// QUOTE FOLLOW-UP
Quote follow-up for tradies
Quote follow-up for tradies fixes a quiet leak: you price the job, send the quote, then nobody chases it and the job dies in someone's inbox. We set up a same-day check that the quote arrived, then friendly SMS and email follow-ups drafted for every quote, ready for your approval. Nothing chases a customer without your say-so.
// BEFORE THE FOLLOW-UP
The fastest quote can win before follow-up starts
Follow-up can't save a quote that arrives after the work is done. Homeowners who ring around often book the first business that gives them a price, while the slow quotes sit in someone's to-do list. So before any follow-up:
- Quote on the spot when the job allows. The customer can say yes while you are still standing there.
- When you can't, say when. Tell the customer which day the quote will arrive, then send it by that day.
Then the follow-up below makes sure the quote is seen and answered. Losing them before you even get to quote? Start with how fast you answer: missed call text back for tradies.
// AFTER YOU HIT SEND
What happens after you hit send
No AI magic and no robot spam. A short sequence of follow-ups is drafted every time a quote goes out, timed and worded with you. The only message that sends on its own is a same-day check that the quote arrived. Every follow-up that chases waits for your approval, and the drafts stop the moment the customer replies.
- QUOTE SENT A same-day check that the quote arrived
A short text from your number: "We have sent the quote, can you confirm you got it?" Approved by you once, then sent on every quote, because a quote nobody saw cannot be followed up. The follow-ups that chase are drafted in the background, ready for you to check.
- A FEW DAYS LATER A short, friendly SMS, drafted for your approval
Something like "Just checking the quote for the deck came through OK. Any questions, give us a yell." Written with you, and sent from your business only once you approve it.
- THE WEEK AFTER An email follow-up with a reason to reply
Not another "just checking in". A useful draft: a start-date window, an answer to the usual objection, or a photo of a similar job. You check it, then send it.
- BEFORE IT EXPIRES One last draft before the quote lapses
A heads-up that the price holds until the expiry date, ready for you to approve. It gives fence-sitters an honest reason to decide.
- THEY REPLY The reply lands with you and the drafts stop
The moment the customer answers, no more follow-ups are drafted for that quote. You take it from there yourself.
// THE HONEST BIT
ServiceM8 can already do some of this
If you run ServiceM8, part of this is built in. It has native quote follow-up features that most businesses have never switched on. We will not sell you a second system that duplicates what you already pay for.
What we actually do: set those features up so every follow-up that chases is drafted for your approval rather than sent automatically, write the messages so they sound like your business, and wire the parts that need outside plumbing. That means email follow-ups, expiry reminders tied to your quote terms, and follow-up for quotes that never go through job software at all.
// THE QUOTE THEY NEVER SAW
Make sure the quote was seen before you chase it
A follow-up cannot save a quote the customer never noticed. On ServiceM8 that happens more than you would think. Unless you have ServiceM8’s Branded SMS set up (Premium plan or higher), quote texts arrive from “ServiceM8”, not your business name. On the customer’s phone they merge with every other ServiceM8 business’s messages: the sparky who was there last week, another trade’s on-the-way text. Texts from businesses can also show as unverified on Australian phones.
We shorten ServiceM8’s quote follow-up timeframes, so the first nudge does not wait days.
A short text from your number: “We’ve sent the quote, can you confirm you got it?” You approve the wording once; it then goes out on every quote.
Each job’s tag (blocked drains, air con install) picks a short video on what makes your business different, instead of another “just checking in”. Like every follow-up that chases, it is drafted for your approval.
We set this up for Plumbed Right. Before the quote, enquiries can land in the ServiceM8 Inbox: see ServiceM8 lead management.
// RUN YOUR NUMBERS
Slow follow-up has a dollar figure
A quote nobody chases is a cost you can estimate, the same as a slow first reply. Our free calculator puts a number on it from your own figures.
// FREE TOOL Speed to lead calculatorWith the calculator's default numbers alone, slow replies cost about $54,600 a year in jobs that went to a faster business. Your numbers will be different. Run them; it takes a minute, and nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Run the calculator →// YOUR SETUP
Works with the tools you already quote from
We are a ServiceM8 Bronze Partner and ServiceM8 is our most common build, but the follow-up logic is the same whatever sends your quotes.
This page is about chasing the quotes you send; its sibling, missed call text back for tradies, catches the calls you miss.
// PRICING
One fixed number before we start
Quote follow-up starts from $900 + GST. That sets up quote follow-up in ServiceM8, drafted for your approval, with messages in your voice and timing that suits your trade. We look at how your quotes go out now, agree the sequence and the wording, then give you one fixed setup price before any work starts. No hourly billing, no lock-in contract. Follow-up that has to run outside job software is a custom build on our automation service, from $1,800 + GST, usually run from GoHighLevel for tradies in Australia.
// QUESTIONS
Straight answers before you ask
Not sure it fits how you quote? Ask us directly and we'll give you a straight answer, no jargon, no pressure.
Get in touchHow fast should a tradie send a quote?
On the spot if the job allows. If it doesn't, tell the customer which day the quote will arrive and send it by then. Follow-up can't save a quote that arrives after the customer has booked someone else.
Will follow-ups annoy my customers?
We keep each one short, spaced out and written in your voice, and you read every draft before it goes. The only message that sends on its own is a same-day check that your quote arrived, worded with you once. Every follow-up that chases is drafted for your approval, and the drafts stop the instant they reply.
How many follow-ups are drafted?
Usually two or three per quote, spread across one to two weeks, plus a final one before the quote expires. Each one is drafted for your approval, so nothing that chases goes out automatically. They are spaced out, so nobody is messaged every day. The timing and wording are agreed with you before anything goes live.
Does it work with my job software?
Yes. We build on ServiceM8 for most clients, and we are a ServiceM8 Bronze Partner. Tradify and Fergus setups work too. If you quote from plain email, we can draft the follow-ups for email and SMS with no job software at all.
My customers say they never got my ServiceM8 quote. Why?
Unless you have ServiceM8’s Branded SMS set up, ServiceM8 texts arrive from "ServiceM8", not your business name, and get lost among other businesses’ ServiceM8 messages. Branded SMS needs the Premium plan or higher on ServiceM8’s current plans. A same-day text from your own number asking "can you confirm you got it?" fixes most of it.
Can I just set this up myself?
If you have the time, yes. ServiceM8 in particular has quote follow-up features you can switch on today, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a duplicate. What you pay us for is the setup done properly: messages that sound like you, drafted for your approval, timing that suits your trade, and expiry reminders tied to your quote terms.
What does it cost?
Setup starts from $900 + GST. That sets up quote follow-up in ServiceM8, drafted for your approval and tuned to your trade, and you get one fixed number before any work starts. Follow-up for quotes that never touch job software needs a custom build, which starts from $1,800 + GST. No hourly billing, no monthly lock-in contract.
// READY WHEN YOU ARE
Stop letting quotes die quietly
Tell us how your quotes go out now and we'll come back with one fixed price and a follow-up sequence written in your voice. No pressure, no lock-in.
Get a fixed price