Freeze up when you ring a customer about a quote? Here are short estimate follow up phone scripts and email lines for the first chase, the still-deciding call, and the deadline nudge.
You know you should chase the estimate. You even pick up the phone. Then the customer answers and your mind goes blank, so you mumble something apologetic and hang up no further forward. The fix is not confidence, it is a script. Here is exactly what to say, on the phone and in email, at each stage of chasing a quote.
Keep them short and natural. These are not lines to read word for word in a robotic voice, they are a scaffold so you never freeze or waffle. Swap the placeholders like [customer name], [estimate total] and [your business] for real details, and adjust the tone to sound like you. Above all, lead with the customer and make the next step effortless. For how often to make these calls and send these emails, see our guide on how many times to follow up on an estimate.
A quick call cuts through a full inbox and often gets you a decision on the spot. Keep each one under a minute, smile while you dial, and always leave the customer an easy way to say "not yet."
Hi [customer name], it's [your name] from [your business], have I caught you at an okay moment? I'm just following up on the estimate I sent over for [job description], the one that came to [estimate total]. I wanted to check it reached you alright and see if you had any questions I could help with. No pressure at all, I know these things take a bit of thinking about.
Hi [customer name], it's [your name] at [your business]. I know you're weighing up the quote for [job description], so I won't keep you. I just wanted to see if there's anything holding you back that I could sort, whether that's the timing, the spec, or the price. Sometimes a quick chat clears things up faster than another email. What's on your mind about it?
Hi [customer name], [your name] from [your business] here. Quick one, I'm booking work into the diary for the next few weeks and I'd love to keep a slot for [job description] if you're still keen. The price of [estimate total] holds until [date]. Shall I pencil you in, or is the timing not right just yet? Either's completely fine, I just didn't want you to miss the window.
Hi [customer name], it's [your name] from [your business], sorry I missed you. Nothing urgent, I was just following up on the estimate for [job description]. Give me a ring back when you get a minute, or reply to my email if that's easier. Thanks, and speak soon.
Not everyone answers the phone, and email gives the customer room to reply on their own time. You do not need long paragraphs. A single, well-judged line often does more than a wall of text. Here are three you can drop straight in.
Warm, brief, and it simply reopens the door:
Hi [customer name], just checking the estimate for [job description] reached you okay, the total was [estimate total]. Happy to answer anything or tweak the spec, no rush at all.
Invites an honest reply and offers to remove any blocker:
Hi [customer name], is there anything I can help clarify on the quote for [job description]? If the timing, price or spec needs a rethink, just say and I'll happily adjust it.
Gives a gentle, genuine reason to decide without a hard-sell ultimatum:
Hi [customer name], I'm filling my diary for the coming weeks and would love to keep your slot for [job description]. The [estimate total] price holds until [date], want me to reserve it?
Here is the honest truth about scripts: the phone calls only work if you actually make them, and the emails only work if they actually go out. The calls will always need you. The emails do not. Sending them by hand means remembering who is due which line and when, across every open estimate, and that is exactly the task that slips to the bottom of the list.
Quote Nudge QB fixes the email half entirely. It connects to your QuickBooks Online account and sends a follow up sequence built from lines like the ones above automatically on every estimate you send, from your own branded, DKIM-verified email address. It is idempotent, so a customer never gets the same message twice, and it stops the instant an estimate is accepted, declined or expired in QuickBooks. That frees you to spend your energy on the calls that need a human voice, while the routine chasing runs itself. If you want fuller email drafts to start from, our five estimate follow up email templates expand these lines into complete messages, and this guide shows how the automated sequences fit together.
Chasing an estimate stops being awkward the moment you have the words ready. Keep a couple of phone scripts by the desk for the calls that need your voice, and let an automated sequence handle the email nudges so nothing slips. Say the right thing, at the right time, every time, and far more of your quotes turn into booked work.
Automate the email chasing and free yourself for the calls that matter. Start a free 14-day trial of Quote Nudge QB, no card required, then £16.79 a month, cancel anytime. See how it works in the docs.
Auto follow-ups, branded e-sign acceptance and deposits on your QuickBooks estimates. £16.79/mo after the trial — no card required.
Start free trialFive copy-and-paste follow up email templates for QuickBooks estimates: the first nudge, the second reminder, the final chase, still interested, and the deposit reminder.
QuickBooks Online chases every unpaid invoice on autopilot, yet leaves your unaccepted estimates to go cold. Here is the revenue leak hiding in plain sight.