1Maria tells it once
Maria's brief
Confirmed- Check daily · 8 am
- Nudge day 2
- Nudge day 5
- Final nudge day 10
- Expires day 30
- Stops on any reply
- Ask first
Maria tells the agent once: how often to check, when to nudge, and to ask first.
2Every morning, it checks
- Check statussent, viewed or signed
- Count the days
- Reply or signed?yes means stop
- Draft a nudgein Maria's words
- Ask Maria
Sleep till tomorrow
Most mornings, nothing needs sending. The agent checks, counts and goes back to sleep.
330 days, one quote
Maria sent one quote and did nothing else. It was signed on day 6, and the follow-up stopped.
4It asks. Maria taps Send.
Checked 8:00 am: viewed, no reply ✓
Nudge the Lee quote?
Rechecked just before sending: still unsigned ✓
Nothing goes to a customer until Maria says yes.
5Signed
- Day 10 nudge cancelled
- Follow-up stopped
- Maria not chased once
Signed. The agent stops, and the unused nudges are never sent.
Built-in limits
- Stops on any replyA reply, a signature or "no thanks" ends it.
- Asks firstMaria approves each nudge.
- No price changesIt never offers a discount or edits a quote.
- Logs everythingEvery check, draft and message.
Same pattern, your business
-
Home improvement This page
Quote unsigned after 2 daysthenfriendly nudge drafted for you to approve
-
Short-term rentals example page
Check-in details missing 2 days before arrivalthenreminder drafted for the host
-
Translation agencies example page
Quote sent, no answer in 3 daysthenfollow-up drafted for the project manager
-
Editing & small presses example page
Invoice unpaid past termsthenpolite reminder drafted for you
Illustrations, not client results.
Many field-service apps already send reminders on a fixed schedule. If that is enough, use it. An agent adds what comes after: reading the reply or the silence, changing the wording or channel, and passing a warm customer to Maria.
Which follow-up do you keep forgetting?
Book a free discovery callFree 30-minute discovery call · Plain-English recommendations · No obligation
More details
Maria's full brief
Maria is a made-up owner of a six-person painting firm. She sends a quote the same day as the site visit, then goes back to work. Following up is the job she always means to do.
| Setting | Maria's choice |
|---|---|
| Who | Maria, owner of a six-person painting firm (made up) |
| Quote tool the agent reads | The quoting tool Maria already uses, to see whether a quote is sent, viewed or signed |
| Check time | 8 am every day |
| Nudge days | Day 2, day 5 and day 10 after the quote is sent |
| Quote expires | Day 30 |
| Stops when | Any reply, a signature or "not interested" |
| Approval | Each nudge, or later steps automatic if she chooses |
| Channel | The one the customer already used with Maria |
| Wording | Maria's own, drafted from her past messages and job notes |
| Limits | No price changes, no discounts |
| Log | Every check and message |
The eight chat bubbles in the first scene are the plain-language way of filling this in:
| Who | What was said |
|---|---|
| Agent | How often should I check your open quotes? |
| Maria | Every morning. |
| Agent | When should I nudge a customer who hasn't answered? |
| Maria | Day 2, day 5 and day 10. Short and friendly. |
| Agent | And when does a quote run out? |
| Maria | 30 days. |
| Agent | Send the nudges yourself, or ask first? |
| Maria | Ask me first. And stop the moment they reply. |
What happens on every morning check
- Reads each open quote's status (sent, viewed, signed) in the tool Maria already uses.
- Counts the days since it was sent.
- If it is signed, replied to or declined: it marks the quote, stops the sequence and logs it.
- If today is day 2, 5 or 10 and there is no reply: it drafts the nudge in Maria's wording, using the customer's name and job.
- Sends Maria the draft for approval.
- Just before sending, it checks the status again. If it has changed, it cancels.
- Logs what was checked and what was done.
- Sleeps until tomorrow.
It does not guess whether a customer will sign.
