Lead follow up for contractors: what to send, and when
A homeowner tells you “maybe in spring” in October. In March they call whoever is still in their phone.
Lead follow up is everything that happens after your first reply to turn an inquiry into a booked appointment. For a remodel it runs for months, so a two-week schedule quits while the homeowner is still picking cabinets.
Here’s a schedule to day 90, the texts to send, what to do with the not-ready pile, and when to stop.
Itai BenistyFounder, Smarter Contractor9 min read
9.5 months
the average kitchen renovation's planning time (2026 Houzz & Home Study)
5%
of homeowners were ready to schedule at first contact (Modernize, a lead company's survey)
86%
would likely come back to a contractor once ready, if the first talk felt helpful (same survey)
Where a published schedule stops
What it is
What is lead follow up, and why does it take months for a remodel?
Two jobs get called follow-up. The first reply is a speed job. The long follow-up is a memory job: somebody has to remember the kitchen on Maple in week seven.
Page one of Google is sales software talking to sales reps, and the one page that prints a schedule ends at day 14 with a “break-up email”, which is a strange thing to send someone who asked about backsplash.
In Modernize’s January 2026 survey, 65% of homeowners expected to research for a month or longer, and only 5% were ready to schedule at first contact.
So an owner can be fast and still lose the job: they won the first hour and forgot about week seven.
Speed to lead
What is speed to lead?
Speed to lead is how fast you answer a new lead. Reply within a minute or two, because they’re still holding the phone.
We reply in under 30 seconds on our accounts, day or night. The research, whose fault it is when leads don’t answer, and a test you can run on your next 20 leads are in speed to lead for contractors.
The schedule
How to follow up on a sales lead when they don’t answer.
Text first. In Pew’s 2020 survey, 80% of US adults said they generally don’t answer calls from unknown numbers, and 67% said they’d check a voicemail if one was left. So text, then call once they’ve replied, and leave one short voicemail when you do. The schedule below is our suggestion for a remodel, not a study.
First minute to day 14
The fast reply, the qualifying and retries at different times.
A system, plus whoever owns follow-up
Day 21
Their project as the reminder, and one easy question about timing.
A system
Day 30
"When should we check back?" The answer goes on a calendar.
A system, or you if you've visited
Day 60
"Hi Sarah, this is Natasha with [Your Company]. [Owner] just finished a kitchen a lot like yours. Want a few photos while you're planning?"
A system, and you pick the photo
About day 90
Still planning, later, or all set? Ask if it's OK to keep in touch.
You on quoted jobs, a system on the rest
The date they gave you
It beats everything above. Come back that day, about that project.
Whoever they last talked to
Any stop, hire or no
Nothing more goes out.
A system, the same day
The first two weeks, minute by minute, are in the speed to lead post.
Every message carries three things: who you are and what it’s about, one easy question, and a reason to answer. “Just checking in” has none of them. It’s the text version of standing in someone’s driveway with your hands in your pockets.
Day 30
- Natasha: Hi Sarah, this is Natasha with [Your Company]. [Owner] asked me to check in on your kitchen. Totally fine if the timing isn't right yet. Give us a date and we won't text before then. When would be a good time for us to check back?
- Homeowner: Probably after the holidays. We're still looking at cabinets.
- Natasha: Perfect, thank you. We'll check back in January. Want a few photos of a kitchen we just finished while you're looking?
The not-ready pile
A “not now” is a date you haven’t asked for yet.
Ask when to come back, write it down, and come back that day. In Modernize’s survey, 86% said they’d likely contact the same contractor again once ready, as long as the first talk felt helpful and low pressure.
One remodeler finally went back through a list of old leads, and what came back was “we’re just starting to look or we’re three to six months away.” Those people weren’t dead leads. They were early, and they’d been filed under dead because nobody asked.
This can be the most valuable list in your business, and it’s easy to lose in a text thread you scrolled past in August. Give it a real home with a date on every name.
After a quote
How do you follow up on a quote?
Before you leave the house, say what happens next and when you’ll check in. Then do it, usually within a few days, and ask one question about the quote itself.
Modernize’s 2024 survey has most homeowners comparing two or three quotes, so silence can just mean they’re still comparing.
One GC in an owner thread figures about 1 in 5 go quiet after a quote that took six to eight hours to put together, which is one person’s count and still hurts to read.
Stop or keep going
They said stop, or anything that means it
They hired someone else
They said no
They said "not yet": ask for a date
They went quiet: keep the schedule to about day 90
When to stop
When should you stop following up?
Stop on a stop, a hire or a no, the same day. Otherwise, ask one plain question at about three months: still planning, later, or all set? If nothing comes back, go quiet.
