E | Exit Closed Abandoned-Quote Recovery Flow
Why “almost bookings” matter
Every time a renter starts your quote form, calls for a price, or opens the chat widget, you’ve already paid to acquire that lead. Yet, across the travel sector, 40–60% of quotes stall before the customer commits. For an agency spending, for example, $40 on Customer Acquisition that means $16–$24 evaporates each time a would-be renter doesn’t complete the transaction. Recover only one in five and you add thousands in near-pure profit: no extra ad spend, no new vehicles; just follow-up!
What counts as an abandoned quote?
A web-form that never reaches “Thank-you.”
A phone inquiry that doesn’t end in a sale
A live-chat where the renter asks for a price and then disappears.
The common thread: price curiosity without commitment. Your job is to re-engage fast, answer objections, and make finishing the reservation super simple. Below are two easy to deploy tactics that can help turn Abandoned Quotes into sales.
The 6-touch recovery sequence
A gentle, escalating cadence can recover bookings within 72 hours:
SMS (10 min) – short text with a one-tap “Resume Quote” link.
Email (1 hr) – branded quote summary; button reloads form with fields pre-populated.
Call (4 hrs) – human voice answers insurance or mileage questions in real time.
SMS (24 hrs) – scarcity angle: “Only two SUVs left for Friday.”
Email (48 hrs) – social proof: 5-star reviews, FAQ and a fresh link.
Final SMS (72 hrs) – small sweetener: for example a free GPS or 5% off if they book tonight.
Timing matters. The closer the first touch follows the abandonment, the more “in-decision” the prospect remains, and the higher your win-back rate climbs.
Copy that converts
Keep every message friction-free. Open with their first name, remind them what they wanted, and give a single action button or link. Skip jargon. Stress speed (“30-second checkout”), certainty (“rate locked until tonight”), and trust (“no hidden fees—ever”).
A full Email & SMS Copy Deck with all the scripts you need can be found at the bottom of this article; along with an Objection-Handling Cheat-Sheet, and a Recovery KPI Sheet & Calculator.
Objections you’ll meet, and how to answer
“Price is too high.” Re-frame total value (no deposit, late drop-off, premium support) before discounting.
“I need to check insurance.” Email a one-page CDW summary immediately and explain that personal premiums stay untouched.
“I’ll think about it.” Hold the rate for a specific window; a 6 p.m. deadline prompts action without hard-selling.
Concise responses beat a rambling upsell every time; agents should lead with empathy, and close with clarity.
An Objection-Handling Cheat-Sheet can be found at the bottom of this article; along with the Email & SMS Copy Deck, and a Recovery KPI Sheet & Calculator.
Measuring success: the two numbers to watch
Recovery Rate – Recovered bookings ÷ abandoned quotes. Aim for ≥ 20% by day three.
Net Revenue Gain – (Recovered bookings × average revenue) minus incentive cost. A positive ROI should appear within the first dozen saves.
If your recovery rate sits below 10%, tighten the timing of the first SMS; if incentives outweigh net gain, reduce the offer or add value (free booster seat) instead of cash discounts.
U-TURN!
Grab all three tools to get those hot leads back to complete their purchase! 🔙
Rather than building all these sequences from scratch, download the Exit Closed: Abandoned Quote Recovery Kit here:
Email & SMS templates just replace placeholders like {{first_name}} and {{resume_link}} and paste into any email or texting tool.
Objection-Handling Cheat-Sheet — a simple document your agents can skim while dialling the 4-hour follow-up call; priceless for new staff, and great for all your team members to keep consistent while representing your business, and to close more sales.
Recovery KPI Calculator — drop in your numbers and the sheet auto-spits out recovery rate, incremental revenue, incentive cost, and ROI.
With templates and tracking handled, you can launch the entire flow this afternoon, then watch next week’s bookings report tick upward.
How to Measure Success and turn data into dollars
Run the flow for two weeks, then run the KPI Calculator. If your recovery rate cracks 20% and ROI is comfortably above 1.0, keep the cadence. If not, iterate: shorten response times, swap incentive types, or A/B-test subject lines and content. Within a month you’ll know exactly how many “almost renters” you can reliably pull back—turning your marketing spend into revenue instead of regret.
Next week
Letter F: Fleet Utilisation. We'll discuss tracking and improving Fleet Utilization rates and provide a free Fleet Utilization Dashboard. Because idle vehicles drain cash. Let's improve that. Until then, rescue those quotes and keep our agency growing! 🚗
Miss Last Week? D is for Dynamic Pricing. You can earn more per booking. Stop underselling and start maximizing revenue without increasing your marketing budget.
