Haven’t received a quote? Make sure your quote doesn’t go missing
You send a quotation and wait for a reply. After a week, you finally give them a call, only for the customer to say: “I haven’t received the quotation.” Meanwhile, you thought the customer was having second thoughts, whilst in fact your quotation may never have actually reached them.
That’s a mistake many business owners make: they simply send a PDF attachment and then assume the matter is sorted. A personalised quote page with a link makes your quote more accessible and gives you insight into what happens next.
Why doesn’t a quote email reach the customer?
Sending a PDF by email seems logical. But emails with attachments are particularly prone to being caught in a spam filter. And even if the email does arrive, a PDF isn’t always easy to open or read on a mobile phone.
There’s another inconvenience: without insight, you don’t know what’s going wrong. No response might mean the customer isn’t interested. But it could just as easily mean the quote is in their junk folder, has got lost amongst other emails, or hasn’t been opened yet.
You then end up phoning on the off chance. This leads to an awkward conversation: you ask whether the customer has had a look yet, whilst they might not even have realised you’d sent anything.
Sending a quote as a link doesn’t completely change that. Email is still email, and even a link can end up in a spam filter. The big difference is that you’re not left in the dark if the customer doesn’t look at it.
Why is sending a quote as a link more convenient than just a PDF?
With a quote page for the customer, you send a personalised link to an online page. The quote is neatly formatted there. The customer can open it on their phone or laptop and download the PDF if they want to keep it.
That’s simpler than searching for an attachment and opening it in a separate app. What’s more, the customer doesn’t have to go back to their inbox if they have a question later on: the quote page remains the main point of reference.
With quotes from Klantly, you send the quote as both a web page and a PDF. So the customer has a choice. You don’t have to guess which format works best for them.
A quotation page is particularly handy because the next step is built right in. The customer can accept the quotation online or leave a message with a question. That reduces the time between receiving, viewing and responding.
How can you tell if a quote has been viewed?
A quotation doesn’t just have a send time, but also a status. Once you’ve sent it, its status is ‘sent’. As soon as the customer opens the personalised quotation link for the first time, the status changes to ‘viewed’.
That moment provides valuable information. Not because you can be certain that someone has read every line. ‘Viewed’ simply means that the quote page has been opened. But you do know that your quote was accessible and has caught the customer’s attention.
This helps you distinguish between two situations:
- The quote hasn’t been viewed. In that case, there may have been a problem with delivery, or the customer hasn’t seen the email yet. A quick phone call or message would be appropriate.
- The quote has been viewed. In that case, you can get in touch to discuss the details. For example, ask whether everything is clear or if the customer would like to discuss an option further.
Do you want to make it even easier for the customer to give their approval? Then read about how online quote acceptance works. This means the customer doesn’t have to print anything, sign it or email it back.
What should you do if a quote hasn’t been opened?
Don’t wait too long, but don’t immediately assume they’re unwilling either. An unopened quote is first and foremost a sign that you need to check whether the customer has been able to find it.
Take a practical approach:
- Check that the email address is correct and that the quote is actually marked as sent.
- Get in touch briefly. For example: “I just wanted to check whether my quotation had arrived safely.”
- Provide the direct link so the customer doesn’t have to search for an attachment.
- If the email isn’t visible, resend the quote link or agree on the channel the customer would prefer to receive it via.
A real-life example. Suppose, as a sun protection company, you’ve sent a quote for an articulated awning. Three days later, the quote is still marked as ‘sent’, not ‘viewed’. Instead of immediately asking why the customer hasn’t replied, give them a quick call: “I sent a quotation for the awning on Monday. Did you receive it?”
The customer says they haven’t seen anything. You check the email address, resend the personalised link, and the customer opens the quote on their phone that very same day. The conversation then moves on from a misplaced email to discussing fabric choice and installation.
That’s exactly the difference: you sort out the accessibility issue first. Only then does following up on the substance of the matter make sense.
How do you avoid disputes about what you’ve sent?
Even after a quote has been opened, you want to be able to check what was sent. Especially if a customer later says they haven’t received anything, have seen a different version or are missing an attachment.
In ‘Klantly’, sent communications are recorded for each customer. You can see which emails and attachments were sent, when they were sent, and whether the message was delivered. ‘Delivered’ does not automatically mean ‘read’, but it does prevent you from having to rely on memory or a ‘sent items’ folder.
This overview is also useful if a colleague takes over the conversation. They can see the quote, the status and previous messages all in one place. You can read more about this on the page about customers and communication in your CRM.
Availability first, follow-up second
A good quotation deserves more than one chance to be seen. So don’t just send a PDF; provide a clear quotation page with a personalised link. If you notice the customer hasn’t viewed it, you can check in good time whether your quotation has actually been received.
This prevents awkward conversations, unnecessary waiting and quotations that quietly disappear into an inbox. The content of your quotation remains, of course, the most important thing, but that content must first reach the customer.
Would you like to find out, with no obligation, how Klantly can make your quotations more accessible and easier to understand? Get started for free
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