60% of quotes that don't accept in 24 hours never accept at all — IF you don't follow up. With a proper follow-up sequence, you recover an additional 18-25% of those cold quotes.
The 3-touch sequence
### Day 1 (24 hours after quote sent) Auto-SMS: "Hey [first name] — checking if you had any questions about the [service] quote we sent yesterday? Happy to walk through it." Sent at the same hour the quote was originally sent.
### Day 3 (72 hours after quote) Auto-SMS: "Just wanted to make sure my quote landed in your inbox. If timing's not right, no worries — I'll be here when you're ready." Lower pressure, gives them an out.
### Day 7 Manual reach-out (not automated). A live phone call if it's a high-ticket job ($1,500+). For lower tickets, a personalized email or SMS from the operator: "Saw you got my quote last week. Anything I can clarify? I have one slot open this Saturday if interested."
What makes it work
- Spacing: 24h / 72h / 7d. Too close = spammy. Too far = forgotten.
- Tone: low pressure, easy to ignore. Don't beg.
- Personalized day-7: the day-1 and day-3 touches can be automated; the day-7 must feel human.
- Stop after day 7: don't keep nudging. If they didn't bite by day 7, mark the quote LOST and move on.
Configuration in SalesThumb
Settings → Automations → Quote follow-up. Toggle on the sequence, customize the message templates, set the timing. Default templates work well — most shops just tweak the shop name and operator signature.
What we DON'T recommend
- Day-1 phone call: too aggressive for most service-trade contexts.
- Discount in the day-3 message: trains customers to wait for discounts.
- Generic "just checking in" message every 2 days: a 5-touch sequence over 2 weeks is just spam.
What to track
- Quote → accepted within 24h (your "warm" rate)
- Quote → accepted day 2-7 (your "recovered" rate)
- Quote → marked LOST (your "cold" rate)
Healthy ratios: 35-50% warm, 15-25% recovered, 25-40% cold. If your cold rate is over 50%, your pricing might be wrong, not your follow-up.