Work the list on set days
An unsold estimate is a quote you gave that hasn't turned into a job yet. Field-service software tracks them by that name: ServiceTitan has an "Unsold Estimates" filter on its Follow Up screen (ServiceTitan Help), and Jobber can send up to two automatic reminders on quotes still awaiting a response (Jobber Help Center).
The fix is a plan with dates, and a rule that every estimate ends as sold or lost with a reason:
| When | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| At the visit | Tech or comfort advisor | Written quote with 2–3 options, an expiry date, and "When will you decide, and who else decides?" |
| Next day | Same person | Call: "Any questions on the quote?" |
| Day 3 | Office | Text or email with the quote link, if they agreed to texts or email |
| Day 7 | Tech or manager | Call: ask what's holding it up |
| Day 30 | Office | Last check-in, or a reminder before the quote expires |
| After | Office | Mark sold or lost, with the reason |
These days are a starting point, not a rule. Emergency repairs decide in hours; a system replacement can take weeks.
What to say when you follow up
Ask what's in the way, then answer that one thing. The usual answers and a reply to each:
| They say | What to offer |
|---|---|
| "It's more than we expected" | A lower option: repair now, replace later; a smaller system; or financing (rules in advertising HVAC financing) |
| "We're getting other quotes" | What your quote includes that others may not: warranty, permit, cleanup, timeline |
| "I need to talk to my spouse" | Offer a short call with both, or send the options in writing |
| "Not now" | Ask when, and set that date in the software |
| "We went with someone else" | Thank them, mark it lost with the reason |
The reasons you record tell you more than the close rate. If most lost estimates say "price," look at your options and financing. If most say "never heard back," the follow-up itself is the gap.
The rules for calling and texting about a quote
United States
A quote request creates an "established business relationship" under the FCC's telephone solicitation rules:
"on the basis of the subscriber's purchase or transaction with the entity within the eighteen (18) months immediately preceding the date of the telephone call or on the basis of the subscriber's inquiry or application regarding products or services offered by the entity within the three months immediately preceding the date of the call" (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5))
A call to someone you have that relationship with is not a "telephone solicitation" (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(15)), so the national Do Not Call registry doesn't block it. What that means in practice:
- Free estimate, no purchase: you can call about it for three months.
- Paid service call or repair, then a replacement quote: that was a transaction, so the window is 18 months.
- A customer who asks you to stop ends it: their do-not-call request "terminates an established business relationship" (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5)(i)).
This covers live calls. Telemarketing calls to a cell phone using an autodialer or a prerecorded voice need the person's prior express written consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)). Automated texts have their own consent rules, covered in missed-call text back: setup and consent.
Canada
Sending the quote itself by text or email needs no consent under CASL when it "solely" provides a quote or estimate "requested by the person to whom the message is sent" (CASL s. 6(6)(a)). Follow-up messages that try to sell are allowed on implied consent when the person made "an inquiry or application, within the six-month period immediately before the day on which the message was sent" (CASL s. 10(10)(e)). If they bought something from you, the window is two years from the purchase (CASL s. 10(10)(a)). Identification and unsubscribe rules still apply; see CASL consent for texting and email.
Old estimates and slow weeks
Old unsold estimates are people who already let you in and saw a price. Before a slow season, pull estimates from the last few months for work that fits the coming weather, such as a declined AC replacement before summer.
Check the dates first. In the US, a free estimate older than three months no longer gives you a Do Not Call exemption, unless the person bought something within 18 months or gave permission to call (47 CFR 64.1200(f)). Calls that count as telephone solicitations must also stay between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., the called person's local time (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1)). In Canada, the inquiry window for texts and email is six months (CASL s. 10(10)(e)).
Example
Furnace quote, free estimate (Ohio)
A homeowner gets a free $9,000 furnace replacement quote in October. The tech calls the next day and on day 7 learns the issue is price. He offers a $6,500 option and financing. If she doesn't decide, the shop can call until January under the three-month window, then marks it lost.
Water heater after a paid repair (Texas)
A plumber charges $150 to repair a water heater and quotes $2,200 for a replacement. Because of the paid repair, the shop can call about the replacement for 18 months, unless the customer asks it to stop.
AC quote in Ontario
A Toronto shop quotes a CAD 8,000 heat pump in March. It texts the requested quote, which needs no consent, then two reminders in April under CASL's six-month inquiry window, then stops when the customer replies that they chose another contractor.
Different for you?
- Leads that never got a quote because nobody called back fast: speed to lead.
- Texting customers automatically: missed-call text back and consent.
- Customers in Canada: CASL consent for texting and email.
- Offering financing in the follow-up: advertising HVAC financing.
- Want every estimate followed up for you: Conversion Agent.