Quick answer
Good HVAC quote follow up is three short SMS messages in the installer's name: a thank you on day 1, answers to the usual questions on day 3 and a note about install timing on day 7. The texts stop the moment the quote is marked won or lost. After day 7 you get a task to call on day 10, then quiet quotes move to a slower nurture sequence over 90 days.
Why does HVAC quote follow-up matter?
Because most quotes that are lost are not rejected. They go quiet. The homeowner means to decide, then work gets busy, the weather cools and the quote sits in their inbox. A short, polite follow-up in your name keeps the job alive and gives them an easy way to say yes, ask a question or say no.
A quote follow-up sequence is a set of short messages sent after the site visit, until the homeowner says yes or no. Ours is three SMS messages, on day 1, 3 and 7. Every one is in your business name and signed by the person who did the visit.
This part of the job is where a lot of installers leave money on the table. You drove to the house, spent an hour in the roof space, wrote a proper quote and then waited. Proper HVAC quote follow up is not chasing. It is finishing the job you started on the visit.
I look after onboarding and client operations at Scale Theory, and this sequence is one of the first things I set up with a new client. We are a new business with no client results to publish yet. What follows is the sequence, why each message says what it says and what to do when people reply.
What are the day 1, 3 and 7 follow-up texts?
Day 1 is a thank you with an easy way to ask questions. Day 3 answers the two things homeowners usually wonder about after a ducted quote. Day 7 is about install timing and gives them an easy way to say no. All three stop the moment you mark the quote won or lost.
Here is the full sequence, as a homeowner in Kellyville would see it after Dave from your business did the visit:
| Day | Example SMS | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | "Thanks for having us out yesterday, Sarah. Any questions on the quote, just reply here or call [your number]. Dave, [Your business]" | Says thanks, opens the door to questions |
| Day 3 | "Sarah, Dave here. Two things people usually ask after a ducted quote: how long install takes (usually one day) and whether the NSW discount is already in the price (it is). Anything else stopping you? Reply and I'll answer." | Removes the two common blockers, invites the real objection |
| Day 7 | "Quick one on timing, Sarah. We're booking Kellyville installs for [install window] and your quote holds until [date]. Reply to lock a date. If you've gone another way, no hard feelings, just let me know and I'll stop the texts." | Gives a real reason to decide, makes no easy to say |
The wording changes to fit your offer and the way you talk. The day 3 lines only go out if they are true for your business. If your ducted installs usually take two days, the text says two days. If the quote does not include the discount, that line comes out.
Why does each message say what it says?
Each text has one job. Day 1 builds goodwill while the visit is fresh. Day 3 answers questions before they become reasons to wait. Day 7 adds a real deadline from your diary and gives the homeowner permission to say no, which is what gets most quiet quotes a reply.
Day 1: the thank you
It is signed by a person, not the business. The homeowner met Dave. A text from Dave is a continuation of that conversation. It asks for nothing except questions, which is the easiest thing to reply to.
Day 3: the two usual questions
After a ducted quote, homeowners tend to wonder how disruptive the install will be and whether the rebate is really included. Answering both in one text, in plain words, clears two reasons to put it off. "Anything else stopping you?" invites the real objection, which is the one you need to hear.
Day 7: timing and a way out
"Your quote holds until [date]" is a real deadline, because prices and diaries change. "We're booking Kellyville installs for [install window]" comes from your actual diary. Never invent urgency. The last line matters most: "If you've gone another way, no hard feelings, just let me know and I'll stop the texts." People who would never reply to a sales message will reply to that. You get your answer, and often the reason.
What happens after day 7?
On day 10 you, or whoever did the visit, get a task to call. After that, a quote with no answer moves to Nurture: slower, useful messages over about 90 days, like a seasonal reminder or a note when your install window changes. Lost quotes get one reactivation message months later.
A phone call on day 10 is worth making. By then the homeowner has had three texts and a week to think. A short call from the person who did the visit ("just checking whether you had any questions on the quote") often gets a straight answer where texts did not.
After that, the pipeline does the remembering:
| Situation | Where it goes | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| No reply after the day 10 call | Nurture | A handful of useful messages over about 90 days, no pressure |
| "Not this year" | Nurture, with a date | A message timed to their season, such as before next summer |
| Marked lost, with a reason | Lost | One reactivation message months later |
| Marked won | Won | Thank-you text, install booking, review request after install |
Nurture messages are not sales pitches. They are the kind of thing a good local installer would send anyway: "We've got a few install slots before Christmas in [suburb], if you're still thinking about it", or a note that the rebate is still running.
How do you handle "we're getting other quotes"?
Agree with them, then help them compare properly. Getting several quotes on a $10,000 system is sensible, and the NSW Government itself tells homeowners to compare quotes. Offer a short checklist of what to compare, like system size, zoning, return air, warranty and whether the discount is on the quote.
