Growth guide
What to do when someone completes an estimate
You already know what they want and what price they saw. Speed and specifics turn that into a job.
Ring them the same day, ideally within the hour. Read their answers first so you can open with something specific. Talk about the range they saw rather than pretending you have not seen it. Everything else is detail.
1. Speed beats everything
Someone who ran your estimator this morning is comparing options this afternoon. A call two days later reaches somebody who already booked with whoever rang first.
If you cannot ring immediately, text within the hour and ring later.
Hi Sarah, Dave here. Got your estimate through, thanks. On a job until 4 but I will call you after that. Anything urgent, just reply here.
2. Read the answers before you call
Thirty seconds in the notification tells you the job, what they chose, and the range they saw. It completely changes the opening.
The second one skips the questions they have already answered, and quietly proves you paid attention.
3. Bring up the price yourself
They have seen a number. Pretending otherwise looks evasive.
So the estimator put you between $9,500 and $13,000, which sounds about right for what you have described. What decides where in that range you land is what we find when we lift the old material. Does that range work for what you had in mind?
That confirms the estimate rather than undermining it, explains what moves it, and ends with a question that tells you whether this is real.
Say estimate or range, never quote. A quote is a fixed, binding number. What they saw is a range that can move once you have seen the job. Using the wrong word creates an expectation you will have to walk back, and that is where the difficult conversations start.
4. If the estimate was wrong, say so
"That range is lower than I would charge for this, and here is why" is a survivable conversation. Turning up and adding 40 percent is not.
Then go and fix the pricing, because it will happen again. Check it in the Pricing Lab →
5. Follow up the ones who go quiet
Most will not reply first time. One follow-up a few days later, referencing their specific job, is worth sending. Then leave them alone and put them on the list for a reactivation email in a few months.
Make it automatic
The whole thing depends on you noticing an email. Take that out of the equation by sending estimates into your CRM, so they appear in whatever you already work in.
Connect to Zapier → · Get the full detail, not just a link →
What if they gave a fake number?
Some will. Email them instead and move on.
How many follow-ups?
Two, then stop. Add them to a reactivation list for later instead of chasing.
Should I send a written quote after?
If that is your process, yes, and reference the range they already saw so the numbers connect.
They are outside my area
Tell them quickly and, if you can, point them somewhere useful. It costs nothing and people remember it.
Email [email protected] if notifications are not arriving.