What a follow up should add that the quote did not already say

4 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

The hardest part of following up is not the timing or the frequency. It is having something to say. The quote went out, it contained everything, and a week later there is nothing new to communicate — which is why most follow-up messages say some version of "just checking whether you had a chance to look at this".

That message gives the recipient nothing. It asks them to do work and offers nothing in return, which is exactly the profile of a message that gets postponed and then ignored. The useful follow-ups all share the property of containing something the quote did not, and there are more available sources of that than most people realise.

1. What a follow up should add that the quote did not is a reason to reply

The test.

What a follow up should add that the quote did not is the whole question. Read the message and ask what the recipient gains by opening it. If the answer is nothing, it will be treated accordingly. This single test eliminates most of what makes follow-up uncomfortable to send and to receive.

2. Answer a question they did not ask

The most reliable source.

Whatever your other customers ask at this stage, answered in a sentence or two. It demonstrates that you know the process and it addresses a doubt they may be holding silently. Keep a list of these questions and work through it across successive messages.

3. Send a relevant example

The evidence they did not have.

A comparable job, with photographs or a figure. This is new information about you and it works particularly well where they were unsure about your experience with their situation. Choose one that resembles their job closely rather than your most impressive.

4. Offer a different shape

The commercial addition.

A phased version, a reduced scope, a later start. Something that changes the proposition gives a buyer with a budget or timing problem a way forward they could not have asked for. It also lets them move without having to admit the constraint.

5. Give them a real date

The practical update.

When you could start, how the diary has moved, when the quoted materials price holds until. Concrete information is welcome even when it is not what they hoped. Only say it if it is true, because dates are checkable.

6. Share something about their situation

The genuinely useful message.

A change in regulation, a seasonal consideration, a supply issue. Anything affecting their decision that they may not know is the strongest follow-up available. It also positions you as an adviser rather than a supplier waiting for an answer.

7. Make it easy to say no

The addition that produces replies.

Explicit permission to tell you they have chosen otherwise. This is content of a kind: it changes what the message is asking for, and it gets answered far more often.

8. Keep it short

The format point.

Three or four lines. A long follow-up asking for a decision reads as an argument, and the useful addition should be quick to absorb.

9. Never repeat the quote

The thing to avoid.

Resending the same document with a new covering line tells the buyer you have nothing further and are simply waiting. It is the most common follow-up and the least effective.

Be careful about manufacturing news. A follow-up inventing a reason to make contact is transparent, and an artificial price rise or fabricated availability pressure costs you more credibility than the message could possibly gain.

Conclusion

Give the message something the quote did not contain.

Answer a question your other customers ask at this stage, send a comparable example they have not seen, offer a phased or reduced version, provide a concrete date about availability or price validity, tell them something relevant to their own situation, make it easy to say no so the message asks for something answerable, keep it to a few lines, and never simply resend the quote with a new covering note.