How to Follow Up a Home Improvement Quote Without Chasing

You know the call. "Hi, it's only me, just checking in to see if you've had a chance to look at the quote."

"Not yet, we've been ever so busy. We'll let you know."

Forty seconds, done, and the salesperson writes "followed up" on the sheet and feels like they've done something. They haven't. They've reminded the customer they exist, and given them the easiest possible way to say nothing.

The way to follow up a home improvement quote is to book the follow-up before you leave the house, with a day, a time and the right people on it. Then, when you ring, carry on the conversation you were having at the kitchen table, built on what they told you, rather than asking whether they've read a piece of paper. Do those two things and most of what people call chasing goes away.

Stop asking if they've looked at it

Nobody's lying awake thinking about your quote. They're thinking about the cold room, the roof that leaks into the bucket by the patio doors, the bathroom they're embarrassed to let the in-laws use. If you've done the appointment properly, they told you all of that. In their own words.

That's what your follow-up should be built on. I tell the people I coach to write down the customer's exact phrases while they're sat with them. "We can't use it from October to March." "It's like a greenhouse in summer." "I'm sick of the condensation." When you ring back, you lead with that, not with your price.

Most salespeople do the opposite. They ring about the quote, because the quote is the thing they're worried about. The customer couldn't care less about your quote. People only care about themselves, and fair enough, I'm the same when someone's selling to me.

The follow-up gets booked at the kitchen table

If you leave with "we'll let you know", you've already lost control of the follow-up. You're now the one waiting.

So before you stand up, agree it. When are they going to talk it over? Who with? When's a good time for you to ring? Put it in the diary while they watch. People don't tend to dodge a call they asked for.

And if they tell you they're not doing it for months, don't argue, but don't just nod either. I'll often say something like, "I understand you're looking to do it in the spring. Is there any particular reason why it can't be done before then?" Sometimes it's money coming through, a remortgage, a wedding. Fine. Then ask where they're up to with it, and agree to speak a week or so before it's sorted. Now your follow-up has a reason and a date, and you're not ringing every fortnight hoping. What I'd never do is sit and price up a job for spring as if it's happening tomorrow and then chase it all winter. That's how you become a quote machine.

Get the missing person into the conversation

This is where most follow-ups really die. One of them was at the appointment, and the other one wasn't. Their husband was on a late shift, their dad wants a say, their sister "knows about building". And the decision gets made over tea, without you, by somebody who never heard a word you said.

If you can, get both there in the first place. I've written before about one-legged appointments and I won't repeat it all. But when you can't, bring the absent person into the follow-up.

One way I coach: ask when they're planning to talk it over, and say, "Do you mind if I join that call, so if he's got any questions I can answer them?" Most people are glad of it. Another: set up a group message on WhatsApp with both of them before you leave, and send something simple. "Great chatting with you this afternoon. I'm certain you'll have some questions for me, so just pop them on here and I'll come straight back to you." Now the other person's in the conversation without being put on the spot.

Think about it from your side. If that second person has a worry, you'd rather hear it from them than have it talked about behind your back. When it happens behind your back, you've got no control over it at all.

When they pick up

Right. You've rung at the time you agreed. They answer. Don't ask what they thought of the price.

Go back to the destination. Something like, "Last time you said you couldn't use that room from October to March. Has anything changed with that, or is it still the same?" It's November. It's still the same. They know it's still the same, because they're probably sat in a jumper while you're talking.

Then ask what's come up since. If there's a worry, you want it out on the table. If there's someone else involved, you want to know who. And if they've decided against it, let them tell you. A clear no is worth more to you than a maybe you carry around for three months.

If nothing changes, nothing changes. The draughts are still there, the bucket's still under the leak. Your job on that call is to help them see that, kindly, and to make the next step easy.

One rep's limbo list

A home improvement sales rep I coach used to carry a rolling list of 20-plus customers who hadn't decided either way. After we changed how he qualified and asked questions, so customers gave a clear yes or no, it dropped to 5.

That's one person's result, not a promise. But look at what changed. He didn't get better at chasing. He got better at leaving the house with a clear answer or a proper next step, so there was far less to chase.

That's really what the last stages of my 7 Steps to Sales Mastery are for. Pre-close, Close and Consolidation. The follow-up is part of the sale, and it gets planned in the room. Making it up in the van afterwards is too late.

If your follow-ups feel like chasing, take the free 2-minute Sales Leak Assessment and book a free 30-minute discovery call with me.