You sent the quote and heard nothing back. Silence rarely means no. More often the buyer is busy, waiting on someone else, or stuck on one detail. This guide covers when to follow up, what to say, and when to stop.
Work out why it went quiet
Before you write, reread your own quote as the buyer would. A quiet quote often has a gap that the buyer did not bother to ask about.
- Price: The total was higher than they expected
- Approval: Someone else has to sign off
- Missing detail: No shipping cost, lead time or payment terms
- Timing: They asked early and do not need the goods yet
- Wrong item: A line did not match what they meant
If you spot a gap, fix it in the follow-up instead of only asking for a reply.
Set a simple schedule
Decide the schedule once, so every quote gets the same treatment. The intervals below are an example, not a rule. Adjust them to how fast your buyers usually order.
| When | What to send |
|---|---|
| A few days after the quote | Short check-in, offer to adjust |
| Shortly before the quote expires | Reminder of the expiry date |
| After it expires | Closing note, door left open |
Put an expiry date on every quote. It gives you an honest reason to write, and it protects you if your costs change.
What to say
Keep each message to a few lines, and make it easy to answer with one word. Give the buyer something new each time: an answer, an option or a date.
- Check-in: Hi [Name], I sent your quote on [date]. Is there anything you would like me to change, such as quantities or delivery date?
- Add value: If you order [quantity], the unit price drops to [price]. I can update the quote if that helps.
- Expiry: Your quote is valid until [date]. After that I will need to recheck prices and stock.
- Close: I will close this quote for now. If you want to pick it up later, reply here and I will send a fresh one.
For the arithmetic behind the price break line, see wholesale price breaks and MOQ.
Make it easy to say yes
A follow-up works when the next step is already waiting. If you built the quote as a Shopify draft order, you can email the customer an invoice that includes a checkout link, so they can pay without another round of emails.
- ✅ Include the invoice link again in the follow-up
- ✅ Restate the total and the expiry date
- ✅ Offer one alternative if price looks like the problem
- ❌ Do not resend the same message with "just checking in" and nothing else
- ❌ Do not discount in every follow-up, or buyers learn to wait
Know when to stop
Three messages is a reasonable limit for most quotes. After that, close the quote, note the reason if you learned it, and move on. Keep a simple record of each quote: the date sent, the follow-ups, and the outcome. Over time it shows which requests are worth chasing.
Doing this at scale
Fast, complete quotes go quiet less often. QuoteWeaver reads the buyer's free-text request, matches each line to a real catalog SKU, prices it against your B2B list with the next-break upsell, and builds the Shopify draft order and a drafted reply. See QuoteWeaver.