A folder of sent quotes and a busy morning
Your office sent thirty quotes last week: school trips, a works outing, several weddings, a golf society, a stag do, a church group going to a cathedral city. Some customers replied to accept. Most did not reply at all. The quotes sit in the sent items folder.
The same people who would follow them up are also answering drivers' calls, moving jobs for a vehicle that failed its morning check, and sorting tomorrow's school runs. Follow-up is on the to-do list every day and happens on quiet afternoons, which are rare in May.
Quotes are sent from email, so nothing tracks them
Most coach quotes are emails or PDFs sent from someone's mailbox. There is no list of open quotes, no follow-up date and no signal when a customer is ready to decide.
- Open quotes are only visible in the sent items folder.
- Follow-ups are written by hand, so they rarely get written.
- Customers have to email or phone to accept, which adds friction.
- Popular dates fill up without quoted customers being told.
- Nobody knows which kinds of quotes turn into bookings.
Unfollowed quotes are lost work
Groups often ask two or three operators and then go quiet while the organiser collects money or waits for a committee. The operator who follows up politely at the right time is often the one who gets the booking. Silence reads as indifference.
Busy dates make it worse. On a Saturday in June, your coaches will fill. A customer who was quoted weeks ago and did not realise the date was filling may try to book when it is too late, and then goes elsewhere next year too.
Quote tracking with follow-ups that fit the job
We build quote tracking connected to your quote process and your planner.
- Every quote sent (from your coach hire software, the quote tool or a mailbox) is logged with the customer, date of travel, vehicle, price and a follow-up date.
- Follow-ups go out on a schedule you set, in your wording: a friendly check after a few days, a reminder before the quote's validity ends, a note closer to the date if still open.
- Each quote email includes an accept link. Accepting confirms the details and, if you take deposits online, takes it through your payment provider, then creates the booking.
- When a date is filling up, customers with open quotes for that date get a short message saying availability is getting limited, which is useful information rather than pressure.
- Quotes that look warm (opened several times, a reply with a question, a large or regular customer) appear on a short daily call list.
- Quotes that are declined or expire are recorded with a reason where known, so you can see where you lose work.
| Quote situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sent, no reply | Friendly follow-up after a few days |
| Validity ending | Reminder before it lapses |
| Date filling up | Availability note to open quotes |
| Customer opens quote repeatedly | Added to the call list |
| Accepted online | Booking created, office notified |
A week of quotes that are followed up
Follow-ups go out automatically while the office plans the day. Several customers accept through the link. The call list on Wednesday shows five quotes worth a phone call, including a school that has opened its quote three times. A short call answers their question about seat belts and wheelchair access, and they book.
At the end of the season, you can see what share of quotes became bookings by type of work and by how quickly the quote went out, which is useful when deciding where to put effort.
Are your quotes going unfollowed?
- Open quotes are only in the sent items folder.
- Follow-ups happen when someone has a quiet afternoon.
- Customers must email or phone to accept a quote.
- Quoted customers find out too late that their date is full.
- You cannot say how many quotes become bookings.