The 7-Day Quote Follow-Up Cadence That Doubles Close Rate (Contractor's Playbook)

You sent the quote.

It's been four days. Three. Five. You don't know exactly because you're on a roof in Pinecrest with the phone in your truck and a tear-off to finish before dark. The homeowner is "still thinking about it." You'll follow up "this week."

This is how a $14,000 job dies.

We've watched the same cycle on our own crew at Roofweiler for years, and after sitting with the data from hundreds of contractors on QuoteFollow, the pattern is unmistakable. The contractors who double their close rate versus the ones who don't aren't selling harder. They're following up on a specific cadence, and they're doing it without thinking about it.

This is the cadence. We chase. You build.

Why the standard "I'll text them in a few days" doesn't work

Most contractors operate on what I call memory-cadence: when you remember, you follow up. When you don't, the quote dies.

The problem is statistical. If you send 60 quotes a month and your memory-cadence rate is 50% (which is generous), you've abandoned 30 of them before they ever got a fair shot. Half of those would have signed with a second touch.

The other problem is timing. Homeowners aren't sitting around waiting. By day 7, your quote is competing with:

• Another roofer who quoted them yesterday
• A vacation they're planning
• A car that needs new brakes
• A spouse who wants the kitchen done before the roof

If you wait two weeks to follow up, you're not "giving them space", you're letting your competition out-chase you.

The 7-Day Cadence (what the data actually shows)

After tracking signed-vs-cold quote pairs across thousands of estimates, three follow-up patterns separate the contractors who close 30%+ of their quotes from the ones stuck at 15%:

Touch 1: Same-day "quote sent" confirmation email

Why: Anchors the homeowner's memory and gives them a copy they can find again.

What to include: PDF of the quote, brief next-step paragraph, your direct phone number.

Touch 2: Day 2, SMS only

Why: Day 2 is when 40% of homeowners have already forgotten which contractors quoted them.

What to say: "Hey [Name], David here from Roofweiler. Just making sure the quote came through clean on the [job type] for [property]. Any questions while it's fresh?, David"

Length: Under 200 characters. SMS, not email.

Touch 3: Day 5, Email with one concrete piece of new info

Why: Day 5 is the gap before they pick another contractor. You need to be the one they remember.

What to include: Photo of a recent similar job, a one-line testimonial, or a small concession ("if we lock this in this week I can hold the materials price").

Touch 4: Day 9, SMS check-in with a soft close

Why: Day 9 is the last shot before the quote enters the long tail.

What to say: "Hey [Name], wanted to check in one more time on the [job] quote. If now's not the right time, no worries, just want to know whether to hold the slot., David"

Touch 5: Day 14, Email closing the loop

Why: Closing the loop is what separates a "no" from "we'll get back to you."

What to say: "Hey [Name], I'm going to assume now isn't the right time. I'll move the slot. If your timeline changes, just reply and I'll pick it back up., David"

Touch 6 (optional): Day 30, Reactivation

Why: A meaningful fraction of "closed" quotes reactivate when touched at the 30-day mark.

This cadence, 6 touches in 30 days, mostly automated, with one human voice, is what doubles close rates in our data.

The math nobody runs

Take the contractor doing 60 quotes a month at 15% close rate. Average ticket: $14,000.

• Memory-cadence (status quo): 60 quotes × 15% × $14K = $126,000/mo revenue.
• 7-day cadence: 60 quotes × 30% × $14K = $252,000/mo revenue.

That's not theoretical. Adding a second and third touch to quotes that never got one is the highest-leverage move in residential trades.

Cost of the system: $79/mo flat.

Cost of NOT having it: the $126,000/mo you're leaving on the table.

The contractors I talk to don't dispute the cadence works. They dispute that they have the time to run it.

That's the part nobody automates well.

Why this falls apart manually

The standard answer is "I'll just set reminders in my phone."

Here's what happens:

• Tuesday's quote needs a Touch 2 by Thursday. You're on a roof Thursday.
• Wednesday's quote needs a Touch 3 by Monday. Monday a customer calls with a leak.
• The 60-quote month means 60 × 6 = 360 individual touches a month. That's 12 a day, every day, while you're trying to actually do the work.

This is the gap. The cadence works. Running it manually fails.

We chase. You build.

That's what QuoteFollow does: the 7-day cadence runs automatically. SMS goes out at the right hour. The email lands when the homeowner is most likely to read it. You see a single pipeline view, who's at Touch 2, who's at Touch 5, who's reactivated.

You don't run the cadence. The cadence runs.

You stay on the roof.

What this looks like in practice

A contractor's QuoteFollow dashboard on a typical Tuesday:

• 18 active quotes in the pipeline.
• 6 at Touch 1 (waiting for Touch 2 in 24-48hr).
• 4 at Touch 3 (highest engagement window, the email opens are at 60%+).
• 3 at Touch 5 (closing-the-loop messages, these are the "yes or no" replies).
• 2 signed this week ($28K combined).
• 3 in reactivation (day 30 touches went out yesterday).

No notebook. No "let me check my texts." No quote sitting silent for 11 days because Thursday got eaten by a re-shingle.

We chase. You build.

Common objections (and what we tell contractors)

"My customers will get annoyed."

The data says the opposite. The unsubscribe rate on QuoteFollow follow-up cadences is well under 2%. The non-response-to-touch-1 rate is 60%. Homeowners aren't annoyed, they're busy. The reminder is a favor.

"This feels impersonal."

Every message in the cadence is written in your voice, signed with your name, sent from your number. The automation is the SCHEDULING. The voice is yours.

"I don't want to look desperate."

Looking desperate is a 3-text-in-one-day pattern. The 7-day cadence is what a professional outfit does. The contractors who close at 30%+ are the ones doing this.

The setup

You sign up at quotefollow.co. You spend 5 minutes choosing your cadence template (the 7-day version above is the default, most contractors keep it). You connect your phone for SMS and your email. You're chasing within a coffee break.

$79/mo flat. Unlimited users. 14-day free trial, no demo, no sales call.

We chase. You build.

If you're sending more than 30 quotes a month and you can't honestly say each one got 3+ touches, the math says you're leaving 6-figures of revenue on the table this year alone.

That's the leak. That's what the chase plugs.

You stay on the tools. We run the chase.