Chasing an estimate feels pushy when every call is improvised. Decide the schedule before the estimate goes out, give each contact a reason, and set the point where you stop. Then following up is part of the job, not a favour you are asking for.
Make the estimate easy to answer
Three things on the estimate itself make every later contact easier:
- An expiry date. "Valid until 15 May" gives you a natural reason to get in touch before it runs out.
- One clear next step. "Reply OK and we'll book a start date" is easier to act on than "let us know".
- A direct number. The customer should not have to find your office line to ask a question.
If you drive out to price jobs, ask two questions on the first call before booking the visit: what budget range they have in mind and when they want the work done. It filters out some of the people who were only collecting prices.
A default schedule
Use this as a starting point and adjust it to your jobs. Large projects need more time between contacts; urgent repairs need less.
| When | How | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Same day | Text or email | Confirm the estimate arrived and ask if anything is unclear |
| Day 2–3 | Phone call | Answer questions about scope, price or timing |
| Day 7 | Send one useful thing: a photo of a similar job, an answer to something they asked, a note on material lead times | |
| Day 14 | Phone call | Ask directly whether to keep the estimate open, and mention the expiry date |
| After expiry | Short email | Close it politely and say how to ask for a new estimate |
If the customer first reached you by phone, lead with the phone. Email works better for details they will want to read twice, such as what is included.
What to say so it doesn't feel like nagging
A contact feels pushy when it only asks "any news?". Each one should add something:
- an answer: "You asked whether the old tiles can stay. They can, and it takes about a day off the job";
- an option: "If the budget is the issue, we can do the bathroom now and the kitchen in spring";
- a date: "We have a start slot in the week of the 12th if you want it."
On the day-14 call, ask a question they can answer in one word: "Should I keep this open, or have you gone another way?" It gives them an easy way to say no, and a clear no is worth more than an open estimate that never moves.
When to let it go
A simple default: no reply after the expiry date and two calls means the estimate is lost, with the reason "no response". Mark it and stop.
Write down a reason for every lost estimate: price, timing, chose someone else, or no response. After a few months the reasons show you what to change. If most losses on one type of job are about price, look at how that job is priced, not at your follow-up.
A tracker on one tab
One spreadsheet tab is enough while one person sends the estimates. Use these columns:
| Customer | Phone | Job | Value | Sent | Expires | Next contact | Status | Lost reason |
|---|
Status is Open, Won or Lost. Each morning, sort by "Next contact" and work down the rows dated today or earlier. Colour-coding is fine, but the next-contact date is what makes the sheet useful: without it you are back to remembering.
When the sheet stops being enough
You probably do not need software while one person sends estimates and the list fits on a screen. Look at a CRM when the open estimates no longer fit on one screen, when more than one person sends them, or when next-contact dates keep slipping.
Pipedrive has a Sequences feature that holds a schedule like the one above: each step is either an email, which can be sent automatically, or an activity such as a call with a due date. Sequences are available on the Growth plan and higher. Pipedrive's documentation does not describe a sequence stopping on its own when the customer replies, so when someone answers, take them out of the sequence yourself. It will not make the calls for you; it makes sure you know which ones are due.