How long to wait before contacting someone after giving a quote.

I'd give no longer than a week

just like dating, give it a couple of days

I would base the timeframe to follow-up on how long the lead time is. The short the lead time, the shorter the time before you follow-up. I think waiting a week is about right given the wedding is next year.

HBMTN said:

I hear ya thanks all good advice. I guess what I am thinking is that this girl has called me and priced a huge 3 meats 5 sides wedding dinner and was shocked at the price and then calls another caterer and asks for pulled pork and two sides and if I wait too long to call her and she says we booked that for $X and I could have done it for the same but you priced $XXX with me.

In other words I want her to know that I can do a much less expensive menu but I don't want to talk her out of a great gig for me. Kinda like a car sales has someone wanting to buy a corvette and they talk them into a chevette.

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Why didn't you just give her options then? menu 1 xx.xx a plate; menu 2 xx.xx a plate, etc

I would give it a week, that is the time frame I normally allow for proposals in my real life business. In truth, if I have a real shot at the job, a week has never been a big issue. If they are shopping price, then they will have made up their mind almost immediately.

When you call her, if she has not made up her mind, that is when you pitch that perhaps you and she should work together to get a budget and you can work to meet that budget. I mean, the sales person in me says that the initial contact, when she requests the quote is the time to say "...I am more than ready to provide you with the quote for your request, however, I want you to know, we offer planning and budgeting services, if you can offer me a budget to hit, I would be happy to put together a quote tailored to your wedding plans." It makes is sound more custom, it makes it sound like you are on her side, and that you want the gig.

I think by giving her a reasonble quote you've already done all you can do. She must realize by now that catering isn't cheap and if she does find someone that meets her budget and her preferred menu, she'll learn that you get what you pay for. If she's still on the fence you can always offer her a sample of your Q, that could close the deal. :thumb: