How to Follow Up on a Tree or Landscaping Estimate (Without Being a Pest)

The walk went great. You looked at the trees, talked through the cleanup, shook hands, and told them you'd get a price over. The proposal went out. Then nothing.

No yes, no no. Just quiet.

There are three usual ways it goes. We follow up once, late at night, when we finally get to the office stuff. We follow up too much and feel like a pest. Or we never follow up at all and tell ourselves they went with the cheap guy. Here's a simple way to follow up on a tree or landscaping estimate without bugging anybody, and a way to make it run without you. (If you want the reasons people go quiet in the first place, start with why customers go quiet after the estimate.)

Why the first 48 hours matter more than your price

Follow up within a day or two of sending the estimate. The homeowner is comparing bids right now, and in my experience the fast, clear company wins the job.

When someone calls about a leaning oak or a backyard that needs a reset, they rarely call just one company. The first few days are when they're reading proposals and deciding who has their act together.

Price matters, but it usually comes up after the homeowner has already sorted companies into "these guys are on it" and "I haven't heard back." A fast, clean proposal and a friendly check-in put you in the first group. Speed matters even before the estimate, too (see the call you missed before the estimate). The race starts the moment they reach out.

A simple follow-up schedule that works for tree and landscape jobs

Plan on three or four touches over about ten days, then close the loop. Here's a starting point. Adjust it to your market and the size of the job.

• Day 0: Send it on site. If you can, send the proposal before you leave the driveway, while the walk is fresh for both of you.
• Day 1 or 2: A short text. Just make sure they got it and offer to answer questions.
• Day 4 or 5: An email. Include the proposal link again and one useful detail, like timing, what's included, or a note about the work.
• Around day 10: A last friendly check-in. Let them know you'll close out the estimate unless they want to keep it open.

That's it. Not a magic formula, just a sane rhythm that keeps you on their radar without blowing up their phone. Stretch it a little for big removals or full installs.

What to say: copy-and-paste text and email scripts

Keep it short, friendly, and about their job, not your sales process. Swap in your own name and details.

Tree removal (text, day 1 or 2): "Hi [Name], it's [You] from [Company]. Just making sure the proposal for the oak by the garage came through. Happy to answer any questions or walk through it on a quick call."

Pruning (text, day 1 or 2): "Hey [Name], it's [You] from [Company]. Wanted to check that you got the pruning proposal for the front maples. We've got some openings coming up if you want to get on the schedule."

Landscape install or cleanup (email, day 4 or 5): "Subject: Your backyard proposal Hi [Name], following up on the proposal for the back beds and the new walkway. Here's the link again: [proposal link]. One thing worth knowing: we can start as soon as [date] if that works for you. Let me know if you'd like to change anything or talk it over. Thanks, [You], [Company]"

Closing the loop (text or email, around day 10): "Hi [Name], I don't want to keep pinging you. I'll close out this estimate for now. If you want to pick it back up later, just reply here and we'll take care of you."

That last one matters. It's polite, it takes the pressure off, and it gives them an easy way to answer, even if the answer is "we went another way." Either way, now you know.

How to tell if they've actually looked at it

In EveryGrove, you can see when they've opened it. Each proposal shows its status in the system (Sent, Viewed, Accepted, Declined), so you know whether your follow-up is a reminder or a nudge.

That changes what you say. If the proposal still shows Sent, your text is "making sure this came through." If it shows Viewed, they've seen it, so your note can be "any questions on the proposal?" You're not guessing.

Make follow-ups run themselves

Set up your proposal templates once, and let automated email and text follow-ups do the chasing from the same system that built the proposal. That's how you stop sitting at the kitchen table at 9pm trying to remember who you owe a call.

In EveryGrove, you build templates for the work you sell, like removals, pruning, plant health care, cleanups, or installs, with your logo, services, line items, and terms. On site you start the proposal from the lead, so the customer and property are already filled in. Pick a template, add your job-site photos and a map pin on each line item so they know exactly which tree or which bed you mean, adjust it, and send it. Then a follow-up sequence goes out by email and text on its own, and you can see every message it sent. If you need to hold off on a customer, you can pause their sequence.

This is why it matters that follow-up lives in the same place as the proposal. The sequence chases the proposal you just sent, not a name you copied into another app, and you can see in the same system when they've opened it.

Whether you run one truck or three crews, this is the part of the job that eats your evenings. Getting it off your plate is how you get your life back and run the business instead of the paperwork.

Where follow-up fits in the whole system

Follow-up works best as one step in one system, not a separate tool. When the phone, the proposal, and the follow-up live in different places, things slip through the cracks between them, and you're the one patching it at night.

In EveryGrove, it's one flow. Willow answers the phone with your company's name, and it knows your service area and the details you teach it, like your estimate hours. That's 99.7% of calls answered, and Willow always books the estimate, even when you're up a tree or on a mower. After the walk, you start the proposal from the lead in a couple of clicks, with photos and a map pin on each line item, on a template you set up once, and you send it from the driveway. The follow-ups send themselves by email and text, and you can see when they've opened it. Then the work moves on to invoicing, with text-to-pay, in the same platform. Faster bids. More jobs won.

If you're comparing options, our guide to choosing tree service software walks through what to look for.

FAQ

How soon should I follow up after sending a tree service or landscaping estimate? Within a day or two. The homeowner is usually comparing bids that week, so a quick, friendly text while your proposal is fresh keeps you in the running.

How many times should I follow up on an estimate before I let it go? Three or four touches over about ten days is a good starting point: a text, an email, and a final check-in that closes the loop. After that, close it out politely and leave the door open.

What should a follow-up text after an estimate say? Keep it short and about their job. Confirm they got the proposal, offer to answer questions, and make it easy to reply. For example: "Just making sure the proposal for the oak by the garage came through. Happy to answer any questions."

Can software follow up on estimates automatically for a tree or landscaping company? Yes. In EveryGrove, follow-up sequences go out by email and text on their own after you send a proposal, and you can see every message that went out. You set up your proposal templates once and the follow-ups run without you, in the same platform that answers your calls and builds your proposals.

How do I know if a customer opened my proposal? In EveryGrove, you can see when they've opened it. The proposal's status shows as Viewed in the system, so you know whether to send a reminder or ask if they have questions.

Want to see follow-ups run on their own with your services loaded in? Book a 15-minute demo on Zoom or by phone at everygrove.com.