CHAPTER 29FOLLOW UP ON QUOTES AND PROPOSALS
When you follow up on a quote, you are telling customers that they matter to you and that, unlike the competition, you are thinking about them and trying to help them.
In Chapter 12, we discussed the critical importance of an accurate quote and proposal tracker. Now, let's turn our attention to what to do with it.
In this chapter, I will use the terms quote and proposal interchangeably for easier reading.
Having a log on its own—a list of quotes and proposals—won't make us any money. But actively following up on those quotes will generate a lot of easy sales for you.
Being present will make you rich. That's because customers like to either say yes or say nothing.
People don't like to say no, because it's uncomfortable. It doesn't feel good to say no. So they say nothing.
But that's only some of your customers. Some others—many others—are silent not because they don't want what you've quoted, but because they got busy. And because they forgot to get back to you. It got away from them.
They want it. And they need it. But they won't have it because they got way too busy, and it's not in their mind to follow up.
This is why we follow up. In fact, we should make three different follow-ups, in sequential order.
In this one rare exception of a case, you can send these communications by email. It's okay. In spite of myself, I admit that email is an okay (but far from the best) way to follow up on quotes and proposals.
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