no. They've said nothing, and the nothing usually has one of five causes:

  • They haven't opened it, or it landed in spam.
  • They opened it, and a line item confused them.
  • The price is higher than they expected and they feel awkward saying so.
  • Someone else has to approve it, and that person is slow.
  • They picked another company and haven't gotten around to telling you.

Only the last is a real loss, and you can't tell which one you're dealing with until you ask. Quiet quotes are some of the best leads you have, because someone already decided they might spend money with you. The longer story is in the lead you never followed up.

Follow up within two days

Day two is the right moment. Day one feels like hovering, and by day five the quote is buried under other things. Our example: Joan owns a commercial cleaning company and quoted $1,350 a month to a dental office. Two days later she sends this:

Subject: Your cleaning quote for Parkview Dental

Hi Marcus, just making sure the quote reached you. It's attached again below. Happy to answer anything on it. If it's easier to talk, I'm free after 2 today or tomorrow morning.

It isn't asking for a decision. It confirms delivery, repeats the attachment so he doesn't have to search, and offers a time. That's enough for a first touch.

Ask what's still unclear

If there's no answer in three or four days, send a second message built around a question, not a reminder. "Just checking in" gives the customer nothing to do. A question gives them a small job.

Marcus, one thing I wasn't sure I explained well: the quote includes the treatment rooms every night and the waiting area three nights a week. Some offices prefer a smaller scope. Is there a part of it you'd want me to change?

You're not hiding anything. You're pointing at the spot where most price objections hide: scope. The customer can answer in one line, and often does, because it's easier to say "drop the waiting area" than to say "I think this costs too much."

Offer a small change instead of a discount

When someone says the price is high, the instinct is to cut it. That teaches the customer that your first number was soft. Change the job instead. Joan could offer three nights a week instead of five, which drops the quote to $850 a month, or monthly deep cleaning instead of weekly.

You can see how that reads next to a flat discount. "I can take $200 off" says the original price had padding in it. "Here's a three-night version for $850" says you're pricing a different job. If the customer still wants the full scope at a lower price, you can say no without feeling rude: "That's the lowest I can go and still staff it properly. Want the three-night version instead?" For more on this, see the pricing conversation flinch.

Call after the second email

If two messages haven't gotten a reply, pick up the phone. Calls feel riskier than email, but they work better here, because a voice can answer a question in 30 seconds that would take three emails.

Hi Marcus, it's Joan from BrightPath Cleaning. I sent your quote last week and wanted to see if you had any questions. I'm at 555-0188 if you'd like to go over it. Otherwise I'll try you again Friday.

If he answers, don't pitch. Ask: "What did you think of the numbers?" Then wait. Silence on a phone call is useful, because the other person fills it.

Email and text versions you can copy

A text works well on day three or four if the customer has given you their number for this job. Keep it short and let them reply with one word:

Hi Marcus, it's Joan at BrightPath. Did you have a chance to look at the cleaning quote? Happy to adjust anything. Reply STOP anytime to stop texts.

Texting for business needs prior consent, and marketing messages have stricter rules than replies to a customer who contacted you first. If you're not sure you have consent, use email or a call. This is general information, not legal advice. Follow-up text message examples go into this more.

For email, a one-line version often does better than a long one:

Subject: Re: Cleaning quote

Marcus, still interested in getting this set up for Parkview? If the timing isn't right, no problem, just tell me when to check back.

Close the file with a final note

About ten days after the quote, send one last message that closes things politely. It gives the customer an easy way to say no or say "later," and it releases you from carrying the lead.

Marcus, I haven't heard back, so I'll assume you've gone another direction or the timing is off. I'm closing this quote on my end. If you'd like to revisit, just reply and I'll reopen it. Thanks for the chance to bid.

Some replies to this kind of note are a plain "sorry, we went with someone else," which is information you can use. Others are "oh, I meant to get back to you, let's do it." Both are better than never knowing. If a customer says "not now," note the date and set a reminder for a month out. Closing without a process explains how to set that up.

What to do with a no

If Marcus writes back and says he went with someone else, answer within the hour and keep it short. "Thanks for telling me, and good luck with it. If you ever want a second quote, I'm around." Then ask one question if the tone allows it: "Was it price, timing, or something else?" You won't always get an answer. When you do, it's worth more than the quote was, because it tells you what to change on the next one.

Write each reason in a list. After ten lost quotes you'll see a pattern, maybe that the price was fine but your start date was three weeks later than a competitor's. Contractors have their own version of this problem, covered in estimate follow-up for contractors.

Put the dates in one place

Every message above depends on you remembering to send it. The easiest fix is to schedule the whole path when you send the quote: two days, four days, a week, ten days. Rocketship's AI worker does this part on its own. It follows up by email from your own Gmail, reads what comes back, and offers meeting times when a customer is ready, so a quote doesn't die because you were on a job site.

A quote is a warm lead that will go cold without a second message. Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and every monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, card required. See how the AI workers handle follow-up.