Estimate Follow-Up for Contractors

Why Estimates Go Cold

It rarely happens on purpose. An estimate gets sent, the next job comes in, attention moves on, and without a system forcing a check-in, the estimate simply never gets revisited -- not because the customer said no, but because nobody asked again.

The Minimum System

1. Every estimate gets a follow-up date the moment it's sent -- not "sometime next week."
2. If the follow-up happens and the customer isn't ready, a new follow-up date is set immediately, not left open-ended.
3. Every estimate eventually gets marked won or lost, with a one-line reason (price, timing, competitor, no response).
4. Lost reasons get reviewed periodically -- a pattern of "no response" lost reasons points at a follow-up problem, not a sales problem.

A Worked Example

Say a contractor has 22 open estimates sitting with no follow-up date at all. If a conservative 20% of those (roughly 4-5) would have converted with one more phone call, and the average job is worth $800, that is $3,200-$4,000 in estimates that are still open, not lost -- they simply need to be worked. This is a hypothetical figure, not a measured result.

Checklist

• Pull every open estimate right now and check: does it have a follow-up date?
• For any estimate older than 14 days with no follow-up date, set one today.
• For any estimate you've already decided is dead, mark it lost with a reason -- don't just let it sit.
• Review lost reasons monthly and look for a pattern that points at process, not price.

Limitations

The conversion figure above is illustrative, not benchmarked against real contractor data. Actual recovery rates from re-engaging stalled estimates depend heavily on how recently they went cold and why, and are not measured here.

Sources

• Oldroyd, McElheran & Elkington, "The Short Life of Online Sales Leads," Harvard Business Review, March 2011