[B2B sales & account operations]() / [Use cases]() / [Quote follow-up]() [How it works]() [What you get]() [Scope]() [Start a review]() [B2B sales & account operations]()[Account growth]() # Follow up open quotes before they go cold. Every open quote gets a next step and a date, and every closed one gets a recorded reason. [Start with an order desk review]() [How it works]() Open quotes This week - Corner Bakehouse12 lines · sent 9 days ago · expires in 5 **$640**Follow up - Pier 9 CateringPrice under the floor, approved Monday **$1,180**Call today - Lakeside Deli GroupAlternate offered · no reply **$2,210**Check the substitute - Greenway MarketExpired 3 days ago **$420**Close out Open quotes, in the order a rep should work them. ## Sound familiar? - 41% of quotes never reach the CRM, so nobody is told to follow them up. - Reps follow up the quotes they remember, and “quote and forget” does the rest. - Win rate is a guess, because lost and expired quotes were never closed out. Every quote that goes cold is work already done, and without a reason on each one you can’t tell lost on price from lost on timing. ## What changes. ShowTodayWith the engine Logging If time allows Every quote logged when it’s sent Follow-up From memory A reason to call, on the day it makes sense Closing out Quotes expire unnoticed Won, lost or dropped, with a reason Win rate Counted with old and cancelled quotes mixed in Counted on real quotes, with the reason each one ended ## How it works. 6 steps, 4 stages. - AI**1** - Rules and automation**3** - Your team**2** - Approval 1. 1 Log 1. Rules and automation ### Log every quote when it’s sent Quotes from the inbox and the ERP create the CRM deal, with value, items and validity. - HubSpot - Outlook - Prophet 21 2. 2 Watch 1. Rules and automation ### Watch for quiet quotes A quote nearing its end date, or untouched for a set time, joins the list. - HubSpot 2. AI ### Say why it’s worth a call Pulls what changed: stock back in, a price change, a related order from the same account. 3. 3 Follow up 1. Your team Approval ### Follow up The rep calls or sends a note. The draft is theirs to edit and send. 4. 4 Close out 1. Your team ### Record the outcome Won, lost or dropped, with a reason chosen from a short list. 2. Rules and automation ### Count honestly Win rate counts quotes that were real, and the reasons are kept for next quarter. Reasons lost shape the next quote ## What you get. Real work, every week. Draft note Corner Bakehouse · Q-731 The 16 oz lids on your quote are back in stock. Why now The quote expires in 5 days, and LID-16F came back in stock Offer The same price, held for 14 more days Draft “The lids on your quote are back in stock, so we can ship this week. Want us to hold the price?” The reason to call, and a draft for the rep to edit. Nothing sends without them. ## How you’ll know it’s working. 1. Quotes logged Today 41% never reach the CRM. 2. Quotes with a recorded outcome Won, lost or dropped, each with a reason. 3. Win rate on comparable quotes Counted on real quotes only, so the denominator is honest. Baselines agreed before we build. ## Works with what you have. ERP, CRM & inbox - HubSpot - Outlook - Prophet 21 - Salesforce Order & quote automation - Proton We configure first Often this is configuration: a CRM pipeline with stages, owners and tasks. We set that up properly before adding AI to it. We build when Quotes start in the inbox and the ERP, and the reason to follow up needs stock, price and order history together. ## What a first build includes. Built in your accounts, around your team. Scope, fee and baseline agreed before we start. 1. 1 Design 2. 2 Build 3. 3 Run it, or hand it over [Start with a review]() [Scope this build]() ### We build - Automatic logging of every quote into the CRM - A watch list for quiet quotes, with a reason to call - A close-out step with reasons for won, lost and dropped - A win-rate view that counts real quotes only ### We start from - Six months of quotes and CRM deals - Your quote validity and follow-up rules - CRM and shared-inbox access ### From your team Owner Inside sales manager Involves - Inside sales - Account sales - Sales operations ## Questions teams ask. Will the system chase buyers for us? It prepares the reason and a draft. A rep sends it, because a good follow-up depends on the relationship. Isn’t a CRM pipeline enough? Sometimes it is, and we’ll say so. We add more only when the reason to follow up needs data a pipeline can’t see, such as stock, price changes or order history. Who owns it once it’s running? You do. It’s built in your accounts, documented, with training for the people who run it. Ownership usually sits with your inside sales manager. We can keep running it with you, or step back. How do we start? Usually with an order desk review: two to four weeks, a fixed fee credited to the build, and a plan that’s yours. If the job is already clear, we can scope the build directly. ## Part of your order engine. One of 14 use cases, in 5 parts. [See the whole order engine]() 1. [New accounts **2**]() 2. [Quotes & pricing **3**]() 3. [Orders **3**]() 4. [Self-service & status **3**]() 5. [Account growth **3**]() In account growth - [**Reorder opportunities**Spot reorder opportunities and accounts going quiet]() - **Quote follow-up**You’re here - [**Account assortments**Give every account its own catalog and offer]() Works with - [**Quote preparation**Turn buyer inquiries into accurate quotes]() ## Don’t let a good quote go cold. Start with an order desk review. [Start with an order desk review]() [**Talk it through first**15 minutes]() We reply within one business day. --- Source: [https://www.thekeating.co/use-cases/quote-follow-up/]() [Contact Keating & Co](mailto:nelson@thekeating.co) · [Agent guidance](https://www.thekeating.co/llms.txt)