Last updated 21 October 2026
How to follow up a quote.
Short version: check the quote arrived the day you send it, ask if they have any questions a few days later, ring them about a week after that, and send one last message a few days before the price runs out. Then stop. Put an expiry date on every quote, because that date is the honest reason to get back in touch. Keep every follow-up about the quote they asked for: the moment you add a discount or another service, UK marketing rules apply.
Silence after a quote usually means the customer is still comparing, not that they said no. Answering the phone fast is how you get more calls; following up is how more of the quotes you send turn into work. Below is the schedule, the words to use on text, WhatsApp and the phone, what to do the moment they say yes, and how to stop quoting for people who were never going to book.
The schedule
Four touches, then you stop.
Nobody has published reliable UK figures on how many follow-ups win a job, and no law sets the timing. This is the rhythm we would use, built around the date on your quote. Never send two in one day, and never use a follow-up to knock money off.
| When | How | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| The day you send it | Text or WhatsApp | Check it arrived, not in junk, and tell them how long the price holds. |
| Three to five days later | Text or WhatsApp | One question they can answer in a line: any questions, or anything you can change? |
| About a week after that | Phone call | Find out where they are. If they went elsewhere, ask what swung it. |
| A few days before it expires | Text or WhatsApp | The date is coming up. After it, you will need to re-price. |
| The day after it expires | Text | One line closing it off, kindly. Mark it lost and move on. |
That is four touches over the life of the quote, plus a one-line close once it has run out. Use whichever channel the customer used to reach you; if they messaged on WhatsApp, reply there.
Why they go quiet
They are comparing, not saying no.
Citizens Advice tells homeowners to get written quotes from at least three traders before they choose, and Which? tells them to call at least three plumbing companies. So your quote is one of a pile, read on the sofa over a week or two. Customers are used to silence from the other side too: a 2023 Opinium poll of 2,000 UK adults, commissioned by HomeServe, found 41% say they have been ghosted by a tradesperson. A trade who comes back politely stands out.
UK trades are genuinely split on whether to chase. Both camps have a point:
"Not to follow up on quotes!! - it seems pushy and some people just like to be left to think and get other quotes"
"I never chase them up, seems a bit desperate."
"On the other hand, not following up quotes makes it look like you're not interested in the work."
"You're the only one to phone up and ask the question that gives them the impetus to 'alright, go for it'"
The way through is in the never-chase camp itself. Bubblecraft, an electrician on the same forum, quotes for 30 days and has his system email the customer after 28 days "just to let them know they have a few days left", while saying "I never phone to chase a quote." A message about the price running out is not chasing. It is information the customer needs, and it is true.
Your reason to call
The expiry date is the honest excuse to call.
Citizens Advice says a quote is a promise to do the work at an agreed price, and that once you have quoted you cannot charge more because your own costs have gone up since. The only thing protecting you from a materials price rise is the date on the quote saying how long the price holds. Citizens Advice lists that date among the things a quote should include.
| Without a date | With a date |
|---|---|
| Your price is open-ended. Accept it in four months and you are stuck with it. | Your price holds until a day you chose. After that you re-price. |
| "Just checking in" is the only thing you can say, and it sounds like begging. | "The price holds until Friday" is a fact they need, so it does not read as pressure. |
| The customer has no reason to decide this week rather than next month. | They have a real deadline, and it is not one you made up to rush them. |
No UK law sets how long a quote must stay valid; 14 or 30 days are common conventions. Pick a length that matches how fast your material prices move, print it on every quote, and put the reminder in your diary the day you send it. What else belongs on the quote, from deposits to VAT, is in how to write a quote.
What to say
The words for text, WhatsApp and the phone.
Each one asks something they can answer in a line, mentions the quote they asked for and nothing else, and never offers money off. Swap in your own words; keep the shape.
Same day: check it arrived
Hi [name], it's [your name] from [business]. I've sent your quote for the [job] by email. Can you reply to let me know it came through? The price holds until [date].
Three to five days: one question
Hi [name], have you had a chance to look over the [job] quote? Happy to go through any of it, or look at a different spec if the price is the sticking point.
A week later: the phone call
Hi [name], it's [your name], I priced your [job] last week. Just ringing to see where you've got to with it. [If they've gone elsewhere:] That's fine. Do you mind me asking what swung it? It helps me price the next one.
