📅 Sunday, March 17, 2025
🛠 Helping Residential Contractors & Subs Win More Jobs & Grow Smarter

Over the past few weeks, we’ve covered:
✔️ Building a referral system that generates high-value leads automatically.
✔️ Creating a unique market position that makes price competition irrelevant.

Today, we’re tackling the third critical factor that separates 6-figure contractors from 7-figure business owners: systematic lead follow-up.

Let me share a disturbing statistic:

🔹 62% of initial lead inquiries don’t receive a response within 24 hours.
🔹 78% of leads never receive more than two follow-up attempts.
🔹 Yet, 80% of sales require 5+ follow-ups—but most contractors give up after one or two.

This disconnect represents one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the contracting industry.

Take Mike, a kitchen and bath remodeler who was struggling with profitability. His team was converting only 2.4% of leads into sales. After implementing the systematic follow-up approach I’m about to share, his numbers skyrocketed:

✔️ Lead response time dropped from 26 hours to under 15 minutes.
✔️ Lead-to-appointment ratio increased from 12% to 38%.
✔️ Appointment-to-sale ratio grew from 20% to 34%.
✔️ Overall lead-to-sale conversion jumped from 2.4% to 12.9%.

RESULT? With the same marketing budget, his annual revenue grew from $1.2M to $2.8M, adding $489,000 in additional profit.

Here’s the exact system Mike used to turn cold leads into paying clients:

📞 Personal phone call
📩 Voicemail + immediate text message acknowledging their inquiry
📧 Same-day email with relevant project info

📞 Follow-up call
📩 Text with a direct question requiring response
📧 Email with value-added content about their project

📞 Call from a different team member
📧 Email with a case study of a similar project
✅ Value reminder—why choose YOU over competitors?

📧 "Did we miss you?" email with a strong call-to-action
📩 Text message with a scheduling link
📹 Brief video message addressing their specific project

📞 Call from a senior team member
📧 Email with a client testimonial from a similar job
🔥 Special offer with a deadline (discounted consultation, priority scheduling)

📞 Final call attempt
📧 "Last chance" email with an incentive
📩 Addition to long-term nurture sequence

✔️ Monthly value-based emails (not just sales pitches)
✔️ Seasonal maintenance tips
✔️ Before & after project showcases
✔️ Industry insights & trends

🔹 Why This Works:
The key to high-converting follow-up is consistency, multiple touchpoints (phone, email, text, video), and a value-first approach—NOT just "checking in."

You don’t need fancy software to implement this system. Start with basic tools and upgrade as you grow:

✅ Google Workspace (Email)
✅ Google Sheets (Lead tracking)
✅ TextMagic (Business texting)
✅ Calendly (Appointment scheduling)
✅ Loom (Video messaging)

✅ CRM for contractors (MarketSharp, improveit360, JobNimbus)
✅ Email automation (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign)
✅ Business texting platform with templates
✅ Call tracking & recording software

🚀 REMEMBER: It’s not about the software—it’s about consistently following up.

The #1 mistake contractors make with follow-ups? Fear of being annoying.

💡 FACT: 94% of potential clients appreciate persistent follow-up—if it’s value-driven.

Common Myths About Follow-Ups:
🚫 "If they were interested, they would call back."
✅ Truth: People get distracted—your follow-up helps them move forward.

🚫 "I don’t want to be pushy."
✅ Truth: Clients appreciate when contractors take initiative and provide value.

🔹 Call your own business from an unknown number—how fast is the response?
🔹 Submit a lead through your website after hours—what happens next?
🔹 Ask a friend to request information—how many follow-ups do they receive?
🔹 Review your last 10 leads—what was the actual follow-up sequence?

✅ Document your ideal follow-up sequence
✅ Develop templates for emails, texts, and calls
✅ Assign clear responsibility for each step
✅ Set up a simple tracking system

✅ Designate a lead response person
✅ Create text/email templates for fast follow-up
✅ Set up autoresponders for after-hours inquiries
✅ Train your team on why speed matters

💡 REMEMBER: The contractor who responds first and follows up consistently usually wins the job—even against lower-priced competition.

Next Sunday, I’ll show you how to transform your website from a digital brochure into a lead-generating machine that converts 3-5X better than industry average.

Until then, I want to hear from you! What’s your biggest challenge with follow-up? Hit reply and let me know.

To your success,
Benjamin Patton

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