Run every new inquiry through the same short list before it lands on your calendar. Copy it into your CRM, your phone notes, or a sheet taped by the office phone.
By the BlueSmith team · Updated
Fill in the brackets once with your own job types, service area, and budget bands, then save it as your standard script.
Read the form answers first, then work through the list on the first call so you only ask what’s still missing.
Paste the handoff note into the calendar invite so the estimator walks in knowing what the homeowner already said.
Written by BlueSmith as examples. Not client messages or results.
Homeowners who filled out a form hate answering the same questions twice. Start here.
☐ Read every form answer before calling ☐ Check the ZIP against your service area: [ZIPs / towns / max drive time] ☐ Note where the lead came from: [ad / search / referral / repeat customer] ☐ Search the CRM for a past estimate, past job, or duplicate inquiry ☐ Write down the one or two things you still need to learn: [ ]
☐ Job type is one we do: [your job types] ☐ Address is inside our service area: [towns / ZIPs] ☐ Size is in the range our crew takes on: [your typical project range] ☐ Not a job we refer out: [repairs we skip, commercial, insurance-only work] ☐ If it’s a miss, who we refer it to: [partner name and number]
Open question first, then the specifics.
Say it: “Walk me through what you’re picturing.” ☐ Areas, rooms, or systems involved: [ ] ☐ Current condition: [working but dated / failing / damaged / new build] ☐ Materials or finish level they have in mind: [ ] ☐ Anything they already know they don’t want: [ ] ☐ Asked them to text a few photos: [yes / received]
Ranges, not exact numbers. Use bands from your real jobs, not guesses.
Say it: “So we come out with ideas and numbers that fit, which of these is closest to what you’re planning around?” ☐ Range picked: [band 1] / [band 2] / [band 3] / Not sure yet ☐ If not sure: shared what this job type usually runs with us: [your range] ☐ Range fits the scope they described: Yes / Gap to talk through / No
Say it: “When are you hoping to have this done, and is anything driving that date?” ☐ Start window: [ASAP / 1–3 months / 3–6 months / still researching] ☐ What’s driving it: [selling the home / insurance claim / season / family event / nothing yet] ☐ Fits our current backlog: Yes / Needs a conversation about lead time
☐ They own the home, or the owner has approved the project in writing ☐ Everyone who signs can be at the estimate: [names] ☐ Other bids: [none yet / how many / already got one] ☐ Financing: Needed / Not needed / Wants to know options ☐ Best way to reach them: [call / text / email] at [best times]
Decide on the call. A lead with no decision is a lead nobody owns.
- Book now: job, area, budget, and timing all fit. Put it on the calendar before you hang up. - Call back: one open item, like a budget gap or a missing decision-maker. Set the callback for [within 1 business day] and name who makes it: [ ] - Check in later: good fit, wrong time. Mark it “Not now” with a check-in date: [date] - Pass: outside what we do. Say so plainly and send them to [referral partner].
Paste into the calendar invite or the CRM record.
Project: [job type, scope in one line] Address: [address] · Access/parking: [gate code, dogs, where to park] Budget range: [band] · Timing: [window] Attending: [names of decision-makers] Already told us: [anything they shouldn’t be asked again] Concerns: [past bad contractor, price worry, competing bid] Photos: [attached / requested]
Not automatic no’s. Each is a reason to ask one more thing before you drive out.
- Won’t share an address or even a ZIP - Wants an exact price by phone for work that needs measuring, and won’t take a range - The person who signs can’t make any estimate time you offer - Budget sits well below the range you shared, and they want to keep it there - Wants design drawings or a detailed scope before agreeing to an estimate
Leads drop out at every step: some never book, some don’t show, some don’t sign. See where yours go and what reaches the bank.
Revenue per month: $89,250
40 leads → 35% booked → 85% held → 30% closed at $25,000.
See what we’d build for these numbersStarts with example numbers. Change them to yours. Arithmetic only, not a promise of results.
Whoever answers first. The estimator’s time is the most expensive in the business, so the checklist works best in the hands of the office, a booking assistant, or the follow-up system that gathers answers before anyone calls.
Share what this job type usually runs with you and ask if that’s in the ballpark. A yes, a no, or a pause tells you nearly as much as a number would.
Yes, but shorter. The form covers the basics. The checklist catches what forms miss: who signs, what’s driving the date, and concerns worth knowing before the visit.
Watch your estimate-to-sale rate and how many estimates end in a budget surprise. If both improve over a few months, keep it. If good homeowners drop off, cut a question.
Seven questions. Two minutes. See the one part of your engine holding your projects back.
Show me where I’m losing jobsFree 2-minute assessment · No pitch, no obligationAvg response time 2.5 minutes
