Stop Losing Jobs

Here's the thing though.

You're not losing work because your prices are too high or because somebody else is better than you. You're losing it because somebody called at 2:15 while you were up on a roof or under a sink or with a customer, and by 2:20 they'd already called the next name on the list.

You will never know about that job. It doesn't show up anywhere. It's not in your numbers. It just quietly didn't happen.

That is the most expensive thing in your business and you can't even see it.

Every one of these is reversible and none of it can hurt anything. Worst case you turn it off. Stop being afraid of the shit you have complete control over.

1. Missed call text-back (do this one first)

Somebody calls, you don't pick up. Within sixty seconds they get a text.

That's it. That's the whole thing. And it's the highest return thing I've ever set up, by a mile.

The text:

Hey, it's [your name] with [business]. Just missed you, I'm out on a job.
What do you need? I'll get right back to you.

Why it works: they were already holding their phone. Now instead of a dead end, you've got the lead in writing, and you answer it at lunch instead of losing it forever.

Don't overthink the wording. Short, human, sounds like you. The ones that read like a corporate auto-reply get ignored.

What it will NOT do: close the job for you. It just makes sure the call doesn't disappear. That's plenty.

Rest of it's yours

Drop your email and the whole thing opens up right here. No waiting on a confirmation, no download, nothing to install.

You'll also get the new ones as I make them. Leave whenever, no hard feelings.

2. New lead gets an answer immediately

Somebody fills out a form on your site or messages you. Right now that sits until you check your phone.

Set it up so they hear something back right away, then use this to write the reply:

Write a short reply to a new customer inquiry.

My business: [what you do]
What they asked about: [paste their message]
My typical next step: [site visit / phone call / send a quote]

Rules:
- Under 80 words
- Sounds like a real person, not a company
- Answer their actual question if I can answer it
- End with one specific next step and a time
- No "thank you for reaching out"

Speed beats polish every single time. A decent answer in five minutes destroys a perfect answer tomorrow.

3. Quote follow-up, three touches, automatic

You send a quote. They say they'll think about it. Then nothing, and you feel weird about calling.

So you don't call. And the job dies of silence.

Three touches. That's it:

Day 3:

Hey [name], just making sure that quote came through okay.
Any questions on it?

Day 7:

[name], still happy to do this one. If the timing's not right, no problem at all, just let me know either way so I can plan my schedule.

Day 14:

Last one from me on this. Closing it out on my end, but if it comes back around, you've got my number.

That third one does more than the other two combined. "Closing it out" gets a response from people who've ignored you for two weeks. Something about it being the last one.

None of this is pushy. Three messages over two weeks about work they asked you for is not pestering. Not following up is just leaving money on the table because you felt awkward.

4. Ask for the review the same day

The job's done, they're happy, you're already on to the next thing and you never ask.

Two weeks later they don't remember it well enough to write anything.

Same day, while they still like you:

[name], really appreciate you having us out.
If you've got 30 seconds, a quick review helps us more than you'd think: [link]
Either way, thanks. Call me anytime.

Use this to write yours:

Write a review request text for [type of business].
Job we just finished: [what you did]
Tone: grateful, not begging, under 40 words.
Include a spot for the review link.
Do not use the word "amazing."

5. The past-due invoice nudge that isn't awkward

Nobody wants to make this call. So the invoice just sits there.

Hey [name], invoice [#] from [date] is showing open on my end.
Might already be handled, my bookkeeping isn't always instant.
If not, here it is again: [link]

"Might already be handled" is the whole trick. It gives them an out, so nobody gets defensive, and it goes out on time instead of three months late because you dreaded sending it.

6. Win back the customers who went quiet

This is free money and everybody ignores it.

You've got a list of people who paid you once and never came back. Not because they were unhappy. Because you both got busy and nobody called.

Go through this customer list and find everybody who bought once and hasn't been back in over a year.

[paste your list]

For each one, write me a short text that:
- Reminds them who I am and what I did for them
- Doesn't sound like a mass message
- Gives them a real reason to call now
- Stays under 50 words

Then read every single one before you send it. It will get some of them wrong.

The cheapest customer you will ever get is the one who already paid you once and forgot you exist.

7. Voicemails become a written list

You get voicemails all day. You listen to them at night, half of them you can't hear, you write two down on a napkin and lose it.

Get them transcribed and dumped into one list you read with your coffee. Most phone systems do this now and people don't turn it on.

Then:

Here are my voicemails from yesterday.
[paste transcripts]

Give me a list sorted by which ones are worth money and which can wait.
For each: who called, what they want, what I should do, and how urgent it actually is.
Be honest about which ones are nothing.

Twenty minutes of listening becomes two minutes of reading.

8. The no-show rebook

They didn't answer the door. You burned a trip. Don't let the job die there.

Hey [name], swung by at [time] and didn't catch you.
No worries at all. What day works better?

No guilt trip. No "I wasted my morning." You want the job, not the apology.

What to check before you trust any of it

Watch the first week. Actually read what goes out before you let it run on its own.

It will get names wrong. It will occasionally write something that sounds nothing like you. It doesn't know that one customer is a pain in the ass and one is your best account.

Fix those, then let it run.

And keep this in your head: none of this is you being lazy. It's automating the stuff that falls through the cracks because you're actually out working. That's a different thing entirely.

Where to start if you only do one

Missed call text-back. Not close.

It pays for itself the first week, every time, in every business I've ever seen it in. Salon, dental office, plumber, gym, law office, shop out of the garage. Doesn't matter.

Do that one this week. Do the rest whenever.

— Jordan