Comfort advisor follow-up checklist: 30 days after an estimate

Give the checklist a home in your current system

You do not need a new CRM to establish accountability. Put these fields on the opportunity record or in a controlled spreadsheet your office already uses. Avoid a separate advisor notebook that nobody can see when the homeowner calls.

At minimum, record household ID, estimate version, delivery date, validity date, advisor, follow-up owner, status, contact permissions, preferred channel, last action, next action and due date. Keep consent evidence and suppression visible to anyone who could send a message. Store sensitive customer details with appropriate access controls.

Our starting cadence is one approved touch on days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 after delivery. It is a ceiling for scheduled nudges, not a quota. Replies and status changes take precedence. Use the template guide for wording and the five-touch overview for the sequence; use this page to manage the work.

Day 0 · Before leaving the home

• Confirm the homeowner’s stated problem and the replacement options actually discussed.
• Explain included work, exclusions and the genuine proposal validity date in plain language.
• Ask what remains undecided: scope, total investment, financing, another decision-maker or timing.
• Ask how the homeowner prefers to hear from you and follow the approved consent process. A mobile number alone is not permission to text.
• Agree a next step where possible, such as a requested callback, rather than assuming silence means continued interest.

Record the homeowner’s own words without adding a diagnosis you did not hear. “Needs to review the two options with partner” is useful. “Stalling” is an interpretation that does not tell the office what help to offer.

Day 0 · Office handoff after delivery

• Confirm the correct proposal reached the correct recipient and links or attachments work.
• Attach the approved version and validity date; remove obsolete versions from active sending templates.
• Name the accountable follow-up owner and backup person.
• Check consent, do-not-contact records, household duplicates and recipient time zone before any SMS scheduling.
• If running a measured test, record the household’s random assignment before added follow-up begins.

Make the next action specific: “Office asks whether the estimate opened tomorrow morning” is actionable. “Follow up” is not. If a quote is incomplete, place it in a correction queue with an owner instead of enrolling it in reminders.

Day 1 · Verify receipt and watch for replies

Choose the permitted channel and ask one question about receipt or understanding. Before sending, verify no advisor has already arranged a conversation. For SMS, use a verified recipient-local window (our default is 9 a.m.–6 p.m.).

• Confirm the inbox or phone number is monitored during the agreed coverage period.
• Check failed deliveries and correct contact records through an authorized process.
• Pause scheduled messages on any reply and assign it to a named person.
• Record the response, next step and due time after handling it.

Unknown time zone or missing appropriate written SMS consent means hold the text. The SMS template guide covers the operating safeguards and verified federal source links.

Days 3–7 · Resolve the actual question

Use the day-3 touch to address the issue identified at the visit. Use day 7 to offer an advisor conversation if the household remains eligible and undecided. Do not send both just because the calendar says so when a reply already created a different plan.

• For price concerns, clarify scope and suitable approved options before discussing any concession.
• For financing, use current approved lender information and the authorized handoff.
• For another decision-maker, offer a summary or a joint call arranged by the customer.
• For competing quotes, compare known scope and mark unknown details honestly.
• For technical or warranty questions, route to the person authorized to answer.

Keep a reply from being passed between the CSR and advisor without an owner. Set a realistic internal response target and an escalation route if it is missed. Do not promise a callback time until someone has accepted it.

Day 14 · Establish whether the plan changed

Ask whether the homeowner is still considering the proposal, planning for later or taking another direction. Update the status from what they say, and use the decision-barrier guide when the reason needs clarification.

• Record a confirmed loss without continuing to sell against an already made decision.
• For “later,” agree a date and permitted channel if a reminder is wanted, then stop the active sequence.
• Keep “no response” separate from “lost to competitor” and from “not replacing.”
• Check proposal expiry before approving the remaining scheduled touch.

An expired quote is a stop condition even if day 28 has not arrived. An advisor must review any future revision. The office should not keep a stale price alive by repeating it in messages.

Days 28–30 · Close the scheduled loop

If the estimate is still valid and eligible, send the final scheduled message with a simple route back to the company. Do not imply permanent availability or a reserved installation slot. End the sequence after the message.

• Confirm every scheduled job and sending tool reflects the end of the sequence.
• Record the final status, known reason, last contact and any customer-agreed future action.
• Keep unknown reasons unknown instead of filling the report with guesses.
• Check that an opt-out, wrong number or complaint has not remained in another active queue.

Thirty days is an operating review point, not proof a sale can no longer happen. Preserve records under your retention policy so a returning homeowner can get a coherent answer without restarting the same conversation.

The owner’s weekly review

Look for open opportunities with no next action, overdue replies, expired proposals still queued, duplicate contacts and unresolved complaints. Review a few real records with the advisor and office so the discussion stays about observable work.

Separate activity from business outcomes. Messages and callbacks can help diagnose the process; they do not prove incremental sales. Compare sold households over equal windows using the measurement guide. Disclose missing data and inconclusive comparisons.

Try this checklist on the next eligible batch before buying another tool. If consistent execution is the gap, explore GablePath Follow-Up and use the ROI calculator with your own contribution and cost assumptions. Keep pricing, financing and technical decisions with your authorized team.

Frequently asked questions

This is GablePath’s suggested operating checklist for residential HVAC replacement estimates. The day numbers and review routines are practical defaults, not evidence of an optimal cadence or a guarantee of sales.