What's actually happening
You sent the quote and treated the quote as the ask. It isn't. A price is information. It isn't a question, and nobody answers a question they weren't asked.
Then it ends with something like "let me know what you think" or "give me a shout if you want to move forward", which sounds courteous and puts the entire burden of the next step on the person with the least motivation to take it.
What it costs you
Plenty of people were ready. They just needed someone to make the next move obvious and easy, and you politely declined to.
This one stings because these are the closest ones. They liked you. The price was fine. And they drifted off because the conversation had no ending, and drifting is what conversations without endings do.
What it looks like
Two ways to end the same call.
"Okay, I'll get that quote over to you and you can let me know what you think."
"I'll have that to you Thursday morning. If it looks right, I've got an opening the week of the 14th, want me to hold it?"
Same job. Same price. Wildly different close rates.
Where I'd start
Asking isn't pressure. It's clarity, and most customers are relieved by it.
- End every quote with a specific next step and a date, not an open invitation.
- Offer something concrete to say yes to: a slot, a start date, a deposit.
- Make no as easy as yes. You want the answer more than you want the hope.