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New-inquiry scripts, for the first reply and the questions that follow

Six messages to say to a new customer before a job exists. Give a same-hour reply, and ask the questions that decide if you can quote. Answer “what does this roughly cost” honestly. One script is a polite no. Fill in your details once at the top of this page, and every script below updates.

Most of what wins a job happens before a number exists. It happens in how fast you reply and whether the reply asks the right questions. A quote that arrives a week after first contact lands in a gap. Whoever answered first has usually filled it already.

These six scripts cover that stretch. Two are first replies: a same-hour email, and a one-line text for when you are away from a desk. Two sort the job. One is the questions that make it quotable. The other is an honest answer to “can you give me a rough price?” One confirms a site visit. The last is a polite no for a job that is not worth taking. Fill in your name, your business and the client’s name once at the top of this page. Every script below then updates.

Scripts

Script 01 · The same-hour reply

Email

Subject: Got your message, [Client name] — here’s what happens next

Hi [Client name], Thanks for reaching out to [Your business] — got your message and wanted to get back to you quickly. To put a proper number on this I’ll need a couple of things: [photos of the area, the address, roughly when you’re hoping to get it done]. Send those over and I’ll come back with next steps, usually within [a day or two]. Talk soon, [Your name]

Why it works Reply within the hour, even with no price yet. That keeps you in the running. A fast “got this, here’s what is next” beats a slower message that arrives with a number.

Script 02 · The one-line reply from the van

Text

Hi [Client name], it’s [Your name] at [Your business] — got your message, on a job right now but I’ll call you back by [time]. Thanks for your patience!

Why it works A one-line text between jobs gives you the same speed as a full email. You do not need a desk to write it.

Script 03 · The questions that decide if it’s quotable

Email

Subject: A few quick questions before I can quote this

Hi [Client name], To put together an accurate number, I need a bit more detail: what exactly needs doing, and where; whether anything might make access tricky (stairs, parking, timing); roughly when you’re hoping to get it done; and whether you’re the one making the final call, or if someone else needs to sign off too. Send those over whenever’s easy, and I’ll get back to you with next steps. [Your name]

Why it works Ask these four things together. A vague inquiry then becomes one you can price. You avoid guessing now and re-quoting later when something on site changes the number.

Script 04 · The honest answer to “can you give me a rough price?”

Email

Subject: A rough number, and why a visit still matters

Hi [Client name], Happy to give you a starting point: jobs like this usually land somewhere around [a rough range], depending on [the specific thing that moves it — size, condition, access]. I can’t lock in an exact number without seeing it in person — [that same thing] is the kind of detail that only shows up on site — but a quick visit gets you a firm quote instead of a guess. Want me to come take a look? [Your name]

Why it works Give a band and name the one thing that moves it. That is a real answer, not a brush-off. It also stops a client from holding you to a number you gave before you saw the job.

Script 05 · Confirming the site visit

Email

Subject: Site visit confirmed — [date and time]

Hi [Client name], Confirming the visit for [day and time] — it should take about [how long]. If you can have [what’s needed — access, the area cleared, whoever’s deciding available] ready, that lets me get a proper look and have a number back to you quickly. See you then. [Your name]

Why it works Say what you need on site before you arrive. The visit then takes fifteen minutes, not a half-hour spent working around something nobody mentioned.

Script 06 · Turning down a job that isn’t the right fit

Email

Subject: Not able to take this one on — but thank you

Hi [Client name], Thanks for thinking of [Your business] for this. [This one’s outside my usual area / smaller than what I typically take on / not quite my trade], so I don’t think I’m the right fit this time. [If useful: a specific person or type of business to try instead]. Hope it gets sorted quickly. All the best, [Your name]

Why it works Give one specific line as the reason. It reads as an honest no, not a brush-off. It costs nothing. A job you cannot take keeps the door open for one you can.

Questions

How fast do I actually need to reply?
Same day, ideally within the hour. For a smaller job, a client often messages more than one business at once. The first business to reply is usually still in the running when the others go quiet. A quick “got this, here’s what happens next” does more for you than a polished reply a day later.
The inquiry went quiet before I got a quote out — what now?
That is a step further down the line than this pack covers. Once a quote exists, chasing a decision is a different job. It has its own scripts in the quote follow-up pack. This pack is for the stretch before a number exists. It covers the reply, the questions, and the choice of whether the job is worth quoting.
Is it too much to ask all these questions before quoting?
Not if you ask them together and not one at a time. Four questions in one message read as someone who quotes properly. The same four sent over three emails read as someone who is stalling. Batch them, and most clients answer in one reply.

Keep reading

First contact

Responding to a new inquiry — the reply that keeps you in the running

The job is often decided before a quote exists. It is decided by how fast you reply. It is also decided by whether you ask the right questions instead of guessing a number.

 Quoting

How to write a quote that wins the work (and becomes the invoice)

Put line items, deposits and terms up front. The quote a client signs then becomes the invoice you send, with nothing retyped.

 Quoting

How to price a job so the number holds up

A pricing method that holds up on a real job. It covers your costs, your time, and enough margin that a slow week does not sink the good ones.

 Staying organized

Cancellations and no-shows — the policy that keeps the diary honest

A hole in the diary costs more than the job would have paid. It is the work you turned away to hold that slot. State one clear policy before anything goes wrong. Then a moved booking becomes a five-minute fix.

Want every new inquiry on one list?

You still write and send these yourself. The replies should sound like you, not like software. What often goes missing is the inquiry, not the reply. Think of a text sent while you are on a roof, or a voicemail that never left your phone. BizBinder has a requests inbox that keeps your inquiries on one list. You add a text or a call by hand. When you are ready to reply, turn the request into a job with the status “quote”.

A human reads every one. No newsletter, ever.

Filed

You are on the list.

A person reads every request. You will hear from us within one business day.

  1. 01 A person reads your note — not a queue.
  2. 02 You get an invite as spots open.
  3. 03 Your admin starts filing itself.

The free library is open while you wait. Nothing in it needs an account.

Open the free library →