Quote follow-up email templates (with a follow-up schedule)
Copy-and-paste quote follow-up emails and texts, a day-by-day schedule, what to do when a customer goes quiet, and the Canadian CASL rules.
Reviewed by Caelen Yung, Founder, True Meridian AI · Published · Updated
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You sent the quote. Then nothing. For many service businesses this is where the most money quietly disappears: the customer asked, you answered, and the job went to whoever followed up, or to nobody. This guide gives you the emails and texts to send, a schedule that tells you when, and the Canadian rules that apply to those messages.
One honest note first. I looked for rigorous public research on how many follow-ups to send and when, and did not find any. Numbers like "80 percent of sales need five follow-ups" circulate widely and are hard to trace to a source. The schedule here is a sensible default built from how customers decide, and you should measure it against your own win rate. If the delay is before the quote goes out, start with speed to lead.
Why quotes go quiet
- The customer is comparing two or three quotes and has not decided.
- Your quote answered the price question but not the next-step question: what happens if they say yes?
- Life got in the way. The need is still there, but it moved down their list.
- A question or worry never got asked, often about price, timing, or trust.
- Nobody on your side owns the follow-up, so it happens only when someone remembers.
A good follow-up deals with each of these without pressure. It confirms the quote arrived, makes saying yes easy, answers the questions the customer has not asked, and lets them say no cleanly.
The schedule at a glance
| When | Message | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Same day as the visit or inquiry | Thank-you, and when the quote will arrive | Set expectations |
| Day 0: quote sent | The quote, with one clear next step | Make yes easy |
| Day 2 | Short check that it arrived | Catch lost or spam-filtered emails |
| Day 5 | Answer the likely questions | Remove doubts |
| Day 10 | Ask where they are and when they plan to decide | Get a timeline |
| Day 21 | Close the loop | Get a clear yes or no |
Stop the sequence the moment the customer replies, books, or says no. If you use software to send it, make that automatic.
Quote follow-up email templates
Hi [first name], Thanks for having me out today to look at [job]. I will send your quote by [day and time]. If anything comes to mind before then, such as a deadline or a budget range, reply here and I will build it in. [Name] [Business] | [phone]
Subject: Your quote for [job] Hi [first name], Your quote for [job] is attached: [amount], valid until [date]. If you would like to go ahead, the next step is [reply to this email / book your start date here: link]. We can start as early as [date]. If you have questions about anything in the quote, reply or call me on [phone] and I will walk through it. [Name] [Business] | [phone] | [address]
Subject: Did the quote arrive? Hi [first name], Just checking that the quote for [job] reached you, since emails sometimes land in spam. I can resend it if needed. [Name]
Subject: Questions about the quote for [job] Hi [first name], The questions I hear most about jobs like this are [question 1], [question 2], and [question 3]. Short answers: [answer 1], [answer 2], [answer 3]. If something else is on your mind, ask and I will give you a straight answer. [Name]
Subject: Where are you at with [job]? Hi [first name], I wanted to check where you are with [job]. If you are still deciding, when do you expect to choose? That helps me hold the right dates for you. If you have gone another way, no problem. Just tell me and I will close your file. [Name]
Subject: Should I close your file? Hi [first name], I have not heard back about [job], so I will assume the timing is not right and close your file. Your quote of [amount] stays valid until [date], and you are welcome to reach me any time after that. If I have it wrong, reply with one word and I will pick it back up. [Name]
Hi [first name], Thanks for being straight with me. The quote covers [what is included]. If budget is the issue, I can look at [a smaller scope / a phased approach / different materials] and send an adjusted quote. What number would make this work? [Name]
Hi [first name], Thanks for letting me know, and good luck with the job. If you are open to it, I would value a line on what tipped the decision, such as price, timing, or something else. It helps me improve. If plans change, my number is [phone]. [Name]
Hi [first name], it is [name] from [business]. Did you get my quote for [job]? Happy to answer any questions or adjust it. Reply STOP and I will not text again.
Subject lines that work for this sequence are plain ones: "Your quote for [job]", "Did the quote arrive?", "Questions about [job]?", "Where are you at with [job]?", and "Should I close your file?". Keep each message under about 100 words, ask one question, and write the way you talk. Do not apologize for following up.
