Lead Nurture & Quote Follow-Up for Trade Businesses
Most quotes are not rejected, they are never answered. A follow-up sequence chases every one on time, and hands the reply to you the moment it comes.
Used by
- Sales Support Administrator
- Estimating Administrator
- Quotes Coordinator
How to get this live in your business
Free. The Follow Up Build Standard: the objects, the checks in order, and the pass test.
Most quotes are not rejected. They are never answered. The customer got three prices, meant to think about it, had a busy week, and the only tradie who followed up was the one who happened to be near a phone at the right moment. Silence is not a no, but almost everybody who sends a quote treats it as one.
In short
The problem
Most quotes are not rejected. They are never answered, and silence gets treated as a no by almost everybody who sends one.
Why it persists
Following up feels like chasing, so the tradie who does it is the one who happened to be near a phone at the right moment.
What we would automate
The sequence after a quote goes out, in the channel the customer answers, and the handover the moment somebody replies.
What stays with a person
The price, and reading whether the job is worth having.
Take the spec to Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot. The sentence to paste is one click away.
Want the whole thing by email?
This paper, plus the rest of the library. One click to stop them.
1. The Follow-Up Gap
Once the quote goes out, the owner is back on the tools, and the follow-up waits for a quiet moment that does not come. Meanwhile, customers who were “thinking about it” go with the first business that checks in.
The follow-up gap isn’t a skills problem: it’s a time problem. Tradies are busy. They’re on site, under a house, up a ladder, or driving between jobs. Picking up the phone to chase a quote that went out three days ago rarely makes the priority list.
The bottom line
Count your own: quotes sent last month that nobody answered, times your average quote value. Every one of those is work you already paid to win the enquiry for, with no follow-up behind it.
2. How Automated Lead Nurture Works
The concept is simple: once a quote is sent, the system tracks its status. If there’s no response within a set timeframe, automated follow-ups fire in sequence, each one personalised to the customer and the job.
- 1
Quote sent
The system logs the quote and starts the nurture timer.
- 2
24-hour check-in SMS
“Hi [name], just checking you got the quote for [job type]. Happy to answer any questions.”
- 3
72-hour follow-up
A second touch with additional context or a value-add message.
- 4
7-day follow-up with urgency
An availability or scheduling angle to prompt a decision.
- 5
14-day final follow-up
Last chance message before the quote expires.
- 6
Mark as lost & re-engage later
If still no response, the lead is tagged as lost and added to a seasonal re-engagement list for future campaigns.
3. Key Benefits
Every Quote Followed Up
Recover work from quotes that would otherwise die quietly. Measure it against your own conversion rate before and after.
Zero Manual Follow-Up
The system handles timing and messaging automatically. You never have to remember to chase a quote again.
Personalised Messages
AI generates context-aware follow-ups based on the job type, quote value, and customer details, not generic templates.
Urgency Triggers
“We have availability next week” at exactly the right time. Automated nudges that feel natural, not pushy.
Lost Lead Re-Engagement
Seasonal campaigns to past unconverted leads. That bathroom reno they put off in winter? Follow up in spring when they’re ready.
Quote Status Dashboard
See all outstanding quotes and where they sit in the funnel: sent, viewed, followed up, converted, or lost.
Competitor Win-Back
If a lead went with someone else, the system schedules a check-in months later, when the first job may not have gone well.
Conversion Analytics
Know your quote-to-job conversion rate by job type, lead source, and quote value. Data-driven decisions, not gut feel.
4. The Nurture Sequence
Here’s what a fully automated nurture sequence looks like from the moment a quote leaves your system to the point where a lead is either converted or parked for future re-engagement.
Quote Sent
Quote is generated and sent via email or SMS. The automation timer starts. The customer receives a professional, branded quote with a clear call to action.
Check-In SMS
“Hi Sarah, just confirming you received the quote for the hot water replacement at 14 Elm St. Let me know if you have any questions, happy to help.”
Value-Add Follow-Up
A helpful, non-salesy message that adds context. For example: “Here’s what to expect during a hot water installation: typically takes a few hours and we handle all the plumbing sign-off.”
Availability Nudge
“Just a heads-up, we have a slot opening up next Thursday. If you’d like to lock that in, I can hold it for you. Otherwise no worries at all.”
Final Offer
“Your quote for the hot water replacement is valid until [date]. If you’d like to go ahead, just reply to this message and we’ll get you booked in.”
Lost Lead Tag
No response after the full sequence. The lead is marked as lost in your CRM and tagged with the job type, quote value, and reason (no response).
Seasonal Re-Engagement
Automated campaign to past unconverted leads based on job type and season. “Hi Sarah, you enquired about a hot water system earlier this year. Still thinking about it? We’re running a spring booking special.”
5. Getting Started
You don’t need a complete technology overhaul to start recovering lost quotes. Here’s a pragmatic four-step path.
- 1
Connect your quoting tool
Link your job management software (ServiceM8, Simpro, Jobber, etc.) to the automation platform so quote data flows automatically.
- 2
Write four or five follow-up templates
Draft your check-in, value-add, urgency, and final messages, or let AI generate them based on your tone and job types.
- 3
Set up the timing sequence
Configure follow-ups at 1, 3, 7, and 14 days. Adjust based on your industry: emergency trades may need faster cadence.
- 4
Review and refine monthly
Check your conversion data each month. Which messages get the best response? Which job types convert most? Optimise the sequence based on real numbers.
The follow-up call is the part we run for you
Get Paid rings every open quote for a decision, read from Xero, ServiceM8 or Simpro, and the overdue invoices behind them against your live Xero ledger. The price itself stays with you.$199 a month, flat, no call caps.
Technical? The build standard is open. Take it.