Skip the “should I close your file?” text, even though it gets printed as a template. It takes away the reason to answer, and it’s a homeowner’s kitchen, not an insurance claim.
A junk remover in one thread warns against getting naggy with daily texts, and that’s right: pushy tactics topped Modernize’s list of what makes homeowners least likely to hire.
Who owns it
Who should own lead follow up?
One named person per job, or it belongs to nobody. Sales guides assume a rep with a CRM. A remodeler has a truck and a phone.
A system does this
The first text, in under a minute
Reminders on the date they gave you
Keeping every lead on a list with a next step
Confirmations before the visit
Only you can do this
The call once they've replied
The walkthrough and the quote
The conversation about money
Telling them you'd love to do the job
You can automate the remembering. You can’t automate caring about the job, and an assistant should always say who it works for. Which pricing models pay someone to do the chasing is in pay per lead vs pay per appointment.
Want us to check what happens to your leads after the first text?
We’ll look at your leads, your cost per appointment and your follow-up, and tell you straight what we’d change.
The rules
The rules on texting and calling leads, in plain words.
This is our reading of the rules, and it isn’t legal advice. Ask a lawyer about your state.
Stop means stop.
Words like stop, quit, cancel or unsubscribe count, and so does anything a reasonable person would read as a request to stop. Honor it within ten business days at the outside, and sooner is better.
Mind the hours.
Federal rules bar telephone solicitations before 8am or after 9pm, the homeowner's local time. Some states are tighter: Florida says 8pm.
Get it on the form.
Your form needs a clear consent line that says who will text them. A signature can be electronic.
Register your texting.
Anyone sending texts from an application to US numbers over a standard local number has to register first.
“I especially like that they focus not only on generating leads, but also on the follow-up and appointment-setting side, which makes a big difference.”
Straight answers
The questions contractors ask about follow-up.
What does lead follow up mean?
Lead follow up is everything you do after the first reply to turn an inquiry into a booked appointment: texts, calls, reminders and check-ins. For a remodel it usually runs for months, because homeowners take months to decide.
How many times should you follow up with a lead?
Keep going, spaced out, until they say no, hire someone else, ask you to stop or stay quiet past about three months. The first two weeks can hold several attempts. After that, one touch every few weeks is plenty. When they give you a date, use it.
What does speed to lead do?
Speed to lead is how fast you answer a new lead. A reply within minutes reaches the homeowner while they're still thinking about the project. It gets you the conversation, and follow-up is what keeps it going.
How long should you keep following up on a remodeling lead?
About three months of regular touches, then ask plainly whether to keep in touch. Houzz puts average kitchen planning at 9.5 months, so a two-week schedule ends while many homeowners are still deciding.
Is it OK to text a lead who filled out a form?
Generally yes, if your form has a consent line naming who will text them. Stop the moment they ask, and stay inside calling hours. Rules vary by state, so ask your lawyer.
What do you say when a lead goes quiet?
Say who you are, name their project, ask one easy question: "When would be a good time for us to check back?" Skip "just checking in", and never threaten to close their file.
Founder, Smarter Contractor. Runs the ads, the qualifying and the booking for kitchen and bath remodelers, one per market.
See your numbers first
Someone has to remember the kitchen on Maple.
We handle the whole process: the ads on your own account, the reply in 30 seconds, the qualifying, the booking, the reminders and the follow-up, with Natasha, our AI assistant, as the safety net so no lead gets forgotten. How it works is on the system and marketing for remodelers. Answer a few quick questions and I’ll tell you whether your market is open.
Read next: what a qualified appointment actually is.
What type of jobs are you looking to book more of?
Sources
Every outside number and rule on this page, opened 2 November 2026. Pew’s survey is from 2020, and Modernize sells leads, so its surveys are labelled. Reddit lines are single owner reports, read through archive copies. This isn’t legal advice.
- Houzz, 11 things to know about home renovations today, 2026 U.S. Houzz & Home Study (1 May 2026)
- Modernize, early homeowner interest into future appointments (January 2026, more than 3,000 homeowners, a lead company's survey)
- Modernize Homeowner Insights, contractor selection trends (2024, a lead company's survey)
- Pew Research Center, most Americans don't answer cellphone calls from unknown numbers (survey of July 2020)
- 47 CFR 64.1200, the federal rules on calls and texts (Cornell's copy)
- Florida Statutes 501.616, 2025
- Twilio, A2P 10DLC registration
- Romify, following up on leads without being pushy (a B2B schedule)
- Reddit r/Construction, ghosted after a quote (owner report, archive copy)
- Reddit r/smallbusiness, how do you follow up on quotes (owner reports, archive copy)