How to Follow Up a Quote as a Builder: Day-by-Day Plan
The short answer
Follow up by phone, not just text: same day, day 2–3, day 7, then weekly until you get a yes, a no or a decision date. Use WhatsApp and email to confirm what was said, not to sell.
- Book the next step before you leave the visit. The best follow-up is the meeting already in the diary.
- Send the quote the same day, then call: day 2–3, day 7, then weekly until you have a yes, a no or a decision date.
- Phone sells, text confirms. One "any update?" message and silence is not a follow-up.
- Keep every open quote in one list with its value, date and next action.
You did the site visit, spent an evening pricing, sent the quote, and then nothing. A week later you send "any update?" and get no reply. The job goes to someone else, and you never find out why.
Most builders lose more jobs after the quote than before it. Not because they're too expensive, but because nobody followed up properly. Here's the follow-up plan we teach, with the words to use. If quotes keep going quiet, book a free strategy call.
Before the quote: set up the follow-up
The easiest follow-up is one that's already booked. Before you leave the site visit:
- Agree the date you'll present the quote, in person or on a video call.
- Make sure both decision makers will be there.
- Ask when they want to decide and start.
- Ask how many builders are pricing and what matters most: price, quality or speed.
If you present the quote live instead of emailing a PDF, half the follow-up happens in the meeting. You hear the questions, answer them, and leave with a clear next step.
The follow-up plan, day by day
| When | What you do | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Same day | Send the quote and a short summary of what you agreed | Email or WhatsApp |
| Day 2–3 | Call: "Have any questions come up since we met?" | Phone |
| Day 7 | Call, then send photos or a short write-up of a similar job | Phone, then WhatsApp |
| Every week after | Call until you have a yes, a no or a decision date | Phone |
| If they go quiet | One short message that makes replying easy | WhatsApp or email |
| If you lose it | Ask why, and stay in touch | Phone |
Phone sells. Text confirms. A message can be ignored in a second. A two-minute call tells you whether the job is alive, what's stopping them and what to do next.
One "just checking in, any update?" message, then silence. It asks for nothing, adds nothing and is easy to ignore.
Losing jobs after the quote?
Book a free call. Our team looks at how you quote and follow up, and fixes the leak that costs you most.
What to say on the phone
Every call needs a reason. Use these as a starting point and put them in your own words.
| Call | What you say |
|---|---|
| Day 2–3 | "Hi [name], it's [you] from [company]. You've had a couple of days with the quote. Have any questions come up since we met?" |
| If they're comparing | "That makes sense. If you send me the other quote, I'll go through both with you line by line, so you're comparing the same job." |
| "It's too expensive" | "Compared to what: your budget, or another quote?" If it's budget: "Let's look at the scope. We can change [finish/phase] to bring it down without cutting corners." |
| "I need to think about it" | "Of course. What exactly do you need to think about? Is it the price, the timing or something in the scope?" Then: "When will you have decided?" |
| Day 7 | "I wanted to send you a job we did that's very close to yours: [type, size, area]. And our programme still has a start on [date] if you want it." |
| Weekly | "Where are you with the decision? Is there anything stopping you going ahead?" |
End every call with a next step: a date they'll decide, a meeting, or a clear no.
Quotes going quiet every week?
Book a free strategy call and we'll fix your sales process with you.
Messages you can send
Use messages to confirm and to make replying easy. Keep them short. Change the words, keep the structure.
Same day, with the quote:
Hi [name], thanks for your time today. Here's our quote for [project]. In short: [scope in one line], [programme, e.g. 6–8 weeks], start from [date]. Payments are staged, as we discussed. I'll call you on [day] to go through any questions.
After the day 7 call:
Hi [name], as promised, here are a few photos of the [similar job] we finished in [area]. Same layout as yours, done in [x] weeks. Our start date of [date] is still free if you'd like it.
When the client has gone quiet:
Hi [name], I haven't been able to reach you, so I'll keep this short. Have you decided to go another way with [project]? Either answer is fine, I just want to know whether to keep the [date] start free for you.
After you've lost it:
Thanks for letting me know, [name]. Could I ask what made the difference? It helps us improve. If anything changes, or you need us for a future job, we're here.
Keep every open quote in one list
You can't follow up what you can't see. Keep a simple list, on paper, a spreadsheet or your CRM, with every open quote:
- Client and job: name, address, type of work.
- Value: the quoted price.
- Date sent: so you know how old it is.
- Next action and date: "call Thursday", "meeting 12th".
- Status: open, decision date set, won, lost (and why).
Look at it every Monday. Any quote without a next action gets one. Builders who do this stop "forgetting" £30K jobs in their inbox.
What happens when you actually follow up
Adam & Ali had been stuck at about £500K a year. One of the changes: every quote was called back the same week, and every old contact got a call. That surfaced a £145.6K lead from an architect they had worked with before, and in May they signed £91,796 in 8 days.
Adam also once lost a £145K job to a £115K quote. Since then, he finds out early who else is pricing, asks for their quote and compares line by line.
Want the same plan for your quotes? Book a free strategy call and we'll look at where jobs leak after the quote.
£91,796 signed in 8 days
Adam & Ali: calling back every quote and every old contact, then a £528K project within four months. Individual results, not typical or guaranteed.
That's what one-to-one mentoring looks like in practice. Sviat Jay runs a working construction company, Craftex, and works with each owner on their own sales process, quote by quote. Owners usually see results in about four months. More on business mentoring for builders.
Not sure whether your problem is the follow-up, the leads or the price? Take the free 4-minute Construction Business Scorecard. If too many enquiries are time-wasters, start with how to qualify construction leads. If clients push back on price, see how to charge more without losing clients.
The Sales Leak Checklist
Score your four sales leaks, the scripts for "too expensive" and "I need to think about it", and a pipeline tracker. 14 pages, free.
Get the free guideYour follow-up checklist
On the tools and under £500K a year? Watch our free training first.
Before you go
- Book the quote presentation before you leave the site visit
- Send the quote the same day with a short summary
- Call on day 2–3 and day 7, then weekly
- End every call with a decision date or a clear answer
- Keep every open quote in one list with a next action
