Seven RFQ Follow-Up Email Templates for Forwarders

Seven follow-up messages for open freight quotes. Each is short, each carries a reason that belongs to the customer rather than to your pipeline, and each asks one question that can be answered in a word. Copy them, change the names, use them.

The rule behind all seven: never send a message whose only content is that you would like an answer. That is the version that gets ignored and makes the next one easier to ignore too.

1. Air, day 1

Hi [Name], sent our rate for [Origin] to [Destination] yesterday. Timing on that shipment still the same? If the ready date moved I will requote rather than have you work from a stale number.

2. LCL, day 2, with a reason attached

Hi [Name], following up on the LCL quote for [Origin] to [Destination]. Next sailing closes [Date], so if you want that one I would need the booking by [Date]. Still in play?

3. FCL, day 3

Hi [Name], checking in on the FCL rate we sent for [Lane]. No pressure on timing. I just want to know whether to hold the space or release it.

4. The expiry notice

Hi [Name], the rate we quoted for [Lane] is valid until [Date]. After that I have to requote and it may move. Want me to extend it, or shall I close the file?

This is the strongest of the seven, because it is entirely about their cost.

5. The interim reply, when you are waiting on an agent

Hi [Name], your enquiry for [Lane] is with our partner at destination. I expect the rate back by [Date] and will send it the same day. Wanted you to know it is moving.

Use this one more than you think. Silence while you wait looks identical to not caring.

6. The final message

Hi [Name], I have not heard back on [Lane] so I will close it at our end. If it comes back around, send it over and I will requote. Happy to stay on your list for [Lane] shipments.

A clean close often produces the reply that three chases did not, because it removes the obligation.

7. The dormant customer, ninety days later

Hi [Name], we quoted [Lane] for you back in [Month]. Rates on that lane have moved since. Worth a fresh number, or is that route covered now?

What makes these work

• Length. Four lines. A long follow-up reads as a second sales pitch.
• One question. Answerable with yes, no, or a date.
• Their reason. An expiry, a cut off, a market move. Never your quarter.
• An exit. Offering to close the file is not weakness. It gets answered.

The part templates cannot fix

Having good messages is not the problem. Sending them on the right day across forty open quotes while operations is running is the problem, and no template solves that. The timing per mode is covered in our quote follow-up sequence for air, LCL and FCL, and the reasons these quotes go quiet in why forwarders lose quotes they already priced.

If you would rather these ran on their own, with the sequence stopping the moment anyone replies, that is on the features page.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a quote follow-up email be?

Around four lines. Long follow-ups read as a second pitch and get filed rather than answered.

What is the best reason to give for following up?

A rate expiry. It concerns the customer's cost rather than your pipeline, which is why it gets replies.

Should I say I am closing the file?

Yes, at the end of the sequence. Removing the obligation frequently produces the answer that the chases did not.

Can these be automated without sounding automated?

Yes, provided the sequence stops on any reply and each message carries real shipment detail. What reads as robotic is a chase that arrives after the customer already answered.

To see the whole sequence running against your own open quotes, book a demo.