Home » In the Shop » Estimating and Quoting » The 7 Fatal Mistakes of Quoting – #7: Lack of Follow-Up

The 7 Fatal Mistakes of Quoting – #7: Lack of Follow-Up

You might get hundreds of RFQs every week and spend a lot of time quoting them. But if you spend your valuable time quoting a job, it may be worthless if you fail to follow up on that quote.

So many jobs are lost because of RFQs that go unanswered due to job shops’ inability to keep track of them all. Not only may they take their business elsewhere for this particular job, but a lack of follow-up may indicate to a buyer that you may not be capable of delivering the job deliverables on time.

Here’s how to avoid this quoting mistake:

→ Track your quotes. Having the ability to track all your RFQs and quotes is the first step in enabling better consistency in your follow-ups. Utilizing software that stores all of your RFQs and quotes, and is searchable, is a good place to start. With this centralized method, you gain insight into which RFQs you have responded to, which quotes you sent to customers, which ones have been accepted or are still open, which ones were rejected and more.

→ Stay in contact with your buyer. Staying in touch with your buyer throughout the quoting process is vital to winning the job. Let the buyer know right away that you want their business. If they don’t respond to your quote immediately, call them to find out why. By communicating consistently with your buyer, you will gain a better understanding of the job, and that will enable you to quote faster and more accurately. Plus, if you provide immediate feedback on any design issues that occur, you will demonstrate your shop’s competence and professionalism. As you speak to the buyer, you are also building a relationship with them, which can mean the difference between winning or losing this job or jobs in the future.

Thanks for following along in our 7 Fatal Mistakes of Quoting blog series – to recap, here’s a complete list of all 7. Be sure to bookmark the ones you need to remind yourself to steer clear of!

If you prefer to review this information all in one place, download this series in eBook format (it’s also an easier way to share this info across your organization!).

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Want to make collaboration with your buyers fast, easy, and secure? See how on a free demo of our platform today.