A few days before it expires
Hi [name], a quick one: the price on your [job] quote holds until [date]. After that I'll need to re-price it, as materials move. If you'd like to go ahead, reply here and I'll pencil a date in.
After it expires: close it kindly
Hi [name], I'll take it you've gone another way on the [job], which is fine. If it comes back up, message me and I'll re-price it for you.
The phone call earns its place because it tells you what a text never will. An electrician on the Screwfix Community rang a customer who had gone quiet, expecting to hear he was too dear. His quote was about £330; the customer had three, and said his was "considerably lower" than one at £698 and they were going with "the one in the middle". He wrote: "Anyway I got the job as he was impressed that I took the trouble to follow up the quote". A tree surgeon on ArbTalk put it more simply: it can be worth it "even if it's for market research." Every lost quote you ring about tells you something about your price, your speed or your paperwork.
To make this take seconds, the free WhatsApp Business app has quick replies, which save pre-written messages, and labels for organising chats for follow-up. Save each of the messages above as a quick reply, label every chat "Quote sent", and you have a follow-up list on your phone. If you would rather it ran itself, some quoting software sends reminder emails on a schedule you set. And if calls are slipping past while you are on a job, see whether a call answering service is worth it, because the fastest follow-up is the one where you answered first time.
What nobody else tells you
When a follow-up turns into marketing in law.
Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), you cannot send marketing texts or emails to individuals without their consent, with one limited exception. The ICO applies the same rule to texts, voicemails, direct messages on social media and any similar message stored electronically, and it treats sole traders as individuals. The ICO also says service messages are the non-promotional, admin or customer-service kind, but a message that also promotes something is direct marketing, a neutral tone does not change that, and context matters. So the line runs through what is in the message:
| The message | Promotes anything? | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| "Did the quote come through? Any questions?" | No | About the quote they asked you for, with nothing on offer |
| "Just a reminder the price holds until Friday" | No | About the quote they asked you for, with nothing on offer |
| "Book this week and I'll knock 10% off" | Yes, an offer | Direct marketing: needs consent or the soft opt-in |
| "We're doing gutter cleans this month too" | Yes, another service | Direct marketing: needs consent or the soft opt-in |
The exception is the soft opt-in, in regulation 22(3). It covers someone whose details you got "in the course of the sale or negotiations for the sale" of a product or service, and the ICO describes it as covering a customer who "bought (or negotiated to buy)" from you. It only lets you market your own similar products and services. And it only works if they were given a simple, free way to refuse at the time their details were first collected, and again in every message after. Miss the first part and there is nothing to fix later.
The practical fix is one line on your quote form or your first reply, such as "Tick here if you don't want offers from us by text or email", plus "Reply STOP to opt out" on any message that carries an offer. Keep a do-not-contact list and act on it promptly. Or keep every follow-up about the quote itself, which is the stronger message anyway, because a discount on the chase tells the customer your first price was padded.
General information only: take advice on your own wording if in doubt. The ICO notes its PECR guidance is under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act and may change.
When they say yes
Confirm it in writing the same day.
Citizens Advice says a contract is most likely formed, even if nothing is written down, once the customer has agreed to a quote (verbally counts), fixed a start date, paid a deposit or told you to go ahead. The trouble starts when the yes is loose. On the Screwfix Community in 2020, a customer texted one builder that they would like the work done, then went with a builder £500 cheaper before his written quote arrived. The replies split down the middle on whether a contract existed. Do not leave room for that argument.
The confirmation, sent the same day
Thanks [name], that's booked. To confirm: [job] at [address], [price] as quoted on [date], starting [start date]. [Deposit line if you take one.] Reply YES to confirm and I'll see you then.
That one text is your record if anything goes wrong later; a quote and a WhatsApp thread are exactly the evidence you need if a customer won't pay. The "reply YES" and a deposit also cut no-shows, which how to reduce no-shows covers.
Where the yes happens decides the cancellation rights. Trading Standards in Northern Ireland says that if you visit, then leave or send a quote and give the customer time to decide, the contract is treated as on-premises; a yes during or straight after the visit makes it off-premises. Citizens Advice says work arranged over the phone or on the internet gets 14 days to cancel from the day after the go-ahead. A job priced from photos and agreed on WhatsApp is the second kind, so send the cancellation details with your confirmation. The full rules are in how to write a quote, which sets out what the regulations say rather than advice on any one job.
Fewer quotes go quiet
Filter the time-wasters before you quote.