The full 30-day timeline
All dates and amounts are made up. This table is also the data behind the timeline chart.
| Day | Date | What happened | On the chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Wed 4 Nov | Quote sent: $4,850 | Quote card |
| Day 1 | Thu 5 Nov | Customer viewed the quote. Too soon to nudge. | Grey eye |
| Day 2 | Fri 6 Nov | Nudge 1 drafted. Maria approved it. | Blue bubble, amber tick |
| Day 5 | Mon 9 Nov | Nudge 2 drafted. Maria approved it. | Blue bubble, amber tick |
| Day 6 | Tue 10 Nov | Quote signed. Follow-up stopped. | Green dot, SIGNED stamp |
| Day 10 | Sat 14 Nov | Day 10 nudge cancelled: already signed. | Hollow grey bubble |
| Day 30 | Fri 4 Dec | Quote would have expired. | Grey flag |
The three nudges in full
These three messages are examples. Maria's own wording, job notes and past messages would shape the real ones.
- Day 2: “Hi Mr. Lee, Maria here. Just checking you got the repaint quote. Happy to answer any questions or adjust anything. No rush.”
- Day 5: “Hi Mr. Lee, following up on the repaint quote. We have a few openings later this month if you'd like to get on the calendar. Anything I can clear up?”
- Day 10 (final): “Hi Mr. Lee, I don't want to keep nudging you. The quote stands until 4 December. If it's not the right time, just tell me and I'll close it with no hard feelings.”
Maria edits, sends or holds each one.
If the customer answers, or something changes
- Customer replies (any reply): the sequence stops and Maria is told, so she answers herself.
- Customer signs: stamp, stop, log.
- Customer says not interested: the quote is marked lost with the reason, and the sequence stops.
- Maria edits the quote: the day count restarts only if she says so.
- No answer after day 10: the quote goes back to Maria. It stays open until day 30, then is marked expired.
All the guardrails
Stops on any reply. A reply, a signature or "no thanks" ends the sequence.
Asks first. Maria approves each nudge before it goes out. See how we handle your data.
No price changes or discounts. It never edits a quote or offers a deal.
Right channel, right people. Messages go only through channels the customer already used with Maria, and only to people who agreed to be contacted. Check the rules for automated texts that apply in your area; we'd go through this in the discovery call.
No payment details. It never sees them.
Logs everything. Every check, draft and message.
What it can't do. It can't make a customer sign, and it can't tell you why they went quiet.
Do you already have this in your quoting app?
Many field-service apps already send automatic follow-ups on unsigned quotes, usually a small number of reminders a set number of days after the quote goes out, with text you can edit. If that covers your needs, use it: it's the simplest route.
Where an agent goes beyond a fixed schedule:
- It reads what the customer did or didn't do (opened the quote, replied with a question, went quiet) and adjusts.
- It drafts the wording from your job notes and past messages instead of a template.
- It can suggest a different channel, such as a short email after two unanswered texts, for you to approve.
- When a customer replies with interest or a question, it hands the warm lead to you with a summary, rather than sending another reminder.
Every message still waits for your yes. Check what your current tool already does before deciding.
The business examples in full
The pattern is the same each time: watch something, check on a schedule, act when a threshold is crossed, and keep a person in charge. These are illustrations too.
- Home improvement: a painting, roofing or remodelling quote goes out and the customer goes quiet. On day 2 an agent drafts a friendly nudge, and you approve it before it is sent.
- Translation agencies: a quote goes to a new client and nobody answers for three days. The agent drafts a follow-up for the project manager to approve.
- Editing and small presses: an editor's invoice is unpaid past its terms. The agent drafts a polite reminder for the editor to approve.
- Short-term rentals: check-in details are still missing two days before arrival. The agent drafts a reminder for the host to approve.
These are illustrations too.
How we'd start with you
We'd start with one workflow and a measurable goal, not a big project.
- Discover: a free call to understand your business, goals and where time is going.
- Assess: we map the workflow, measure the baseline and give you a prioritised AI roadmap with a fixed-price quote.
- Pilot: we build the first agent, demo progress weekly and launch it with human approval switched on.
- Scale & run: once the results are proven, we add agents, form teams and keep everything monitored and improving.
For this agent, the pilot would begin with the quotes sent in the last 30 days and approval switched on for every nudge.