Ever come to a prospect’s home, take your measurements and ask your questions, then send over a detailed quote, only to never hear back? Of course you have. It’s a fundamental truth that every home services business owner knows very well: Not every lead converts to a customer.
That doesn’t make it any less discouraging when the estimate you put all that time into disappears into the ether. But there’s a variety of reasons why a prospect might procrastinate on responding to your estimate. Their timeline or budget may have changed. They may have been on vacation and not checking email. They may just need a little extra nudge. In these cases and others, an estimate follow-up email can make all the difference.
Things You Need to Know About Following Up on Estimates
It’s worth a little extra effort trying to convert prospects with estimate follow-up emails. People who have completed an in-home or over-the-phone estimate have already demonstrated high intent. From a business development perspective, these prospects have your highest likelihood of becoming customers.
A successful follow-up email template can make the process of following up more efficient. But before we go into how to craft a winning estimate follow-up email, here’s a few general tips on how to follow up on an estimate.
Get the timing right.
The key with estimate follow-up emails is to balance the sense of urgency you want to convey with a respect for the prospect’s time and decision-making process. Send your initial follow-up 2–5 days after you send your initial estimate email, and if you send additional follow-ups, try to avoid sending multiple emails in the same week.
Personalize the email.
Your estimate follow-up email is an additional opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in your trade and your empathy for the prospect’s wants and needs. That can’t be accomplished with a generic email. Instead, start from a powerful estimate follow-up email template (more on those in a moment), customizing each email with language that will connect with the individual(s) you’re reaching out to.
Investing just a few minutes in personalizing your estimate follow-up email can pay off big time in the form of higher win-rates.
Send a professional-looking estimate.
When it comes to converting prospects, how you present your estimate is as important as the contents of that estimate. Whether you’re emailing an initial quote, sending an estimate follow-up email, or revising a quote, make sure you provide prospects with a professional-looking estimate that’s both attractive and easy to read.
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How to Write an Estimate Follow-Up Email (with Samples)
Spending the time upfront to craft an effective estimate follow-up email template can pay off big time down the road. You’ll want to include at least the following elements in your email template:
- Creative subject line, with a field for the prospect’s name
- Salutation and space for pleasantries
- Description of the job and the prospect’s needs
- Call to action, such as initiating a phone conversation
- Sign-off with contact information
Like an invoice or contract email, you should maintain a friendly but professional tone. Unlike an invoice or contract email, a follow-up email after sending an estimate is about creating a sense of urgency. Instead of thanking them for their business, you’re persuading them why they should choose your business for their project — and why they should do so sooner, rather than later.
Follow-Up Email Etiquette
It’s important to strike the right tone in your estimate follow-up email. Be overly pushy and you’ll turn off a lot of customers. Beat around the bush and you’ll fail to convince anyone why they should choose you for their project.
- Do: Remind them why you’re contacting them. Make sure to describe succinctly the project that you drew up an estimate for.
- Don’t: Make people guess what the email’s about. It’s okay — heck, even encouraged — to check in on a personal level before launching into your pitch. But your estimate follow-up email should be clear about what you’re asking the customer to do, such as schedule a phone call to discuss the project.
- Don’t: Wait too long to follow up. A follow-up that is weeks or months after your initial estimate isn’t just ineffective — it shows a disregard for the customer and their home improvement needs. In a business where reputation counts, a tardy follow-up can be worse than sending no follow-up at all.
- Don’t: Be overly familiar. Being friendly is one thing, but remember that this is a business transaction, often with many thousands of dollars on the line. Take the time to use proper, professional language in keeping with the seriousness of the project.
Get Creative with Your Subject Line
The subject line is the single-most important element of your estimate follow-up email, as it determines whether you’ll get a chance to present your pitch. When you’re developing your estimate follow-up email template, pay special attention to developing an attention-grabbing subject line.
