A buyer who asked for a quote wanted the thing. Then they got busy. Many of those quotes are still winnable, and follow-up is usually what decides it. Here are follow-up templates you can run yourself, and the way to close your open quotes WITHOUT doing the follow-up yourself.
By Bryan Ellis, founder of oBoy.ai · Published July 12, 2026
Every touch has to give the buyer something: an answer, an option, an easy out. "Just checking in" gives them nothing, and that's why it gets ignored. Already have a rhythm that works? Keep it and steal the templates; consistency matters more than the exact days.
Send the quote with an expiry date. The expiry isn't pressure, it's the hook every later follow-up hangs on.
The check-in. Confirm it landed, ask if anything needs adjusting. You're opening a conversation, not demanding a decision.
The value nudge. Bring news worth having: a start date you can hold, a lead time, a way to phase the work if the number was high.
Close the file. Give them a graceful out and yourself an answer. It's the easiest one for a busy buyer to answer.
The revival list. Quotes that went quiet aren't dead, they're dormant. Revisit them monthly; projects have a way of coming back around.
Swap the brackets, keep them short. "Quote" and "estimate" are interchangeable throughout; use whichever word your customers use.
Download the whole kit as a PDF ↓ The cadence and all five templates. Free, no email required.
Subject: Your quote for [project], quick question
Hi [Name], I sent your quote for [project] over on [day]. Wanted to make sure it landed, and ask: does the scope look right? If anything's off, tell me what and I'll rework it. [Your name]
Subject: A start date for [project]
Hi [Name], While your quote's been out, I checked our schedule. If you give the go-ahead by [date], we can start on [date] and be done by [date]. If it's price, scope, or timing holding things up, say the word and we'll talk it through. [Your name]
Subject: Your estimate for [the job]
Hi [Name], Following up on the estimate for [the job]. Two things worth knowing: our [month] schedule is filling up, and if the number came in higher than you'd planned, there's usually a way to phase the work. Want me to walk you through the options? [Your name]
Subject: Closing the file on [project]?
Hi [Name], I don't want to clutter your inbox. If the project's on hold or you've gone another direction, no hard feelings, just tell me and I'll close the file. If it's still live, the quote stands until [expiry date] and we're ready when you are. [Your name]
Subject: Still need [project] done?
Hi [Name], Back in [month] we quoted [project] at [amount]. Jobs like that have a way of coming back around, so I wanted to check: is it still on your list? If the scope or prices need refreshing, I'll update the quote. No charge, no obligation. [Your name]
And track one number: of every ten quotes you send, how many close? If you don't know your quote-to-close rate, you can't see what following up is worth. Owners who start measuring are often surprised in both directions: how many quotes were dying of silence, and how few follow-ups it takes to catch them.
Chase is an AI employee, an AI Quote Hound. He watches every open quote and estimate you've sent, runs a full three-touch cadence (or your own) automatically in your voice, and unlike the rest of us he doesn't get busy, distracted, or awkward about the third follow-up.
When a customer replies with something that needs your judgment, Chase escalates instead of guessing. And every week he reports back: what he chased, what came back signed, what needs you.
Every Chase is built custom for one business, after an assessment that sizes what quote follow-up is actually worth in your numbers. The report shown here is illustrative, not a client's.
So how do you hire him?
Two to three days after sending it. Sooner reads as pushy; later and the buyer's attention has moved on. The first follow-up should check that the quote landed and ask whether anything in it needs adjusting, which invites a conversation instead of demanding a decision.
Three emails over about two weeks: a short check-in around day 2 or 3, a value-adding nudge around day 7, and a polite close-the-file note around day 14. After that, stop emailing that quote and move it to a revival list you revisit every month or two. Persistence wins quotes; pestering loses customers.
Keep it to a few sentences: reference the specific quote, add one genuinely useful piece of information (a start date you can hold, a lead time, an option to phase the work), and end with one easy question. Never ask "did you get my quote?" on its own; it gives the buyer nothing to respond to.
Chase is an AI employee built by oBoy.ai who owns quote follow-up end to end. He watches every open quote and estimate, sends the follow-ups on the right cadence in your voice, escalates to you when a customer asks something he shouldn't answer alone, and sends you a short weekly report of what he chased and what came back. Every Chase is built custom for one business after an assessment; he is not off-the-shelf software you operate.
Stop emailing an individual quote after the close-the-file note, about two weeks in: three touches is persistence, more is pestering. But stopping the emails doesn't mean deleting the quote. Move it to a revival list and revisit that list monthly; budgets free up, projects come back, and a quote revived after sixty quiet days feels like service, not salesmanship. The only quotes to drop entirely are the ones where the customer said no or asked you to stop.
Fifteen minutes. Your quote numbers. A straight answer on whether Chase would pay for himself in your business.
Book the free 15-minute call →No prep needed. And if quote follow-up isn't your leak, I'll tell you that too.
Meet Chase, the AI Quote Hound · See what an AI employee is · How the assessment works · Get the kit (PDF)