Chase every quote three times: on day 3, day 10 and day 21. Most quotes that go quiet were never turned down. The customer got busy, and so did you.
Why quotes go quiet
You send the quote at the end of a long day. Then the next job starts. By the time you think of it again, two weeks have gone and it feels awkward to write.
This is not laziness. In an owner-led business, the owner is doing three jobs. Chasing is the one that gets dropped, because nothing breaks on the day you skip it.
The three messages
This is the rhythm we use with clients, and it works by hand.
Day 3. A friendly nudge. Lead with their job, not with you. Ask one question they can answer from a phone in ten seconds.
Day 10. Something new. A date that is filling up, a smaller version of the job, or a photo of similar work. Never send the same nudge twice.
Day 21. A polite way out. Make it easy for them to say "not now". This is often the message that finally gets a reply.
Keep each one under 80 words. Never write "just checking in". Never invent a discount or a deadline to hurry them.
What it looks like in a real business
Lily and Myrtle is a florist in Surrey. Every wedding enquiry meant 10 to 12 emails back and forth before a price could go out. Then the owner added up the quote by hand, usually after the shop had shut. It came to 8 hours a week.
We built her a short enquiry form, instant pricing from her own price list, and replies drafted in her own voice for her to check. Nothing goes out without her.
Quoting dropped from 8 hours a week to 3. That is 260 hours a year handed back, or six and a half working weeks.
When chasing is only the symptom
If one or two quotes slip, a reminder in your calendar will do.
If it happens every month, the chase is rarely the real problem. The quote took too long to write. Or the details were missing, so it took five emails to price. Or nobody owns the follow-up. Fixing the chase without fixing that means you are writing better emails about slow quotes.
That is the part we look at. We map how a job travels through your business, from first enquiry to money in the bank, and find where the growth is being lost.
Common questions
How many times should you chase a quote?
Three. Day 3, day 10 and day 21. After that, leave the door open and move on.
Is it pushy to chase a quote?
Not if each message is short and gives them something useful. Silence usually means busy, not no.
Can AI chase quotes for me?
It can draft them in your voice, ready for you to send. We would not let it send without you reading it first.
What should a chase message say?
Their job, one question, and one new piece of information. Under 80 words.
Want them to sound like you?
A chase only works if it sounds like you wrote it. Sound Like Me is a free skill for Claude or ChatGPT. Answer seven quick questions and it writes in your voice. Get Sound Like Me.
If quotes are going quiet most months, talk to us. The first call is twenty minutes.
Sources
Lily and Myrtle case study, figures from the client's own records.