A web lead or a Google lead is a person who still has your form on the screen. Five minutes later they have requested two other companies. The shop that texts first, with a sentence a human can answer, books the call. The shop that promises "someone will call you" books whatever is left at 6 p.m.
This is the first text only. The six messages that follow once they are on the schedule live in the six SMS updates. The confirmation cadence is its own page. You do not need a call center. You need one person who can see the lead and one sentence that offers a window.
Where the text actually goes out. The costing log can store an optional phone number on a job. It does not send a text. It has no schedule, so it cannot send a booking confirmation, a day-before reminder, an on-my-way note, or a review ask. Send those from the phone in your pocket, or from the field-service tool that already holds the appointment. When the visit happens, log what they paid, the time, the miles, and the parts. That is the part this product does today.
Why five minutes, and not "when we get back to the shop"
They asked just now. The water is on the floor, the house is warm, or the outlet is dead, and they are comparing whoever answers. A perfect paragraph at 4 p.m. loses to a plain text at 9:07. Speed is the product. The wording only has to be clear enough to get a reply.
Same-day emergency leads are stricter. If you cannot be there, say so in the first text and offer the next real window. Silence while you check the board reads as a no. A no with a time still books a share of the work. Silence books none of it.
What the first text contains
Four pieces, and then stop. Company name. The fact that you saw the request. One question. A number if they would rather call. Their name if you have it.
Hi, this is North Side Plumbing. We got your request about the kitchen drain. We can be there today between 2 and 4, or tomorrow morning. Which works? You can also call 555-0148.
Hi, this is Hart Electric. We saw the note about the outlet in the bedroom. A tech can look today after 3, or first thing tomorrow. Reply with either one and we will lock it in.
Hi, this is Lane HVAC. We got the no-cool request. We have a diagnostic window today from 1 to 3. The diagnostic is $129 and comes off the repair if we do the work today. Want that window?
The HVAC version includes the fee because a diagnostic you did not mention becomes an argument in the driveway. Plumbing and electrical can name the trip the same way when the fee is how you work. Keep it in the first text, not the fourth.
What to leave out
- A link to a portal, a price book, or your homepage. They asked for a person. A link is homework.
- Three paragraphs about years in business. They will read that after someone shows up.
- A coupon, a financing banner, or a request to review you. They are not a customer yet. The review ask has its own timing, after the job.
- A vague "we'll reach out shortly." That is the text they have already ignored from someone else.
Write about the job they just requested. Use your company name. If they say stop, stop. If you are going to automate a blast to old customers, that is a different program and you should know what your carrier and your state expect before you turn it on. A reply to a person who just asked for service is the narrow version.
Who sends it
The person who can book. In a small shop that is often the owner, the spouse who runs the phone, or the office hire. It is not the tech who is on a roof with both hands full. Typing while driving is how the five-minute advantage becomes a wreck.
If the lead arrives after hours, the text can still go out. "We got this. First window tomorrow is 8 to 10. Reply yes and it is yours." You do not have to roll the truck at 9 p.m. to win the lead. You have to prove a human saw it. A call is better when the note says water through the ceiling. The text is what you send when you cannot talk yet, and what you send in parallel so they have it in writing.
Google, the web form, and the missed call
A Google lead and a form on your site are the same clock. Reply to the channel they used, and text if you have a mobile number. A missed call is faster as a callback. If you text a missed call, say you saw the call and ask what they need. Do not send a menu.
Keep a one-line record of leads you answered late. Not a CRM project. A note. If you bought the lead, that cost belongs on the job once the job exists. The costing log has a lead field for that. Default is zero. Type the fee on the jobs that came from a paid source. Do not smear it across the neighbor who called you directly. A $85 lead on a $225 drain is a different margin from a referral, which is the point of the plumbing service-call example.
After they reply
One reply is enough to offer the window. When they accept, the next message is the confirmation, with the date and the arrival range, not another sales text. That confirmation is the start of the confirmation sequence. If they go quiet, one follow-up later the same day is plenty. A third text is how you become the company they complain about.
Then put the job on the board you actually run. The costing app is not that board. It has no schedule, and a lead is not a job until someone is going. When the visit is done, log what they paid. Early access on this site is that log. The five-minute text is still yours to send.
Frequently asked questions
How fast should a contractor text a new lead?
Inside five minutes while the person is still on the form or the Google screen. After that they request two more companies. A text the next morning is a different conversation.
What should the first text say?
Your company name, that you got the request, one question that helps you book, and the phone number if they would rather talk. Skip the brochure, the portal link, and a list of services.
Who should send the first text?
Whoever can put the job on the board. A tech who is driving should not type it. If nobody in the office can answer in five minutes, the owner sends a short text and calls when the truck is parked.
Does the costing app send this text?
No. A lead is not a job yet. The app stores an optional phone number on a job you log after the work exists. It does not text leads, and it does not have a schedule.
Cost the job after it is booked
The text goes out from you. The calculator is where the visit gets a margin once they are on the board.