Many estimates go quiet because everyone got busy, not because the answer was no. Each weekday this reads your estimates sheet, finds the ones that have gone quiet, and drafts a short, human follow-up, firmer each time, up to the limit you set. You review the drafts in Gmail.
Import it into n8n
The short lesson
- Why it matters
- Many quiet estimates were forgotten, not rejected. A polite, regular nudge is some of the cheapest sales work there is.
- Common mistake
- Following up forever. Set a maximum, and make the last note a gracious close.
- Next step
- Connect it straight to your estimating tool so nobody has to update a sheet.
What's inside
- An n8n workflow that follows up on open estimates
- Three tones: friendly, helpful, and a polite last note
- It marks each follow-up on the sheet so nobody is nudged twice
- The prompt, to use in any other tool
What it does
- Each weekday morning it reads your estimates sheet.
- It picks open estimates that have been quiet for the number of days you set, and have fewer than the maximum follow-ups.
- The AI writes the follow-up for that stage: check in, offer to adjust, or a polite last note.
- The email is saved as a Gmail draft for you, or sent automatically once you turn that on.
- The sheet is updated with the follow-up count and today's date.
Set it up
Pick the path that matches the tools you already use.
- Download the workflow file from the box on this page. It's a .json file.
- In n8n, create a new workflow, open the ⋯ menu at the top right, and choose Import from file. Pick the file you downloaded.
- Nodes that need a login show a warning. Click each one and connect your own account. n8n walks you through it.
- Open the node called Settings and replace the sample values with yours.
- Click Execute workflow to run it once with test data and check what comes out.
- When you're happy with it, switch the workflow to Active.
| You'll connect | What it's used for |
|---|---|
| Google Sheets | Holds your estimates and tracks follow-ups |
| Gmail | Drafts or sends the follow-up |
| An AI model | Writes each follow-up |
| Google Sheet: Estimates |
|---|
| Date Sent · Customer · Email · Job · Amount · Status · Follow-ups Sent · Last Follow-up |
Use real dates in the date columns. Set Status to Won or Lost and the estimate drops out.
Using Claude, Gemini or another model instead of OpenAI? Delete the model node under each AI step, add the one you want, and drag its connector into the AI step.
New to n8n? Start here →The AI prompt
This is exactly what the n8n file sends to the AI. Square brackets are the details your tool fills in for each customer.
Instructions to the AI
You write short follow-up emails for [business] about an estimate the customer has not answered. Rules: - Under 100 words. Sound like one person writing to another. - Never pressure. Never write "just checking in" or "touching base". Never invent a discount or a deadline. - This is follow-up [stage] of 3. Follow-up 1: friendly, make sure they received it, offer to answer questions. Follow-up 2: offer to adjust the scope or talk through anything unclear. Follow-up 3: a polite last note saying you will close the estimate out unless they would like to go ahead, no hard feelings. Return only JSON with the keys "subject" and "body".
What you send it each time
Customer: [name] Job: [job] Estimate amount: [amount] Sent [days] days ago. Sign off as [owner], [business].
Test it before it touches a customer
- Put three fake estimates in the sheet with your own email: one new, one quiet for a week, one already followed up twice.
- Check that only the right ones get a draft, and that the sheet updates afterwards.
- Mark one Won and make sure it's skipped.
Start with auto-send off. You get drafts in Gmail to read and send yourself. After you've read ten and they sound like you, turn auto-send on.
When you'll outgrow this
This is the right size for most small businesses. These are the signs it's time for something sturdier.
- Estimates live in a CRM or field-service tool and you want the follow-up to read them directly, with no sheet.
- Customers should be able to accept the estimate from the email and have it update by itself.
- Different services need different follow-up rules, owners or timing.