More leads poured into a shop that doesn't follow up just leak out faster. Before you pay for another lead, find the ones you already paid for and lost: the call nobody returned, the estimate nobody chased, the finished job that never led to anything else. Size each hole with your own numbers, fix the biggest one first, and only then turn up the marketing.
Where does the money leak?
In a roofing or HVAC company, these are the usual holes.
| Leak | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Missed calls | A call goes to voicemail at 6:40 and nobody calls back until Monday. |
| Unfollowed estimates | The bid went out. Nobody checked in at day 3, day 10 or day 30. |
| Jobs with no next step | The work's done and the customer never hears from you again. |
| No referral or review ask | A happy customer who'd gladly send a neighbor, and nobody asked. |
| Slow collections | Invoices past 60 days that nobody wants to chase. |
None of these need new customers. They're about the ones you already have.
How do I size a leak?
Napkin math, with last month's numbers. Take unfollowed estimates:
Estimates last month ............ 24
Share nobody followed up ........ half → 12
Average job ..................... $9,000
Your close rate ................. 30%
12 × $9,000 × 30% ≈ $32,400 of work that got no second ask
That isn't money you'd win back in full. Plenty of those customers were never going to buy. But it tells you how big the hole is, and you can do the same math for past-due invoices or missed calls. Put your own numbers in. If you can't show the math, don't believe the number.
Why start with customers you already have?
Because they're the easiest sale you'll make. Kennedy and Buck cite Market Metrics figures putting the odds of selling to an existing customer at 60–70%, against 5–20% for a new prospect. Your last customer already trusts you. A stranger from an ad doesn't.
Dan Kennedy makes a related point: every finished sale should lead to a next step. A finished water heater job that ends with "thanks, bye" is a dead end. The same job that ends with a review ask, a referral ask and a note in the calendar for a flush next year isn't.
What to do this week
Pick one leak. Do the math. Fix that one before you touch the next.
Two of those holes, follow-ups and collections, are exactly what the crew drafts every night, along with missed-call text-backs and review requests. Your office approves what goes out. If you're within an hour of Austin, the assessment finds out which hole is biggest in your shop, measured on your own numbers. Or start with the scorecard.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which leak is biggest?
Do the napkin math for each one with your own numbers from last month. Whichever comes out largest goes first. Don't guess from gut feel; a leak you can't put a number on is a hunch.
Isn't the answer just more marketing?
More leads help once the shop keeps the ones it gets. Until then, a good share of every new lead walks out the same holes as the old ones. Fixing follow-up first makes every marketing dollar after it worth more.
What counts as a lead I already paid for?
Every call that came in, every estimate you wrote, and every customer you've already served. You spent money and time on each one. The question is how many of them heard from you again.
Sources
- Dan S. Kennedy and Shaun Buck, No B.S. Guide to Maximum Referrals and Customer Retention (Entrepreneur Press, 2016). Cites Market Metrics for the odds of selling to existing customers versus new prospects.
- Dan S. Kennedy, Almost Alchemy (ForbesBooks, 2019). The idea that money already inside a business leaks out before anyone captures it, and that each finished sale should lead to a next step.