How to follow up on an estimate without being pushy
The schedule that gets replies, the three messages to send, and the one thing to never write.
Most unsigned estimates are not rejections. They are a customer who got busy. A follow-up is not nagging, it is the reminder they would have wanted. Here is the schedule and the words.
The schedule
- Day 3: a short check that it arrived and an offer to answer questions.
- Day 7: one useful thing, like a start date you can still hold, and the question again.
- A few days before the price expires: a plain note that the number is good through a date.
- After that, stop. Three is enough. A fourth message turns a maybe into a no.
Message one, day 3
"Hi Sara, wanted to make sure the water heater estimate did not get buried. Happy to answer anything. Mike."
That is the whole message. No restating the price, no sales pitch, no "just checking in" because everyone writes that. Short, named, signed.
Message two, day 7
"Hi Sara, I can still hold the week of the 20th for the water heater if that works. Any questions on the estimate? Mike."
The hold is the useful part. It gives them a reason to decide now instead of later, and it is true, which is the only kind of urgency worth using.
Message three, before it expires
"Hi Sara, the $2,400 on the water heater is good through Friday. After that I will need to reprice for materials. No pressure either way, just did not want it to lapse on you. Mike."
This one names the number because the deadline is about the number. It also gives them a graceful out, which gets more honest answers than silence.
The one thing never to write
Do not ask "Did you decide?" or "Are you going with someone else?" Both put the customer on the spot and both get ignored. Ask about the job, offer something, and let the yes come to you.
Text or email
Whatever you sent the estimate on. If it went by text, follow up by text. If you emailed it, email, and consider a text for message three because an expiring price deserves the channel they will see today.
If you will not send them
Most contractors know they should follow up and do not, because by day 3 there are four new jobs. If that is you, use a tool that sends the sequence. BidWriter Pro sends these three, in your name, to every emailed proposal, and shows you when the customer opened it so you know whether to text. See what the customer receives, or read why customers go quiet in the first place.
Free, no account: job price calculator, markup vs margin, hourly rate, and 84 sample estimates.
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