If you’re tired of letting quotes slip through the cracks or losing track of which prospects need a nudge, this is for you. Whether you’re a sales rep, sales manager, or just the unlucky soul stuck chasing quotes, you know how easy it is for things to fall off the radar. The good news: with Quoter and its reporting tools, you can keep tabs on every quote and make follow-ups way less painful. Here’s how to do it without making things more complicated than they need to be.
Step 1: Make Sure Your Quote Statuses Mean Something
Before you get lost in fancy reports, take a hard look at your quote statuses. Are they actually useful? Or are they just default buckets nobody pays attention to?
What works: - Use simple, clear statuses (e.g., "Sent," "Viewed," "Accepted," "Declined," "Expired"). - Make sure everyone on your team uses them the same way. If “Negotiation” means something different to each rep, you’ll never trust the data.
What doesn’t: - Overcomplicating statuses with too many options (“Pending Internal Review #2” is not helping anyone). - Letting quotes stay stuck in “Draft” or “Sent” forever.
Pro tip: Take 30 minutes to clean up old or unused statuses before you start reporting. Garbage in, garbage out.
Step 2: Build a Quote Status Report That Doesn’t Suck
Quoter’s reporting tools are only as useful as the filters and columns you set up. You want a report that tells you, at a glance, which quotes need attention and which are on ice.
Here’s how to set up a useful quote status report:
- Go to Reports, then Quotes.
- Filter by status: Start with “Sent,” “Viewed,” and “Expired.” These are the ones most likely to need action.
- Add relevant columns: At minimum, include:
- Quote Name/Number
- Prospect/Customer Name
- Owner (so you know who’s responsible)
- Date Sent
- Status
- Last Activity (critical for spotting stale quotes)
- Sort by Last Activity or Date Sent: The older, untouched quotes bubble up to the top.
What you can ignore: Reports with every possible field. You’re not building a dashboard for NASA—just a list you can actually use.
Step 3: Set Up Reminders That Actually Work
Let’s be honest: manual reminders are easy to ignore. Quoter can automate some of this, but you’ll still want a system.
In Quoter: - Use the built-in notifications to alert you when a quote is viewed, accepted, or expires. - Set up automated follow-up emails for quotes that haven’t been acted on after a set number of days. (Don’t overdo it—nobody likes a spammer.)
Outside Quoter: - If you live in your calendar or task app, block time to review “Sent” quotes daily or weekly. - For high-value deals, set personal reminders to follow up with a phone call or custom email.
What works: - Combining automated nudges with personal follow-ups. Automation alone rarely closes deals.
What doesn’t: - Relying only on email notifications. They get buried.
Step 4: Use Filters to Find the Quotes That Need Follow-Up
Here’s where the real magic happens. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, use Quoter’s filters to zero in on what matters:
- Quotes sent but not viewed: These prospects may not have seen your email. Time for a quick check-in.
- Quotes viewed but not accepted: They’re interested but haven’t pulled the trigger. These are your hottest follow-ups.
- Quotes expiring soon: Remind prospects before their quote becomes useless.
- Quotes stuck in “Sent” for more than X days: If it’s been a week and you haven’t heard back, don’t just hope for the best—reach out.
How to do it: 1. In your Quotes report, use the “Status” filter and add “Date Sent” or “Last Activity” as a secondary filter. 2. Save these filtered views so you’re not reinventing the wheel every time. 3. Check these saved reports as part of your routine—daily, if your deal volume is high; weekly, if it’s not.
Pro tip: Don’t try to follow up on every single quote. Prioritize by deal size and likelihood to close.
Step 5: Follow Up Like a Human, Not a Bot
Quoter can help you track who needs a follow-up, but you still have to actually do it. Here’s what separates effective follow-up from annoying spam:
- Reference the quote: Mention specifics. “Just checking if you had questions about quote #Q123 for your server upgrade.”
- Offer value: Instead of “Did you see my quote?” try “Would it help if I walked you through the options?”
- Time it right: Don’t hammer prospects with reminders. A quick check-in after a few days, then a final nudge before expiration, is usually enough.
- Know when to let go: If a prospect is ghosting you after two or three honest attempts, move on. Your time’s better spent elsewhere.
What works: - Being helpful, not pushy. - Using phone or video for large or complex deals—email isn’t always enough.
What doesn’t: - Following up just for the sake of it, or sending generic “just checking in” messages.
Step 6: Track Results and Adjust Your Process
It’s tempting to set up your reports and forget them. Don’t. Take a few minutes each month to see how your follow-up is working:
- Are quotes moving faster from “Sent” to “Accepted”?
- Are there bottlenecks (e.g., quotes getting stuck at a certain stage)?
- Is your follow-up cadence too aggressive—or too lazy?
If you’re not seeing results, tweak your process. Maybe your reminders are too generic. Maybe your statuses aren’t telling the real story. This isn’t “set it and forget it.”
What works: - Small, regular adjustments based on what you see in your reports. - Asking your team what’s actually helpful vs. what’s just busywork.
What to Ignore (Seriously)
A lot of sales software pushes bells and whistles you don’t need. Here’s what’s mostly a waste of time with quote tracking:
- Custom graphs for everything: Unless your boss is obsessed with pie charts, stick to simple lists.
- Overly complex workflows: The more manual steps, the less likely people are to use them.
- Endless “won/lost” reason codes: Capture the basics, but don’t turn this into a survey for every lost deal.
Focus on the 20% of features that get you 80% of the results.
Wrap Up: Keep It Simple, Tweak as You Go
Tracking quote status and following up shouldn’t become a full-time job. With Quoter’s reporting tools, you get what you put in—clear statuses, tight reports, and a follow-up routine you’ll actually stick to. Don’t chase perfection. Start simple, see what works, and adjust as you go. The real win is making sure prospects don’t slip through the cracks—and that you’re spending your energy where it actually matters.