Phone calls and texts
A call on day 5 or day 10 often settles in two minutes what three emails could not. Use it to ask what is holding the decision, not to push. Texts are best kept short and used only with customers who contacted you by text or gave you their mobile number for this job. They fall under the same Canadian rules as email, covered below.
Write the quote so follow-up is easier
- Put an expiry date on it. A date gives you a natural reason to follow up and gives the customer a reason to decide.
- Name one next step and make it easy: a booking link, a reply-to-accept line, or a deposit link.
- Offer a short list of options, such as a basic and a fuller version, instead of one take-it-or-leave-it number. It turns "yes or no" into "which one."
- State what is included and what is not, so the surprises come before the decision and not after.
- Say what happens after they accept: when you start, how long it takes, and how you will keep them updated.
- Include your full business name, phone number, and address. It also helps with the Canadian rules below.
Canada: the rules for these messages (CASL)
Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, known as CASL, applies to commercial electronic messages: emails, texts, and direct messages sent in the course of your business. The summary below follows the text of the Act on the Justice Laws website. It is general information, not legal advice.
- Consent. Section 6(1) prohibits sending a commercial electronic message unless the recipient has consented, expressly or by implication.
- The quote itself. Section 6(6)(a) lifts the consent requirement for a message that solely provides a quote or estimate the recipient requested. If you add promotional content to that email, it may no longer qualify, so keep the quote email to the quote.
- Follow-ups. A message chasing a decision goes beyond delivering the quote, so it generally needs consent. Consent is implied where the person made an inquiry or application to you in the six months before the message was sent, or bought from you in the previous two years (section 10(10)).
- The six-month line. For someone who only asked for a quote, implied consent runs out six months after the inquiry. To keep following up after that, you need their express consent. Asking is simple: "May I check in again about this in the spring?"
- Identification and opting out. Section 6(2) requires messages covered by the section to identify who is sending them, give contact information, and include an unsubscribe mechanism. Put your business name, address, and phone in your signature, add a plain opt-out line with a working address or link, and honour opt-out requests without delay and no later than 10 business days (section 11(3)).
- Penalties. The maximum penalty for a violation is $1,000,000 for an individual and $10,000,000 for any other person (section 20(4)). Those are ceilings, not typical outcomes, but they are a good reason to keep records.
- Keep a record. Note when each person asked for their quote, so you know when the six months run out.
If you also email people in other countries, other rules apply, and a lawyer can tell you how they fit together.
Automate the follow-up, keep the conversation human
The schedule above suits automation because it is date-driven and the same every time. Software can send the day 2, 5, 10, and 21 messages, stop when the customer replies or books, and remind you to call. A person should handle replies, price objections, anything custom, and the call itself. If you use AI to draft messages, review them before they go out, because a follow-up that promises a price or a date commits you. The AI audit guide explains how to decide what to automate, and the privacy checklist covers what customer details may go into an AI tool.
What it can be worth
An illustration with invented numbers. Suppose you send 20 quotes a month, win 25 percent of them, and the average job is worth $1,800. If a consistent follow-up routine lifted your win rate by 5 points, that is one extra job a month: 20 × 0.05 × $1,800 = $1,800 a month, or $21,600 a year. A 5-point lift is an assumption, not a promise. Track your own win rate for a few months before and after to see what the routine does, and remember that some of the quotes you chase would have closed anyway.
Track it
| Metric | How to measure it | What a poor result suggests |
|---|---|---|
| Time from visit or inquiry to quote | Median hours | Quotes arrive late and competitors get a head start |
| Quotes with a recorded follow-up | Follow-ups logged ÷ quotes sent | The routine depends on memory |
| Win rate by number of follow-ups | Won ÷ sent, grouped by follow-up count | Too few follow-ups, or the later ones add nothing |
| Days to decision | Median days from quote sent to yes or no | The quote is unclear or the next step is hard |
| Reasons lost | Tag each loss: price, timing, competitor, no reply | Where the offer needs fixing, beyond the follow-up |
