Why it matters: Spend time on the quotes with a useful next step, and close out those that are already decided.
Silence does not explain the hold-up.
The customer may be waiting for approval, comparing options or planning the work for later. They may need one detail clarified. They may also have chosen someone else. An open status will not tell you which.
Check the last real conversation and any agreed next step. The quote date alone does not prove nobody followed up.
A simple example
What could extra work be worth, after the costs?
Imagine 20 current quotes for work the business could still take on, worth A$2,000 each. That is A$40,000 quoted. If two additional jobs became paid work, they would bring A$4,000 in revenue, not A$40,000.
Assume 40% of that extra revenue remains after the cost of doing the jobs. That leaves A$1,600. Subtract A$600 of extra time spent on the follow-up and A$1,000 remains before overheads. If no additional job is won, the extra effort still costs A$600.
- Total quoted, not recoverable revenue
- $40,000
- Left after job costs and extra effort, before overheads
- $1,000
Illustrative example. Assumes two additional paid jobs; the effort allowance is an example. Amounts are AUD, excluding GST.
Not every quote needs another chase.
A useful action might be answering a question, revising the scope or checking back at an agreed time. Sometimes the right action is to record a decision and close the quote.
Repeated revisions and chasing unsuitable work also cost time. Decide what effort makes sense before adding reminders. The total quoted value is potential work, not cash owed or revenue you can assume will return.
A paid job still has costs. Consider the cost of doing the work and the time spent winning it, not just the quoted amount.
- Check whether the quote is current and the work is still suitable.
- Record what the customer is waiting for, when known.
- Agree the next action, who owns it and when it makes sense.
How Gibson helps you sort the quote list.
We work from the quote and enquiry records you have. Where supported, we connect the original enquiry with the quote, recent contact and job outcome. We show the gaps without treating an older quote as proof of neglect.
Together, we agree which quotes need clarification, a revision, an agreed check-in or closure. Your action plan sets out the next steps. Customer contact by Gibson is only included when agreed with your business.
What you can do next
Ask what would help the customer decide.
Start with a small group of current quotes your team can explain. Work out which need an answer, a revision or an agreed check-in. Gibson can help identify the gaps and agree the action plan. Customer contact is included only when agreed with your business.
See the calculations, sources and checks
The evidence
What the published sources say.
Google’s conversion-value guidance models lead value using deal revenue, margin and the chance of a sale. A potential deal and an expected financial contribution are different quantities.
Apply the same discipline to open quotes. Do not add their face value and call it money waiting to be recovered. The probability and margin must come from a defensible business baseline.
Google Ads: estimating conversion value ↗Google explains that conversions can happen after the original ad click, and recent reporting can still be incomplete.
A longer sales cycle needs time to show an outcome. Compare quotes with similar time to progress; age alone does not establish a lost opportunity.
Google Ads: time to conversion ↗The measures that make this useful.
- Value of current quotes included in the review
- Sum of current quoted values after excluding duplicates and closed or ineligible work
Shows potential work in the review, not revenue or a forecast.
- Quotes with a clear next step
- Eligible open quotes with an owner, next action and review date ÷ eligible open quotes
Shows which quotes have no clear next step before another reminder is sent.
- Quote age and time to acceptance
- Today minus quote date for open quotes; accepted date minus quote date for accepted work
Keep open waiting time separate from the sales cycle of jobs already won.
- Extra revenue left after job costs and follow-up costs
- Estimated additional paid revenue × gross margin, less extra action costs
Tests whether the change may be worth doing. It is not total business profit.
Worked value example
A$40,000 in quotes does not mean A$40,000 to recover.
Illustrative calculation. All inputs assumed. AUD; amounts exclude GST. Not a customer result, forecast or Gibson price.
Assume 20 eligible open quotes at A$2,000 each. Model the eventual paid-job rate at 10% without a change and 20% after an agreed change. Both rates are assumptions. The difference, not all later wins, is the modelled benefit.
- Quoted value under review
- $40,000
- Modelled additional paid revenue
- $4,000
- Expected paid jobs without the change
- 2
- Expected paid jobs with the change
- 4
- Modelled additional paid jobs
- 2
- Modelled additional gross contribution
- $1,600
- Contribution after extra effort, before overheads
- $1,000
- Whole additional paid jobs needed to cover the assumed effort cost
- 1
20 quotes × (20% − 10%) × A$2,000 = A$4,000 modelled additional paid revenue. A$4,000 × 40% margin − A$600 extra effort = A$1,000 contribution after that effort.
The scenario adds two paid jobs, not 20. One extra paid job would leave A$200 after the assumed effort cost; two would leave A$1,000. If there are no additional paid jobs, the extra A$600 effort is still a cost.
Show every assumed input
- Eligible open quotes
- 20
- Assumed paid value per job
- $2,000
- Assumed paid-job rate without the change
- 10%
- Assumed paid-job rate after the change
- 20%
- Assumed gross margin
- 40%
- Assumed extra internal effort cost; not a Gibson price
- $600
What would change the result? There is no universal quote-follow-up uplift. These assumptions are not a forecast, service price or Gibson result. If the work would have been won anyway, it is not additional value. Include discounts, fulfilment capacity, changed scope and actual costs before deciding whether an action pays.
From our Blind Marketing build
“Open” tells you very little about a quote.
Our mock-data walkthrough could show quote age and value. It could not show the last follow-up or an agreed next action. Our audit therefore stopped short of calling the older quotes neglected. Instead, it asked the owner to check the current position and reason for the wait. That missing evidence changes the conclusion: an older quote is a reason to look, not proof that someone failed to act.
What to take from it: Review a few older quotes with the person who knows the jobs. Write the reason beside each one before deciding whether to clarify, revise, wait or close it.
This is an original mock-data demonstration of a review method. We have not measured additional customer revenue from it.
Is the delay before or after the quote?
Check how long it took to send the quote, then how long the customer took to decide. Also check whether agreed work has been paid. A quote accepted is not the same as money received.
- Group quotes by how long they have been open. Show the last conversation and reason for waiting when you know them.
- Compare quotes for similar types of work. Some decisions reasonably take longer than others.
- Check the same quotes again later. New quotes should not make it look as though the older ones have progressed.