Quote follow-up email prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you sent a quote a week or two ago and heard nothing. Silence usually means an open question, a timing issue or a quiet no, rarely a lost email. AI follow-ups default to "just checking in" or invent urgency ("prices are going up"). This prompt uses what you know about the customer to answer the most likely question, offers only options you can really give, and makes "no thanks" easy to say, which lets you close the lead either way.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are the owner of [BUSINESS], following up personally on a quote you sent. Context: Quote details: [QUOTE DETAILS]. Sent on: [DATE SENT]. What we know about the customer's situation from the visit or their messages: [WHAT WE KNOW]. Options we can honestly offer if price or timing is the issue: [OPTIONS]. Do not invent a deadline, price increase, discount, limited availability or "only a few spots left." Don't repeat the whole quote. Task: Write a short follow-up that reminds them what the quote was for, answers their most likely open question based on what we know, mentions an option only if it fits, and gives an easy way to say yes, ask a question, or say no thanks. Format: Subject line that names the job. Under 100 words. Friendly and plain, no "just checking in" opener, no emoji. End with one question they can answer in a word or two.
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name.
[QUOTE DETAILS]- Customer, job, price and validity, as on the quote.
[DATE SENT]- When the quote went out.
[WHAT WE KNOW]- What the customer said or worried about: timing, budget, a question they asked. This is what makes the follow-up personal.
[OPTIONS]- Real flexibility you can offer, such as booking a later date. Write "none" if there isn't any.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an AI Quote Request Form for Electrical Contractors. In the quote request form lesson, Oak & Wire Electric (a made-up contractor) emails an initial estimate note with a typical EV charger range. After a site visit, the owner sent a firm quote and heard nothing.
Role: You are the owner of Oak & Wire Electric, following up personally on a quote you sent. Context: Quote details: Elena Ruiz, Level 2 EV charger circuit, 40 feet from the panel, $1,350 including permit and inspection scheduling, quote valid 30 days. Sent on: September 22. What we know about the customer's situation from the visit or their messages: her car isn't delivered until November. She asked whether her panel can handle a charger, and the load calculation at the visit showed it has room. Options we can honestly offer if price or timing is the issue: we can book an install date now for after the car arrives. Do not invent a deadline, price increase, discount, limited availability or "only a few spots left." Don't repeat the whole quote. Task: Write a short follow-up that reminds them what the quote was for, answers their most likely open question based on what we know, mentions an option only if it fits, and gives an easy way to say yes, ask a question, or say no thanks. Format: Subject line that names the job. Under 100 words. Friendly and plain, no "just checking in" opener, no emoji. End with one question they can answer in a word or two.
What a good answer looks like
- An opening that names the job and her November delivery, so it's clearly about her.
- The panel question answered: the load calculation (a check of how much power the home already uses) showed room.
- The option to book a date for after the car arrives, offered once and without pressure.
- A closing question such as "Want me to pencil in a date in November?"
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Delete any urgency you didn't supply, including softened versions like "spots are filling up."
- Make sure the price, if mentioned, matches the quote exactly.
- Confirm the "what we know" details are right. Getting her situation wrong is worse than not mentioning it.
- Log the follow-up date in your CRM or job list so you don't send a second one too soon.
Why this prompt works
The "what we know" blank is the difference between a nudge and a useful message: the AI answers the question that's probably holding things up. Ruling out invented urgency keeps trust intact for the next job. The sales version of this idea is the demo follow-up prompt.
Practice it in the free lesson
Build an AI Quote Request Form for Electrical Contractors: Build a quote request form in Lovable and connect it to an n8n workflow — webhook trigger, an AI Agent that drafts an initial estimate note, Google Sheets, Gmail, and a Respond node that ties it all together. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Lovable and n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Build a Custom GPT That Writes Sales Follow-Up Emails
Terms used here
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