Following Up on Unsold Estimates: Converting Quotes to Jobs

The average contractor closes 30-40% of estimates. Top performers hit 50%. Everyone else leaves money on the table.

The difference comes down to follow-up.

What close rates actually look like

Different lead sources close at wildly different rates:

Lead Source	Typical Close Rate
Referrals	50%+
Paid estimates	60-70%
Free estimates	15-25%
Online ads	Under 20%

Referrals close at more than double the rate of ad-generated leads. They come pre-sold because someone they trust vouched for you.

Paid estimates close 3x better than free estimates. Charging even $50-100 for an estimate filters out tire-kickers and signals seriousness.

If your close rate is below 20%, lead quality might be the issue rather than sales skill. Between 30-40% is normal. Above 50% is excellent—unless your prices are too low.

Close rates above 75% often mean you’re underpriced. You’re winning everything because competitors are more expensive.

Why estimates go unsold

Homeowners who request an estimate but leave without buying usually fit one of five patterns:

Some experienced price shock and need time to save up or check financing options. Others have a timing mismatch—they want the work done later, waiting for a bonus or quieter season.

Many are still comparing three quotes like everyone told them to. The decision remains pending.

Life interrupts too. A water heater quote went cold because the homeowner’s kid broke an arm. The project still exists—it just dropped in priority.

And some simply forgot. Weeks passed. Urgency faded. They still need the work but lost momentum.

All of these are situations where the homeowner is still interested. Systematic follow-up converts delayed interest into closed jobs.

The follow-up math

80% of sales require five or more follow-up attempts. But 44% of salespeople give up after one call. By the sixth contact, 90% of prospects will engage.

Most contractors follow up once, maybe twice, then move on. They’re abandoning deals that would close with persistence.

One study of HVAC estimate follow-up campaigns found that best campaigns hit 90%+ response rate, average campaigns hit 60%, and worst campaigns hit just 18%.

The difference was systematic follow-up vs random outreach.

What works in follow-up

Speed matters first. Responding within 5 minutes after the estimate request makes you 21x more likely to close. After the estimate is delivered, follow up within 24-48 hours while details are fresh.

Multi-channel beats single-channel. Text has 98% open rate. Email runs around 20%. Phone connects maybe 18% of the time. Use all three.

Keep it short. Text messages work best at 160-220 characters. End with a clear yes/no question like “Any questions about the estimate? Just reply and I’ll call you back.”

Offer financing since price is the #1 objection. “Did you know we offer financing as low as $X/month?” removes the barrier without discounting.

Create urgency without desperation. “Our schedule is filling up for next week—wanted to see if you’d like me to hold a spot” works better than “Just checking in.”

Sample follow-up sequence

Day 1 (immediately after estimate): Text: “Hi [Name], I just sent your estimate for the [project]. Let me know if you have any questions about the scope or pricing.”

Day 2: Email: Detailed estimate attached. Include before/after photos of similar work. Link to reviews.

Day 3: Text: “Checking in on the [project] estimate. Any questions I can answer?”

Day 5: Phone call. If no answer, leave voicemail: “Hi [Name], wanted to follow up on your estimate and see if there’s anything I can clarify.”

Day 7: Text: “Our schedule is starting to fill for [next week/next month]. Want me to hold a spot while you decide?”

Day 10: Email: Mention financing options if applicable. “Did you know we offer $0 down and affordable monthly payments?”

Day 14: Phone call. More direct: “Are you still planning to move forward, or has something changed?”

Day 21: Text: “Just wanted to make sure you saw my earlier messages. If you want to wait, totally understand—just let me know and I’ll check back in a few months.”

This sequence hits 8+ touches across three channels over three weeks. Automate as much as possible.

Setting expectations at the estimate

Follow-up feels less awkward when you set expectations upfront.

At the end of every estimate presentation, ask: “What’s your timeline for making a decision?”

Then: “Mind if I follow up on [day they mentioned] to answer any questions?”

Now you’re calling as scheduled. You’re keeping a commitment you both agreed to.

What to say when they go quiet

If they ghost after price, try this: “I wanted to see if we could make this work for your budget. We have financing options that bring the monthly cost to around $X. Would that help?”

If timing was the issue: “Last time we talked, you mentioned waiting until [season/event]. Wanted to check in and see if you’re ready to schedule.”

If they were comparing quotes: “I know you were looking at a few options. I’d love the chance to answer any questions or match what another company offered.”

If they just forgot: “Hi [Name], I wanted to circle back on the [project] estimate from [date]. Are you still interested in getting this done?”

Tracking and accountability

Without tracking, follow-up falls apart.

You need to know how many unsold estimates exist, when each was last contacted, who’s responsible for following up, and what the response rate is by salesperson.

CRMs like ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, and Jobber have built-in estimate follow-up tracking. Use it.

Set a weekly review: pull all unsold estimates over $1,000 from the past 30 days. Assign follow-up responsibility. Check completion next week.

When to stop following up

Some estimates will never close. Know when to move on.

Stop following up if they explicitly say no, they’ve hired someone else, or they’ve stopped responding after 8+ attempts over 4+ weeks.

Keep following up if they’re still engaging but remain undecided, they asked to wait (circle back in 60-90 days), or they’re unresponsive but the project value is high.

Big-ticket estimates ($5,000+) deserve more persistence. A $500 drain clearing that goes quiet deserves fewer follow-up attempts.

The revenue impact

Following up on unsold estimates typically adds 15-20% to annual revenue. The leads are already in your system. You already paid to generate them. Follow-up just extracts the value.

One contractor with systematic follow-up added $1 million in annual revenue from estimates that would have otherwise expired.

If you have 200 unsold estimates worth an average of $3,000, that’s $600,000 sitting in your CRM. Close 15% of those through follow-up and you’ve added $90,000 without a single new lead.

Start here

Pull every unsold estimate from the past 90 days. Sort by value. Start with the biggest.

Set up a multi-channel sequence: day 1, day 3, day 7, day 14. Text, email, phone.

Track response rates by salesperson. The ones hitting 60%+ are doing something right. The ones at 18% need coaching.

The fortune is in the follow-up. Most contractors know this. Few actually do it systematically.

Want to capture more leads to follow up on? Visitor identification helps find the 97% of website visitors who leave without calling or filling out a form. For more strategies, see lead recovery tactics for contractors.