One easy way to make your subject line more engaging is to include the customer’s name. Additionally, make sure there’s a sense of urgency. For instance, if you’re offering a discounted price — but only if the prospect signs by a certain date — you might encourage them to claim their discounted rate before their offer expires.
Estimate Follow-Up Email Templates
If writing a new estimate follow-up email for each prospect who doesn’t respond to your initial estimate sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is. With a quality template, however, you can send persuasive, personalized estimate follow-up emails in just a few minutes.
Incorporating the principles laid out above, these two estimate follow-up email templates can be used as a starting point for your business. Just be sure to customize the value proposition, project details, and other sections to reflect the particularities of your business and the prospect.
Estimate Follow-Up Email Template: General
Subject: <<Prospect Name>>, we haven’t heard from you
Hi <<Prospect Name>>,
I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to follow up on <<Customer Project>>. Have you had a chance to review our estimate? As a reminder, with <<Your Company’s Name>>, you get:
- <<Value Proposition No. 1>>
- <<Value Proposition No. 2>>
- <<Value Proposition No. 3>>
Please give me a call at ###-###-#### to discuss, at which point I can answer any questions you might have.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
<<Your Name>>
<<Title>>
<<Company Name>>
<<Email Address>>
###-###-####
Estimate Follow-Up Email Template: Urgency Theme
Subject: <<Prospect Name>>, claim your discounted rate before it expires
Hi <<Prospect Name>>,
I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to follow up on <<Customer Project>>. Have you had a chance to review our estimate?
We’d love to get work started as soon as possible, and as an incentive, I can offer <<Discount>> — but only until <<Date>>.
As a reminder, with <<Your Company’s Name>>, you get:
- <<Value Proposition No. 1>>
- <<Value Proposition No. 2>>
- <<Value Proposition No. 3>>
Please give me a call at ###-###-#### to discuss, at which point I can answer any questions you might have.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
<<Your Name>>
<<Title>>
<<Company Name>>
<<Email Address>>
###-###-####
How to Handle Estimate Radio Silence
“Radio silence” is a common experience for business owners after sending estimates. Ultimately, radio silence tells you that your pitch just isn’t compelling enough for a client to sign on the dotted line. While you may not be able convince all prospects to take action, there are a few things you can do to increase your response rate.
Create Urgency
Many people have a tendency to put off decision-making. Creating a sense of urgency, such as by offering a limited-time discount incentive or explaining the realities of project scheduling, can help spur the customer into action.
Address Common Obstacles
It’s possible your pitch thus far has failed to account for customer objections. Think hard about what customers’ primary objections tend to be and come up with your most compelling responses. Craft a follow-up email template for these customers addressing these points one-by-one and send it to customers who fail to respond after 1–2 follow-ups.
Move On
After 3+ follow-ups, it’s likely you’re wasting your efforts — efforts that could be better spent on more likely prospects. Additionally, be sure to mark any prospects who don’t respond after multiple follow-ups as “cold” in your systems to ensure accurate financial projection, scheduling, and reporting.
Tips to Prevent Estimate Ghosting in the Future
There are numerous good reasons why a prospect might need a follow-up email after sending an estimate to take action. But a streamlined estimates process can help you avoid unnecessary follow-ups and increase your win rate. To improve your estimates process to avoid ghosting or radio silence, try speeding up your time to estimate and focusing on outstanding customer service.
Speed Up Time to Estimate
To keep prospects engaged, it’s important that you move through the process efficiently, from initial interest to conversion. The more delays there are at critical steps — such as between initial contact and estimate — the more time prospects have to ruminate on their concerns. Delays on your end also don’t bode well for clients’ faith that you can finish their project on time and on budget.
Asking via Email
High-touch, enthusiastic customer service is another way to avoid ghosting. If you build a strong rapport with prospects, it’s harder for them to leave your emails unread. Coming out of the gate with confident, personable customer service can help avoid radio silence down the line, such as after sending an estimate.