HVAC lead follow-up: the 60-second reply and the day 1, 3 and 7 texts

What is HVAC lead follow-up, and where does it start?

HVAC lead follow-up is every message between a homeowner's form and their final yes or no. It has two stages: getting a new lead onto your calendar, and getting a decision after the in-home estimate. Most contractors do some of the second and very little of the first. Both leak jobs.

I look after onboarding and client operations at Scale Theory, and this sequence is one of the first things I build for a new client. We are new to the US market and have no US client results to publish yet. What follows is the sequence we set up, the exact wording and why each message says what it says.

Two ground rules run through all of it. Every message goes out in your business name, signed by a real person. And every message stops the moment the homeowner books, buys, says no or texts STOP.

What should the 60-second reply say?

It should name your company, say what they asked about and offer two specific times for an in-home estimate. Nothing else. The goal of the first text is a booked slot, not a conversation about equipment. A call follows seconds later, so whichever channel they prefer, they hear from you first.

The first text:

"Hi Kevin, it's Tyler at Blue Ridge Air. Thanks for asking about a new system! We can have a comfort advisor out Thursday at 9am or Friday at 3pm. Which works better?"

Why it works:

• It is fast. The lead lands in the CRM and this text goes out within seconds, day or night, weekend or not. The AI receptionist handles replies until your VA or CSR picks it up.
• It is specific. "What we can do for you" is vague. Two times from your real calendar are easy to answer.
• It is short. Anyone can read it in a few seconds at a red light.

If Kevin replies with a question ("roughly what does a new system cost?"), the answer is honest and short, then the two times come back: "It depends on size and ductwork, which is why the advisor measures first. Most people want the number in person so it's accurate. Thursday 9am or Friday 3pm?"

What if the new lead does not reply?

Keep trying for three days, then stop. A missed first call is normal. People are at work, driving or putting kids to bed. We use a short run of calls and texts spaced across the first three days, each one offering times, and the last one giving the homeowner an easy way to say not now.

The full sequence, from the first minute to the last follow-up after the estimate:

What are the day 1, 3 and 7 texts after the estimate?

Day 1 thanks the homeowner and invites questions. Day 3 answers the two things people wonder about after an HVAC estimate. Day 7 gives a real install date and makes it easy to say no. Each is signed by the comfort advisor who ran the estimate, sent from your business number.

Here is the sequence as Kevin would see it after Mike, your comfort advisor, visited on Monday:

Day 1: the thank you

"Thanks for having me out yesterday, Kevin. Any questions on the estimate, just reply here or call me at [number]. Mike, Blue Ridge Air"

It asks for nothing except questions, which is the easiest thing to reply to.

Day 3: the usual questions

"Kevin, Mike here. Two things people usually ask after an estimate: install takes one day for most homes like yours, and the financing options are on page 2. Anything else holding you back? Reply and I'll answer."

The lines change to fit what is true for your business. If your installs usually take two days, the text says two days. "Anything else holding you back?" invites the real objection, which is the one you need to hear.

Day 7: timing and a way out

"Quick one on timing, Kevin. We have an install crew open [date], and your estimate is good until [date]. Reply to lock it in. If you've gone another way, no hard feelings, just let me know and I'll stop the texts."

The date comes from your real install schedule. Never invent urgency. The last line gets replies from people who would ignore a sales message, so you learn the answer and often the reason.

How do you handle "we're getting other estimates"?

Agree, then help them compare properly. Two or three estimates on a system that costs as much as a used car is sensible. Send a short checklist of what to compare, which shows you know what a good estimate looks like and moves the conversation from price to scope.

The reply we suggest:

"Makes sense, Kevin, it's a big purchase. When you compare, check the tonnage and whether they did a load calculation, the SEER2 rating, any ductwork changes, the warranty on parts and labor, and whether a utility rebate is included. Happy to talk through any of it. Mike"

What not to do: cut the price in the same text, criticize other contractors, or send "just following up" three times in a week. A price drop by text tells the homeowner your first number was not real. If you want to sharpen an estimate, do it on the phone, for a reason such as a change in equipment or a gap in your install schedule.

Do you need consent to text HVAC leads?

For automated marketing texts, yes. Federal rules require prior express written consent, and a homeowner can revoke it by replying with words such as STOP. We put a clear consent line next to the phone field on every landing page, and every sequence honors STOP immediately. This is general information, not legal advice.

