How to follow up on a quote without feeling pushy

You sent the quote on Monday. Forty hampers for a dental practice, the biggest order of the autumn. It's now Thursday. You've typed "Just checking in" twice and deleted it twice, because it sounds like nagging and you'd hate to be that shop.

So the quote sits there. And somewhere across town an office manager has it open in a tab between a rota and a broken printer. She fully means to reply.

Here's what to do. Follow up three times: after two or three working days, after a week, and after two weeks. Every message has to give the customer something new, so that none of them is only a nudge. The third one politely closes the file. All three are below to copy. What makes it feel pushy is the empty message, and you won't be sending any of those.

Why "just checking in" feels wrong

It feels wrong because it asks the customer to do something and offers nothing back. You're right to wince.

A follow-up that carries something useful is a different thing. A date they need to know. An answer to a question they probably have. A smaller option. That reads as a shop being organised, and most people are relieved to get it. In our experience a quiet customer is usually a busy one who hasn't decided against you.

Before you send the quote: give it an end date

The easiest follow-up starts in the quote itself. Add one line:

This price is held until Friday 30 October. To be sure of delivery by 1 December, I'd need a yes by then.

Now you have an honest reason to write again, and the customer has a reason to decide. Make the date real. If the price or the stock would still be there afterwards, say what does change, such as the delivery slot.

Follow-up one: two or three working days later

Its job is to check the quote arrived and to answer the question they haven't asked yet.

Subject: Your hamper quote, and one thing I forgot to say

Hi Dana, I sent over the quote for 40 hampers on Monday and wanted to make sure it reached you. One thing I should have mentioned: we can add a card with each person's name at no extra cost, if you send me a list. Happy to change anything in it. Quantities, budget, what goes in. Priya

Think about what your customers usually ask after a quote, and put that in here. It might be delivery, payment terms, or whether you can do fewer.

Follow-up two: a week after the quote

Its job is to make yes easier. People often go quiet because the number was a bit more than they hoped and they don't want an awkward conversation.

Subject: A smaller option for the hampers

Hi Dana, In case the first quote was more than you had in mind, here's a second version: the same hamper without the candle comes to £19.50 each, which is £780 for the 40. Both prices are held until Friday 30th. Tell me which is closer and I'll adjust from there. Priya

Offering less for less protects your margin, and it gives them something to say other than no.

If you sell one thing at one price, use this message to remove a different obstacle: offer to split the delivery, hold the stock with a deposit, or send a sample.

Follow-up three: two weeks after, the polite close

Its job is to end it cleanly. This is the one shop owners skip, and in our experience it often gets the most replies.

Subject: Shall I close this quote?

Hi Dana, I haven't heard back about the hampers, so I'm guessing the timing isn't right. That's completely fine. I'll release the stock I'd set aside on Friday. If you'd still like them, reply before then and I'll keep everything as quoted. Either way, thank you for asking us. Priya

It's kind, it's true, and it lets them off the hook, which is exactly why people answer it. Often the reply is "Sorry, yes please, it's been a mad fortnight."

Dana, Priya and the hampers are made up for these examples.

Then stop, properly

Three messages over two weeks is thorough. A fourth starts to be the thing you were afraid of. Mark the quote as closed, and put a note in your diary to say hello in three months with something new. Some quotes that died in October come back in February.

If the answer is no, ask one question: "Was it the price, the timing or something else?" You'll learn more from five of those answers than from any amount of guessing.

Phone or email?

Go back the way they came. If they rang for the quote, ring. If they filled in a form at eleven at night, email. For follow-up three, email is kinder, because it lets them say no without having to say it out loud.

Keeping track when there are six quotes out

One quote is easy to remember. The trouble starts when there are six, sent on different days, and two of you sending them.

The free way works. Put three reminders in your phone calendar the moment you send a quote, named for the customer: "Dana hampers, follow-up 1". Or keep one sheet of paper by the till headed Quotes Out, with a column for each follow-up and a tick when it's done. Either is enough if one person sends all the quotes.

It gets shaky when two people share the job, because neither can see what the other has chased.

Where Workden fits

That shared view is what Workden is for. Follow-ups go on one task list for the whole shop, and you get a nudge when something has gone quiet, so nobody has to remember that Dana's quote went out on Monday. Email her from Workden and it goes out as you and is saved on her page. Whoever picks it up next can see what was asked and what was promised, and won't send follow-up two when you sent it yesterday.

It's £10.99 a month for your whole team, with a 14 day free trial. If you're not sure you need a tool for this at all, does a small shop need a CRM? gives an honest answer.

Questions shop owners ask

How long should I wait before following up on a quote?

Two or three working days for the first message. Sooner looks anxious. Much later and they may have gone with whoever replied first.

How many times is too many?

Three is a sensible limit for a small shop: the check, the easier option and the polite close. After that, leave it for a few months.

What if they say it's too expensive?

Thank them, because now you know. Offer less for less before you offer the same for less, and ask what budget they had in mind.

Sources

Checked 12 October 2026.

• Workden features
• Workden pricing