Here's an uncomfortable exercise: open your sent quotes from the last 90 days and count how many you never followed up on.
For most trade businesses, the answer is somewhere between 60% and 80% of all quotes sent. Not because they forgot the customers existed — but because there was no system to prompt a follow-up, and life on site took over.
The good news: those quotes aren't lost. Most of the customers who didn't reply aren't working with someone else. They're busy, distracted, or waiting for a reason to say yes. A single follow-up, sent at the right time, is often all it takes.
What the Numbers Actually Show
Industry data on trade business quoting is consistent across surveys:
- 73% of quotes sent by small trade businesses receive zero follow-up after the initial send
- Customers who receive a follow-up convert at a rate 30–40% higher than those who don't hear back
- The average first response to an unsolicited follow-up comes within 4 hours of the text being sent
The opportunity is significant. If a trade business sends 30 quotes a month at an average of $2,500, and 20 of those go unfollowed — even a 20% recovery rate on those cold quotes is an extra $10,000 a month.
The Wake-Up Call: Look at Your Quote Conversion Rate
Most tradies estimate their quote conversion rate is somewhere around 50–60%. When they actually look at the numbers, it's often closer to 25–30%.
The gap isn't usually price. When customers who chose a competitor are asked why, the most common answer is: "They got back to me first."
Not cheapest. Not best reviewed. First.
The Follow-Up That Works
The most effective follow-up for trade businesses is short, personal, and sent by SMS — not email.
Timing: 48 hours after the quote is sent is the sweet spot. Response rates drop sharply after 72 hours.
Channel: SMS open rates run at 97% compared to around 21% for email. Customers read texts within minutes; emails sit unread for days.
Message: Keep it under 30 words. Reference the specific job. Don't pressure — ask if they have questions.
The template that consistently performs best:
"Hi [Name], just checking in on the quote for [job type]. Happy to answer any questions or adjust anything. Cheers, [Your name]"
That's it. No hard sell. No discount offer. Just a human touching base.
The Second Follow-Up
If the customer doesn't reply to the first SMS, send one more at day 5. Keep it even shorter:
"Hi [Name], just a quick follow-up on the [job type] quote — happy to chat if it's easier. [Your name]"
After two unanswered follow-ups, stop. You've done your part. Mark the quote as cold and move on.
This two-touch approach keeps you professional, avoids the feeling of pestering, and — importantly — means every quote gets the same treatment regardless of how busy you are.
The Real Problem: Doing This Manually Doesn't Scale
Manually following up works when you're sending 5–10 quotes a week. Once you're sending more than that, the system breaks down:
- You forget which quotes are outstanding
- You lose track of who you've already texted
- You follow up on the ones you remember, not the ones that are most overdue
The fix is removing the memory element entirely. A follow-up system that tracks every quote, sends the first SMS at 48 hours automatically, and stops the moment a customer replies means your conversion rate improves without you thinking about it.
Every quote gets followed up. Not just the ones you happen to remember.
Start Today Without Any Software
Even without automation, you can improve your follow-up rate immediately:
- At the end of each week, pull a list of quotes sent in the last 7 days with no reply
- For each one, send the 30-word SMS template above
- Note the date so you know when to send the day-5 follow-up if needed
Do this consistently for one month and count what comes back. Most trade businesses are surprised how many customers were simply waiting to hear from them.