The rules sit in 47 CFR 64.1200, the FCC's regulation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). What it says, in plain terms:

• Calls or texts that include advertising or telemarketing, sent with an automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a cell phone, need the "prior express written consent of the called party".
• Written consent means a signed agreement, which can be electronic, that clearly authorizes the seller to send those messages to a specific number, with a clear disclosure that the person does not have to agree as a condition of buying anything.
• A homeowner can revoke consent by "any reasonable method", and a reply of "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel," or "unsubscribe" counts. Revocations must be honored within a reasonable time, not more than ten business days.
• Telephone solicitations to residential subscribers are not allowed before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time for the person called.

What that means for your follow-up: collect consent on the form, keep a record of it, stop the moment someone opts out and keep sales texts inside sensible hours. State laws can add their own rules on top, so have your attorney look over the consent wording before you launch.

What is A2P 10DLC, and does it affect your texts?

A2P 10DLC is the registration system US carriers use for business texts sent from software through ordinary 10-digit phone numbers. If your follow-up texts come from a CRM, you need your brand and messaging campaign registered, or carriers may filter your messages and charge extra fees.

Twilio's documentation describes A2P 10DLC as "the standard that United States telecom carriers have put in place to ensure that SMS traffic to US end users through long code phone numbers is verified and consensual." Registration involves a Brand, which verifies who is sending, and a Campaign, which describes the message purpose and the opt-in and opt-out process. Twilio says registering "results in lower message filtering and higher messaging throughput", and that unregistered senders "will receive additional carrier fees".

We handle the registration as part of onboarding, in your business name, because the texts come from your number. It takes a little time to be approved, which is one reason we start the CRM setup in week one.

What happens after day 7?

On day 10, the advisor who ran the estimate gets a task to call. After that, an estimate with no answer moves to a slow nurture sequence over about 90 days. Estimates marked lost get one friendly check-in months later. Estimates marked won trigger the install booking and, after install, a review request.

The day 10 call matters. By then the homeowner has had three texts and a week to think. A short call ("just checking whether you had any questions on the estimate") often gets a straight answer that texts did not.

After install, the review request goes out automatically:

"How's the new system, Kevin? If everything's right, a Google review helps a local business a lot: [link]. If anything's not right, reply here first and we'll fix it."

The "reply here first" line catches a loose panel or a noisy condenser while it is a service call, not a one-star review. Never offer a discount or gift in exchange for a review.

What is good follow-up worth?

Usually more than another month of ads. Follow-up works on leads and estimates you have already paid for, so every extra booked estimate or won job adds revenue without adding ad spend. The simplest way to see it is to run the numbers on one extra job a month.

Does follow-up change for Charlotte HVAC contractors?

The timing stays the same. The day 3 content changes, because Charlotte is a mixed market: plenty of heat pumps, plenty of AC and gas furnace systems, and a utility rebate that only applies through participating contractors. The follow-up has to match the system and the rebate that are actually on the estimate.

The Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey shows about 55% of occupied homes in the Charlotte metro heat with electricity and about 41% with utility gas. So a day 3 text for a heat pump estimate might answer how it heats in January, while one for an AC and furnace changeout might answer whether both units need replacing at once.

Duke Energy's Smart $aver program advertises rebates of "up to $450" on qualifying central AC and heat pump installs, and only participating contractors can do eligible work. Duke also says "Mini-splits and ductless systems are not eligible". If you are a participating contractor and the rebate is on the estimate, the day 3 text can say so. If you are not, or the equipment does not qualify, leave it out.

The season is shorter than in Florida or Texas. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for Charlotte Douglas show about 49 days a year at or above 90°F. Some Charlotte homeowners who get an estimate in September will decide to wait for spring. That is what the LATER reply and the 90-day nurture are for: a check-in before the next cooling season, from the advisor who met them.

Local detail is on our Charlotte HVAC marketing page, and the full system that runs these texts is on our HVAC CRM automation page. If the problem is getting leads onto the calendar in the first place, start with our post on HVAC booked estimates.

Alan

Co-founder. Onboarding and client operations

Alan runs onboarding and the day-to-day of every account: the CRM, the booking flow, the follow-up and the Friday report.

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