The Follow-Up Strategy That Doubled Our Quote Conversion

Here's an uncomfortable truth: most quotes don't get followed up. The plumber sends the quote, hopes for the best, and moves on to the next job. When the customer doesn't respond, the quote quietly dies.

This is leaving massive money on the table. Studies show that 80% of sales require 5+ follow-ups, but most tradespeople give up after one (or zero). Let's fix that.

Why Quotes Go Cold

Before we talk about solutions, let's understand the problem. Quotes go unanswered for several reasons:

Life gets in the way: The customer meant to respond but got busy and forgot
They're comparing options: They're waiting on other quotes and haven't decided yet
They have questions: Something in your quote needs clarification but they haven't got around to asking
The urgency passed: The problem that felt urgent last week doesn't feel urgent today

Notice what's NOT on this list: "They decided your quote was too expensive." That's rarely the real reason for silence. Usually, they just need a nudge.

The Ideal Follow-Up Timeline

Based on what works for NZ plumbers using pipehq, here's the follow-up sequence that converts:

Same day (2-4 hours after sending): Quick check-in. "Hi [Name], just making sure you received the quote I sent through. Let me know if you have any questions."
Day 3: Value reminder. "Hi [Name], just following up on the quote for [job]. Happy to answer any questions or adjust if needed."
Day 7: Gentle nudge. "Hi [Name], wanted to check if you'd like to go ahead with the [job]. I have availability [next week/this week] if that works."
Day 14: Final follow-up. "Hi [Name], I'll close out this quote if I don't hear back, but let me know if your circumstances change."

This sequence works because it's persistent without being pushy, and it gives the customer multiple chances to respond.

SMS vs Email: What Works Better

Short answer: SMS, and it's not even close.

SMS open rates are around 98%. Email open rates for business messages hover around 20%. More importantly, people respond to texts - the average response time for SMS is 90 seconds, compared to 90 minutes for email.

That doesn't mean email is useless. The ideal approach uses both:

Send the quote via email (people expect quotes in their inbox, and they can reference it later)
Follow up via SMS (where they'll actually see it)

Manual vs Automated Follow-Up

You might be thinking "I should just remember to follow up manually." Here's why that doesn't work:

You'll forget. You're busy with actual plumbing work
It's inconsistent. Some quotes get followed up, others don't
It takes mental energy. Tracking who needs a follow-up is exhausting

Automated follow-up solves all of this. You set up the sequence once, and every quote gets the same professional treatment. The system tracks who's been contacted, who's responded, and who needs the next message.

With pipehq, you can even set up behaviour triggers - like sending a different message if the customer has opened the quote but hasn't responded.

Real Results

Sarah from SK Plumbing in Christchurch was converting about 22% of her quotes. After implementing automated follow-up sequences, her conversion jumped to 46% - more than double.

"I knew I was terrible at following up," she told us. "I'd send a quote and then get buried in the next job. Three weeks later I'd remember and it was always too late. Now the system does it for me and I'm winning jobs I would have lost."

Getting Started

If you're not following up consistently, you're leaving money on the table. The good news is that fixing this is one of the highest-ROI changes you can make to your business.

Start with a simple sequence - even just two follow-up messages is better than none. If you want to automate it completely, pipehq's smart follow-up feature handles everything automatically.

Book a demo and we'll show you exactly how to set up follow-up sequences that convert.