The best follow-up is the one you never need, because you only quoted people who were likely to book. Josh Mulholland of K Mulholland & Son, a builder, told the Federation of Master Builders in 2021: "If I'm not successful with any job due to time wasters, that's a whole day's work I've missed out on". Sort them on the phone, before you drive out:
- 1
Give a ballpark first
Which? tells customers that any quote given on the phone is based on assumptions and to treat it as a ballpark. That works in your favour: a rough range on the phone tells you straight away whether they are in the right world, and commits you to nothing.
- 2
Or send a price list
One builder on the Screwfix Community gives smaller jobs a price list so the client can "basically build their own package", and an estimate from it on the phone for anyone who would rather not share a budget.
- 3
Don't open with "what's your budget?"
A customer in the same thread said that when asked for a budget, "the quote always seems to be very close to that figure", and would "far rather not be asked". Lead with your range and let them react to it.
- 4
Ask for the right photos
Ask for the specific shots you would look at on site, never anything from a ladder or a roof. Photos and a postcode turn a vague call into a job you can price.
- 5
Ask how many quotes they are getting
At least three is what Citizens Advice tells them to get, so being one of three is normal. One trade on PistonHeads put his limit plainly: "if someone tells me they're getting 5 quotes I generally won't waste my time quoting".
Several quotes is what you get by design from a shared lead, where the same job is sold to several trades at once; see Checkatrade vs MyBuilder vs Bark for how each one works. A lead that came to you alone starts with fewer rivals and a warmer customer.
Some trades go further and charge for the visit. On ElectriciansForums in 2022 one charged £50 for a site visit and written quote and took it off the final bill once the job was paid in full, while another warned it "would put too many people off as it's not the norm". Whether it suits your trade, and what the law expects before you charge, is in should you charge for quotes.
Your website can do this filtering before the phone even rings. A quote form that asks for the job, the postcode, the timing and a few photos sorts people out the way a good phone call does, and an instant quote calculator or step-by-step qualifier is the website version of a ballpark. More on that in what makes a good tradesman website.
Straight answers
Questions owners actually ask.
- How long should you wait before following up a quote?
- Check it arrived the same day you send it, then leave it three to five days before asking if they have any questions, and ring about a week after that. Send one more message a few days before the price runs out, then stop. No law sets the timing; that is a working rhythm, not a rule. Most customers are comparing prices, so a few days of silence rarely means no.
- How many times should you chase a quote?
- Four times is plenty: a same-day check it arrived, a question a few days later, one phone call, and a message before the price expires. After the expiry date, send one line saying you will take it they have gone another way and you are happy to re-price if it comes back up. Then mark it lost. Do not drop the price to get a reply.
- What do you say when a customer goes quiet after a quote?
- Ask a question they can answer in one line, such as whether they have had a chance to look at it or whether anything needs explaining. On the phone, if they have gone elsewhere, ask what swung it. One UK electrician who rang a quiet customer found his price was too low, not too high: the customer was going with the middle of three quotes. He got the job because he rang.
- How long is a quote valid for in the UK?
- As long as the quote says. No UK law or regulator sets a length; 14 or 30 days are common conventions. Citizens Advice tells homeowners a quote should say how long the price is valid for, and that a trader cannot charge more because their costs have gone up since they quoted. So put a date on every quote: it protects your price and gives you an honest reason to get back in touch before it runs out.
- Is a quote legally binding in the UK?
- Once the customer says yes, it is. Citizens Advice describes a quote as a promise to do the work at an agreed price, and says that after a customer says yes it is a binding agreement whether it is written down or not. A contract is most likely formed if they agreed verbally, fixed a start date, paid a deposit or told you to go ahead. Confirm any yes in writing the same day. General information only: take advice on your own wording if in doubt.
- Can I keep texting a customer who asked for a quote?
- Messages about the quote they asked for, such as whether it arrived or when the price expires, carry no promotion. Add an offer, a discount or a different service and the ICO treats it as direct marketing, which needs consent or the soft opt-in. The soft opt-in only works if you gave them a simple way to opt out when you took their details and in every message since. General information only: take advice on your own wording if in doubt.
Want quotes going to people ready to book?
See what it costs, then tell us about your business and we'll show you a website that sorts the serious customers from the browsers before you pick up the phone, so the quotes you send fill your diary with leads that are yours alone. Got a question first? Just message us.