Practical guide for UK builders

How to follow up quotes automatically for trade jobs

A simple, repeatable follow-up sequence for UK trades, and how to keep the next action visible instead of relying on memory.

Last updated 31 August 2026 · By the Keystone Site team

The facts

  • 14-day free trial, no card required, on your own live job
  • UK product, UK support, built for owner-led construction businesses
  • Published pricing: £129/month Sole Trader, £249/month for 1–10 employees, £399/month Growth for 11–25 employees
  • Customers, quotations, proposals, live work, variations, site evidence and closeout stay connected around the job
  • Morning Briefing and Keystone Priorities surface commercial, customer, progress and closeout actions
  • Project Safety Pack included as a core feature on every plan; additional users are £5 + VAT each per month

1. Quote fast, while you are still the memory

Aim for the same or next day. Include a clear scope, a price, what is excluded and an expiry date. An expiry date is not pressure — it is a reason to reply.

  • Send within 24 hours of the visit
  • State exclusions plainly
  • Give the quote an expiry date

2. Make it trackable

Send the quote as a link rather than only an attachment, so you can see whether it was opened. A quote that was never opened needs a different message from one that was read three times.

3. Automate the sequence

48 hours: check they received it and offer to walk through it. Day 7: answer the objection you hear most, in one sentence. Day 14: confirm whether to keep it open or close it off. Then stop.

4. Close the loop

Record won and lost outcomes with a reason. Over a few months this tells you whether you are losing on price, timing or trust — three very different problems.

Questions people ask

How many follow-ups is too many?

Three well-spaced, useful messages is the practical limit for most trade work. After that, close the quote and move on.

Should follow-up be email or text?

Whatever the customer used to contact you. Keystone Site keeps the thread against the job either way.

Does automating follow-up feel impersonal?

Not if the messages are short and specific to their job. The alternative — silence — is far worse.