Following up on quotes and missed calls: what it's worth, what it costs, and what it can't do

The money is already in your quote pile

You drove out, measured, priced it and sent the quote. Then the customer went quiet, and nobody asked again. Most shops have more of these than they think.

In ServiceTitan's 2025 survey of US residential contractors, 47% of firms over $10 million in revenue said following up on estimates brings in 11 to 15% of their income ¹. That is self-reported, American, and from bigger shops than most of ours, so read it as direction, not a promise. Vendors tell bigger stories: one contractor credits a single text on day 10 of an unsold estimate with $1.8 million in a year ². That is a customer story on a vendor's own blog.

What it costs in Canadian dollars

Jobber's Connect plan, US$139 a month for one user, lists automated quote and invoice follow-ups; its US$49 Core plan does not ³. Grow is US$199 ⁴. At the Bank of Canada's rate that is about CA$198 and CA$284 before GST ⁸.

Housecall Pro's Basic plan is US$79 a month, but its pricing page lists automated reminders for invoices, not estimates ⁵; automated lead follow-up is a separate add-on ⁶. Podium does not publish prices at all ⁷.

Software, or someone to run it

Software sends the follow-up only if every quote is in it, the messages are written, and someone checks it each week. If your quotes live in a notebook, a spreadsheet and your texts, the software has nothing to chase.

The other route is to have someone run it for you: load the quotes you already sent, write the messages, and report what came back. We do that, and to be straight about our stake, our founding price is CA$195 a month plus 10% of each job it brings back, capped at $500 a job ¹². Compare that with doing it yourself in software you already pay for.

What it can't do

It cannot win a job the customer has already given to someone else, and it cannot fix a quote that was too high. Follow-up gets you a second look, not a different price.

It cannot chase what it cannot see. A quote that was never written down, or a missed call from a number that does not text, is out of reach.

And it can annoy people. One polite question is follow-up; five is spam. Keep it to a question, let anyone stop with one reply, and read what goes out under your name.

The law: texts to customers have a clock

In Canada a text or email asking a customer to book again is a commercial electronic message. Without their express consent you rely on implied consent, and it expires.

A purchase gives you two years from that purchase ⁹. An inquiry or quote request gives you six months from the inquiry ¹⁰. So a quote that went quiet eight months ago, with no sale, is outside the window. Ask for consent at the time of the quote and the clock stops mattering.

The maximum penalty for a business is $10 million per violation ¹¹. Nobody small is likely to see that, but it is why every message needs your name, a way to reach you, and a one-reply way to stop. This is a summary, not legal advice.

When it is worth it

Pull last month's numbers: quotes that got no answer, and missed calls nobody returned. Multiply each by your average job and by a cautious win-back share, say one in ten.

If that number is bigger than the monthly cost, follow-up pays. If you send a handful of quotes a month and answer every call, it probably does not, and you should keep your money.