A small company puts real effort into a quote: a call, a visit, a calculation, a page of text. When the customer says yes, the work starts and everyone remembers it. When the answer is no, or no answer at all, the quote drops out of sight. A month later nobody can say how many were lost, or why.
That is a missed chance. Lost quotes hold the most direct feedback on your price, your offer and your way of selling. This article describes a routine that takes a few minutes per quote and one hour per quarter.
Decide what counts as lost
A quote is lost when the customer says no, when they choose someone else, or when a reasonable follow-up period has passed without an answer. Pick the period in advance. For most small B2B offers, two to four weeks after the last reminder is enough; see a quoting and follow-up routine for how to chase before you call it lost.
Without this rule, open quotes sit in the list for months and the numbers mean nothing. Mark the quote as closed, with the date and the word "lost".
Ask one question
Within a week of the no, send a short message from the person the customer knows. Keep it to a few lines:
Thank you for considering our offer. We are always trying to improve. Could you tell us in one sentence what decided it: price, timing, scope, another supplier, or something else? A short answer is perfectly fine.
Some points make an answer more likely.
- Make it easy. Offering a few options lets the customer reply with one word. Leave room for a free comment.
- Do not sell again. The message is a question, not a second attempt. If the customer wants to reopen the discussion, they will say so.
- Offer a call if they prefer. Some people explain better in two minutes on the phone than in writing. Take notes straight after.
- Ask once. If there is no reply, record "no answer" and move on.
Expect that about half of the customers will not reply. Those who do are often more direct than they would have been during the sales conversation.
Record the reason
Keep a simple table, in a spreadsheet or in your existing customer list. One row per lost quote, with these columns:
- date and customer
- value of the quote and type of work
- main reason, taken from a fixed list
- the customer's own words, one line
- who was the competitor or alternative, if known
- what we would do differently, if anything
The fixed list matters. Without it, every row has its own wording and you cannot count anything. A useful starting list is: price, timing, scope did not fit, chose another supplier, decided to do it in-house, project cancelled or postponed, no answer, other. Choose one main reason per quote, even if there were several.
Be honest in the "main reason" column. If the customer says "price" but earlier asked questions that show confusion about what was included, the reason may be that the quote was not clear. Write what you believe, and put the customer's words beside it.
Review once a quarter
Set one hour per quarter, with the person who sells and the person who decides on prices or scope. Prepare three numbers from the log:
- How many quotes were sent, won and lost, and their total value.
- The count and value of lost quotes for each reason.
- The three largest lost quotes, with a short story for each.
Then look for a pattern. A few examples of what the log can show:
- Many "price" answers on small jobs, few on large ones. Your small-job pricing may be out of line, or the quote does not explain the value for a small order. Compare with how to write a one-page proposal.
- Many "timing" answers. You may be too slow to quote, or your delivery date is too far away. Measure the days between the request and the quote.
- Many "scope did not fit". Your offer may be too rigid, or the first conversation does not clarify what the customer needs. A short list of questions before quoting can help.
- Many "no answer". Check the follow-up. Was there one?
A single story is an anecdote. Three or more with the same reason are a pattern worth acting on. With a small number of quotes, be careful not to over-read the data; treat it as a prompt for a conversation.
Choose one change
End the review with one change, not a list. Write it down with an owner and a date, for example: "Send quotes within two working days, owner: Anna, from 1 December" or "Add a line on what is not included, owner: Tomas, next quote". At the next review, check whether it was done and whether the reason it addressed has become less common.
Handle the answers well
Thank the customer, whatever they say. Do not argue, do not correct them and do not offer a discount after the decision. If they chose a competitor, you can ask, without pressure, whether you may contact them again in six months. Many projects return, and a polite exit makes that easier.
Keep the information inside the company where it is useful. A customer's comment about a named employee is not for sharing around; record the lesson, not the gossip.
What to do this week
Open your list of recent quotes and find the ones that never got an answer. Close those older than your chosen period as lost, create the table with the columns above, and send the one-question message for the last five. In three months you will have your first real picture of why customers say no, and one concrete change to make.