Delivering a quote to a potential customer and never hearing back is a terrible feeling, but it happens to every business owner. Initial silence from your lead is dejecting, but it doesn’t necessarily mark the end of the road.
Sending a reminder email for quotation follow-ups can be the little nudge that your leads need to become paying customers.
In this article, you’ll learn the importance of sending gentle reminders for quotations to close more sales and boost your conversion.
What is a quotation reminder?
Quotes are the first step to any job, from small bathroom remodels to large commercial renovations. They usually take a lot of time to complete, so you want to ensure that your quote is at least acknowledged.
A quotation reminder is a follow-up message that you send after you deliver a quote to a prospective customer.
Chances are that you sent the quote by email, so you should follow up with a reminder for quotation email if you don’t get a response.
Let’s take a deeper dive into reminder mail for quotations.
Understanding quotation reminder emails
Quotation follow-up emails have one purpose: to remind the recipient of the quote that’s sitting in their inbox. Therefore, these emails should be concise and straight to the point.
Components of a winning quotation reminder email
Since you want it to be short, there aren’t too many components to a quotation follow-up email.
In general, your reminder email should contain the following:
- Clear subject line.
- Name of the recipient.
- Quote as an attachment or in the body of the email.
- Your company’s name and contact information.
- Reminder of the context for the quote.
The context should have all of the relevant information that your potential customer needs, including how they can confirm the quote with you and any applicable deposit amount.
To help you out, let’s take a closer look at some of these components to help you learn how to send the best follow up quotation email possible.
Crafting effective quotation reminder email templates
Crafting good quote reminder emails is all about how you treat each individual component of the email. Here’s how to make every part of your email effective.
Subject line
Your subject line tells the recipient exactly why you’re emailing them, and often determines whether they open your email or not.
When it comes to a follow-up email for a quote, it’s best to keep your subject line short, sweet, and to the point. It can be as simple as “Quote reminder.”
However, since your lead may be receiving several quotes from different organizations, it’s a good idea to include the name of your business and a word or two describing the job in your subject line.
Body of the email
The body of the email should be straightforward and brief. Simply remind your lead of the quotation, and let them know to contact you if they have any questions or concerns.
If necessary, you can provide further explanation of the quote, but keep it short and relevant.
The quote itself
The most important part of knowing how to follow up on a quote in email is remembering to re-send the quote itself! Your lead won’t want to look for the original quote deep in their inbox, and it’s best to make it as easy as possible for them. The more accessible your quotes, the more of a chance that they’ll turn into actual jobs.
Tips and best practices for making your quotation reminder emails stand out
As mentioned, you may not be the only business sending your lead a gentle reminder email for quotation review, so it’s important to figure out ways to make your quote stand out.
To help you out, here are some tips on how to follow up on a quote request:
- Make sure that your subject line is between 6-10 words long, and uses urgent vocabulary. Adding an emoji may also help.
- Your entire email should only be around 100 words in order to maintain your recipient’s attention.
- Make use of trigger words that boost attention. These words include: “free”, “easy”, “deal”, “guarantee”, etc.
- Try to send your quotation reminder email in the middle of the week and early in the morning, when people are most likely to check their inbox.
- There’s an ideal time to send a follow-up email after sending quotations, which is about 3-5 days.
Now, let’s take a look at what you shouldn’t do when sending a quotation follow-up email.
Common mistakes to avoid in quotation reminder emails
If you don’t go about sending your follow-up email correctly, you might end up driving away your lead. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when sending reminder emails:
- Don’t send a follow-up email too soon after you send your initial quote. You want to give your lead some time to think it over, and not make them feel rushed.
- Don’t send too many emails. In general, you should never send more than two reminder emails, especially if they’re not well spaced out.
- Don’t try to sell other products or services in your follow-up emails. This can overwhelm your lead and lose their interest in what initially enticed them.
- Don’t be pushy. If your lead says no after your initial follow-up email, you can definitely ask why — but it’s important to be able to recognize when a pursuit is over.
Implementing quotation reminder emails in your sales strategy
For best results, quotation follow-ups should be a regular part of your sales strategy.
When a lead has gone silent on you, you need to know when and how to act. With a good system in place, you’ll be able to act fast and ensure that no one falls through the cracks.
The best way to implement follow-ups into your sales strategy is to leverage tools and resources designed to strengthen your processes. Let’s take a look at a few.
Tools and resources for creating quotation reminder emails
The good news about sending follow-up emails is that you don’t always have to craft them all on your own. There are several tools and resources at your disposal that make the process much easier.
Let’s explore some of those options.
Email marketing software
Email marketing software is the most efficient tool for sending quotation reminders.
Software allows you to automate your follow-up emails, so you don’t have to remember to send them yourself manually.
Better yet, email marketing software tracks when recipients open or engage with your emails, providing you a better sense of whether your leads are ready to convert.
Email templates
Don’t want to write your quote reminder email from scratch? With so many quotation reminder email samples out there, you don’t have to!
Downloading an email template provides you with established, carefully tested wording for your follow-up emails. When you take advantage of these templates, you save time and get your reminders out quicker.
Finding one is as simple as looking up, “How to follow-up on a quote example?” But, you’ll also find a great template at the end of this article.
Analytics tools
Analytics tools are helpful for tracking your emails. Applications like estimate software allow you to keep track of the quotes you send by providing you with information such as:
- When the quotes are sent.
- How many are sent.
- Whether or not they’ve been opened.
This provides you with data that you can use to tweak and improve your follow-up email process.
Key takeaways
Quotation follow-up emails are a simple, yet powerful part of your business process. If they aren’t already a part of your sales strategy, you should begin implementing them immediately to improve your conversion rate and increase revenue.
The main takeaway is that it never hurts to send a follow-up quotation email. Life is busy — you’d be surprised to learn how many times a lead just needs a gentle reminder!
Quotation reminder FAQs
What is the best time to send a quotation reminder email?
The best time to send a quotation follow up email is generally 3-5 days after you first send the quote. This allows your lead enough time to look over and consider the quote without feeling rushed.
How often should I send quotation reminder emails?
You should only send quote reminders every 5 days or so, as to not overwhelm the recipient. You should also stick to sending no more than 2 or 3 reminder emails. After that, it’s smart to focus on hotter leads.
How soon do you follow up a quotation request?
It’s important to follow up a quotation request as quickly as possible. If it will take you a few days to do the quote, make sure that you send an email right away to acknowledge that you have received the request and that you will be in touch soon.
Save time on follow-up emails by downloading your free invoice email template today!
Image credit: Karolina Grabowska via Pexels
