Template · Winning work
Quote follow-up message templates: check in, nudge, close the loop
You spent an hour quoting the job and the customer went quiet. Most silent quotes aren't a no — they're a homeowner comparing numbers, waiting on a partner, or just busy. Three short messages keep you in the running without sounding desperate. Copy them straight off the page.
Last updated 2026-07-11 · Reviewed by the TradieCue team
Follow up a quote in three touches: a check-in at day 3–5 (any questions, happy to adjust the scope), a nudge in week two (validity reminder plus one genuinely useful option, like staging the work), and a close-the-loop at week 3–4 (polite last touch, door left open). Each message gives the customer something — an answer, an option, an easy out — instead of just asking whether they've read your quote. All three templates are below.
Message 1 — The check-in (day 3–5)
Hi [Customer name],
Just checking in on the quote I sent for [Job] ([Quote #]). Any questions about what's included, or anything you'd want done differently? Happy to adjust the scope if you'd like to trim it back or add something in.
No rush — just let me know where it's at.
Cheers,
[Your name], [Business name], [Phone]
Why this works: at day 3–5 you're not chasing a decision, you're removing friction. Most stalled quotes stall on a question the customer never asked — an inclusion they weren't sure about, a number they'd like broken down, a scope item they'd drop to save money. Offering to adjust signals you'd rather win the right version of the job than defend the quote as written.
Message 2 — The nudge (week two)
Hi [Customer name],
Following up on quote [Quote #] for [Job]. Quick heads-up that the quote is valid until [Valid until] — material prices move around, so I can only hold the numbers until then.
Also, if the total is the sticking point: happy to look at staging the work — [first stage, e.g. "the repairs and waterproofing"] now and [second stage, e.g. "the retiling"] later — so it doesn't all land at once. Want me to price it that way?
Cheers,
[Your name], [Phone]
Why this works: the validity date gives the customer an honest reason to decide that isn't you wanting an answer — and it only works if your quote actually states one, which is a habit worth having anyway. The staging offer is the "one useful thing" rule: every follow-up should add something to the deal. An option to spread the cost keeps a price-shy customer talking, where a bare "any update?" gets archived.
Message 3 — Close the loop (week 3–4)
Hi [Customer name],
Last follow-up from me on quote [Quote #] for [Job] — I don't want to pester you. If you've gone another way or the timing's not right, no hard feelings; a quick "not this time" and I'll close it off.
If it's still on the cards, the offer stands — I'd just need to re-check the numbers after [Valid until]. Either way, thanks for the chance to quote it.
Cheers,
[Your name], [Business name], [Phone]
Why this works: "I'll stop now" is disarming, and inviting a no gets you an answer either way — a closed loop beats a maybe you keep carrying. Plenty of jobs come back months later precisely because the last message was gracious. Note what none of the three messages do: apologise for following up, beg, or discount unprompted. Helpful beats needy, and a discount nobody asked for mostly tells the customer your first number was padded.
Chasing a quote is not chasing an invoice
Don't reuse your payment reminder templates here — the power balance is reversed. An overdue invoice is money you're owed, so those messages escalate in firmness. A quote is money you're asking for: the customer owes you nothing, you're still selling, and firmness reads as pressure. So the quote ladder escalates in helpfulness instead — more options, easier outs, never consequences. The wider play (what to track, how many touches, what silence usually means) is covered in quote follow-up messages.
When to just call: big jobs, jobs where they asked lots of questions at the site visit, and any time message two gets silence on work you actually want. A call surfaces the real objection — price, timing, a competing quote — in two minutes, which no template does. Send a short text afterwards confirming whatever you agreed, so the paper trail stays intact.
The follow-up you don't send is the job someone else wins
Like payment reminders, the words were never the hard part — remembering on day 4, and writing something that doesn't sound needy while you're eating lunch in the ute, is. TradieCue drafts it from what it already knows about the job:
“Follow up Marcus on the fence quote — sent it last Tuesday, haven't heard back. Keep it friendly, ask if he's got any questions, and mention I can split the front and side fences into two stages if the total's the issue.”
Quote follow-up — Marcus · fencing
Hi Marcus, just checking in on the fencing quote I sent through last Tuesday. Any questions about what's included? If the total's the sticking point, I can also split it into two stages — front fence first, side fence later — and price it that way. Just let me know. Cheers, Dave.
Sample note for illustration. Your draft stays fully editable, and it isn't sent to anyone until you share it.
Timmy works from the job context you've already captured — the customer, the job, the quote — matches the tone you asked for, and hands you an editable draft. Nothing is sent automatically. Every quote, variation and follow-up is a draft the user reviews, edits and shares themselves. There are no scheduled reminders firing at your customers behind your back: you decide the moment, you read the message, you send it.
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Common questions
How many times should I follow up a quote before giving up?
Three touches over about a month is the sweet spot — enough that a busy customer can't fall through the cracks, not so many that you read as desperate. After the close-the-loop message, stop; a graceful exit wins more call-backs than a fourth nudge.
Should I offer a discount to close the job?
Rarely, and never unprompted — it signals the first price had fat in it. Offer structure instead: stage the work, trim a scope item they can live without, or split materials and labour timing. Same effect on the customer's budget, no damage to your pricing credibility.
Text or email for quote follow-ups?
Match the channel the quote conversation already lives in — usually text for homeowners, email for builders, offices and strata. If the quote went by email, a follow-up text is fine as a nudge, but keep the version with scope changes in writing where the quote is.
What should I put as the quote validity period?
That's your call — it's your exposure to material and labour price movement. What matters for follow-ups is that the quote states a date at all: 'valid until' turns your week-two nudge from nagging into useful information.
Can TradieCue send follow-ups automatically after a set number of days?
No, and that's deliberate. Timmy drafts the message from your job context when you ask; nothing is sent automatically and there are no scheduled reminders. Chasing work is a relationship moment — you stay in charge of what goes out and when.
Try it on your next job
TradieCue is free to download on the App Store. Say a rough note about a real job and review the draft Timmy produces — nothing is sent until you share it yourself.
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