The reply we suggest:
"Makes sense, Sarah, it's a big purchase. When you compare, check the kW size, how many zones, where the return air goes, the warranty on parts and labour, and whether the NSW discount is shown on the quote. Happy to talk through any of it. Dave"
That reply works for three reasons. It does not argue. It shows you know what a good quote looks like. And it gives her a way to judge the other quotes that happens to favour an installer who did the heat-load properly.
What not to do: drop the price in the same message, criticise other installers, or send "just following up" three times in a week. A price drop by text says your first price was not real. If you want to sharpen a quote, do it on the phone, for a reason, like a change in scope or a gap in your diary.
The NSW Government's own air conditioner upgrade incentive page tells homeowners to get quotes from multiple installers. Expect to be compared. Make it easy to compare you well.
How do you mention finance and the ESS rebate compliantly?
Only mention what is on the quote and true for that homeowner. For the NSW Energy Savings Scheme, say the discount is shown on their quote and do not promise a fixed amount. For finance, use the wording your finance provider gives you, do not promise approval and do not call it interest free unless it is.
The NSW discount
The NSW Government describes the air conditioner incentive as an upfront discount in the quote, indicatively up to $550 for a new 6kW system and up to $560 for replacing an old unit with a 6kW split. It also says those amounts are "indicative only", that not all models are eligible, and that the homeowner has to make a minimum payment (NSW Climate and Energy Action). So in a follow-up text:
- Say: "The NSW Energy Savings Scheme discount is already shown on your quote."
- Do not say: "Free $560 from the government", "rebate guaranteed" or any amount that is not on their quote.
Our post on using the NSW air conditioner discount in ads covers the ad side of this.
Finance
If you offer finance through a provider, they will usually have approved wording. Use it word for word. In a text, keep it to a pointer: "If spreading the cost would help, we offer finance through [provider]. Terms and eligibility apply, happy to send the details." Never say "approved", "guaranteed" or "no credit checks", and never say "interest free" unless the product actually is.
The SMS itself
The ACMA's spam guidance says commercial messages need consent, must identify your business with correct contact details and must include an unsubscribe option honoured within 5 working days. We treat follow-up texts as commercial. The consent line sits on the landing page, every text names the business, and the day 7 message plus a "Reply STOP" option covers the way out.
How do you track won and lost reasons?
Mark every quote won or lost in the pipeline, and pick a reason from a short fixed list. That one habit turns the Friday report from a guess into something true, and after a few months it tells you whether you are losing on price, timing, trust or follow-up.
The reasons we set up:
| Outcome | Reason options |
|---|---|
| Won | Price · Timing · Trust in the installer · Rebate or finance · Referred |
| Lost | Price · Went with another installer · Timing, not this year · Decided on a smaller system · Could not get strata or owner approval · No reply |
"No reply" is its own reason on purpose. If it becomes your biggest reason for losing, the sequence or the quote needs work, not the price. If "price" dominates, look at who the qualifier is letting through and at your price anchor on the landing page.
Worked example: what one extra won job is worth (planning assumptions)
About 12 to 13 booked quotes a month at $4,000 of combined Meta and Google Search spend
At a 30% close rate: 12.5 x 30% = about 3.75 jobs
At a 40% close rate: 12.5 x 40% = about 5 jobs
Gross profit per ducted job: $2,300 to $4,800
If follow-up turns one extra quiet quote into a job each month:
1 x $2,300 = $2,300 at the low end
1 x $4,800 = $4,800 at the high end
in extra gross profit a month. The close rates and profit ranges are our planning assumptions, not client results.
When do you ask for a Google review?
The day after the install is finished, by SMS, with a direct link. The same message asks the homeowner to reply first if anything is not right, so you can fix it before it becomes a one-star review. If they do not click, one email follows three days later. Then it stops.
"How's the new system going, Sarah? If everything's right, a Google review helps a small business more than you'd think: [review link]. If anything's not right, reply here first and we'll fix it."
The "reply here first" line is doing a lot. It catches the loose bulkhead or the noisy outdoor unit while it is a service call, not a public complaint. Never offer a discount or a gift for a review.
We set this up as an automated review request that fires after install, and because we also manage your Google Business Profile, each new review feeds the listing homeowners see when they search.
Eleven months later, the same customer gets a service reminder. That is the start of your maintenance book, and it costs nothing in ad spend.
The follow-up only works if someone marks quotes won or lost. That is the one habit we ask of every client, and it is what makes the Friday report of booked quotes, cost per booked quote and jobs won worth reading.
Does follow-up change for different parts of Sydney?
The sequence stays the same. The content of the day 3 and day 7 texts changes with the area. On the North Shore, federation and inter-war homes can have low roof spaces and period ceilings their owners do not want vents cut into, so day 3 for a multi-head quote might answer where the heads go and how the pipework is hidden. In newer estates, it is more about zoning.
The day 7 install window always comes from your real diary for that suburb. The whole sequence runs inside the pipeline described on our HVAC CRM automation page, and it only starts once the visit is booked, which is why speed to lead comes first. Better still, the quotes you follow up should be ones worth winning, which is what the six qualifier questions are for.
Alan
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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