Contractor Lead Follow-Up Automation: The 5-Touch Sequence That Closes 30% More Jobs

The average home service contractor follows up with a lead one time. If they don't hear back, they move on. This is one of the most expensive mistakes in the industry.

Research from the National Sales Executive Association found that 80% of sales require 5 or more follow-up attempts, but 44% of salespeople give up after one. In home services, this dynamic is even more pronounced — customers are often comparison shopping, getting busy, or simply forgetting to respond.

Here's the 5-touch automated sequence that books 30% more jobs from the same leads without adding any manual work.

Why Most Follow-Up Fails

Before we get into the sequence, let's look at why most contractor follow-up doesn't work:

Too slow. A lead who fills out your contact form at 2pm and hears from you the next morning has already called two other companies. Speed matters more than almost anything else.

One and done. A single voicemail or email rarely converts. People are busy. They get distracted. One touch isn't enough.

Wrong channel. Calling someone who prefers text — or emailing someone who never checks their inbox — means your follow-up never lands.

Generic messages. "Hi, I'm following up on your request" doesn't tell the customer anything. It doesn't remind them why they reached out or create any urgency.

The 5-Touch Sequence: Timing and Channel

Here's the exact sequence. Each touch uses a different channel and serves a different purpose.

Touch 1 — SMS within 5 minutes (automated)

"Hi [Name]! Got your message about [service type]. I'm [Name] from [Company] — I'd love to help. What's the best time for a quick call today, or would you prefer to text?"

Why: Speed creates trust. A sub-5-minute response tells the customer you're responsive before they've even hired you. SMS is the highest-open-rate channel.

Touch 2 — Email within 30 minutes (automated)

Send a more detailed email that includes your credentials, a brief case study or testimonial, and a direct booking link. Keep it under 200 words. The goal is to give them something to read while they're deciding.

Touch 3 — Call attempt at 2 hours (manual or automated voicemail)

Leave a brief voicemail. Keep it to 20 seconds. State your name, company, what they reached out about, and say you'll follow up via text as well.

Touch 4 — SMS at 24 hours (automated)

"Hey [Name], still thinking about getting [service]? I have some openings this week that work well for most schedules. Want me to hold one for you?"

Why: This touch creates soft urgency without pressure. The word "hold" implies availability is limited without being manipulative.

Touch 5 — Final email at 72 hours (automated)

Subject: "Should I close your file?"

Body: "Hi [Name], I haven't been able to reach you — totally understand things get busy. I'll close your file for now, but if you still need [service], I'm here. Just reply to this email and I'll prioritize getting you on the schedule."

Why: "Close your file" has one of the highest response rates of any follow-up email subject line. It creates mild loss aversion and gives the lead an easy way to re-engage.

The Templates (Copy These)

Touch 1 SMS: "Hi [Name]! This is [Your Name] from [Company]. Got your inquiry about [service] — happy to help. What's the best time to connect today, or feel free to text back here."

Touch 2 Email Subject: "About your [service] request — [Company Name]"

Touch 4 SMS: "Hi [Name] — following up from [Company]. Do you still need [service]? I have some openings this week if you'd like to lock something in."

Touch 5 Email Subject: "Should I close your file, [Name]?"

Setting Up the Automation

The sequence above requires a few components working together:

1. Lead capture trigger — your contact form, booking page, or inbound call system sends the lead to your automation platform
2. SMS platform — to send and track texts (Twilio, OpenPhone, or a CRM with built-in SMS)
3. Email platform — Resend, Mailgun, or your CRM's email feature
4. Timing logic — rules that space out the messages and stop the sequence when someone books or responds

Most CRMs can handle this with built-in workflow automation. The harder part is the initial setup — mapping each trigger, writing the messages, and testing the timing. Once it's configured, it runs without intervention.

Tracking Results

To measure whether this is working, track:

• Lead-to-contact rate — what percentage of leads have a first conversation with you?
• Contact-to-quote rate — of those conversations, how many become quotes?
• Quote-to-booking rate — of quotes, how many become jobs?

Most contractors don't track these numbers at all. Adding this sequence typically improves lead-to-contact rate the most — from a typical 25-35% up to 55-65%.

The One Adjustment That Changes Everything

Standard follow-up treats all leads the same. A more sophisticated version of this sequence segments based on the lead source.

Someone who found you through Google with a specific search intent ("emergency HVAC repair") should get a faster, more urgent sequence than someone who clicked a Facebook ad. Someone requesting a recurring service should get different messaging than someone requesting a one-time job.

Once your base sequence is working and you've validated the timing, start creating variants for your highest-volume lead types. A 5% improvement in your quote-to-booking rate across 100 leads is 5 more jobs per month. That math compounds quickly.