Stop texting old leads "just checking in".
Everyone who asked about a job and never booked is already on your books. This is how to pull them into one list, clean it, and send three texts over seven days that give them a real reason to reply. None of them says "just checking in".
If you run a service business and your old enquiries sit in a CRM, an inbox or a spreadsheet, this is for you. The texts are written out for roofing, cleaning and heating and air.
What’s inside
- Who to pull from your old enquiries, and who to leave off
- The three texts, in roofing, cleaning and heating and air versions
- What to send back for every kind of reply, including STOP
- The sheet, with eligible and next_step worked out for you
- The whole checklist in one plain file
Build the list
Pull the old enquiries
- From your CRM, your inbox or your form tool, export everyone who asked about a job in the last 12 months.
- Leave out anyone who booked, anyone who is already a customer, and anyone who asked you not to contact them.
Keep only people who agreed to texts
- Type Y in consent_on_form only for people who ticked the box agreeing to be texted on your form.
- If your form never asked, type N. The sheet won't mark them for a text.
Paste them into the sheet
- The sheet rules out any row with no phone, a repeated phone, a ZIP code you don't serve, an enquiry more than 12 months old, or no Y for consent.
- A row with no ZIP code isn't ruled out, so check where the job was before you text them.
- No phone, a repeated phone and a ZIP code you don't serve are the CLEAN rules, applied to your own enquiries.
Text one, day 1: a reason to reply
It names who you are and the job they asked about, then asks one question they can answer in a word. Swap each {{field}} for your own details; {{month}} is the month they asked. Send during your working hours, from the number your business texts from.
Roofing
Cleaning
Heating and air (HVAC)
Text two, day 3: two real times
Only for people who haven't replied. Offer two real slots from your calendar.
Roofing
Cleaning
Heating and air (HVAC)
Text three, day 7: close the file
Only for people who still haven't replied. After this one, send nothing more to anyone who stays quiet.
Roofing
Cleaning
Heating and air (HVAC)
When they reply
Any reply ends the texts for that person. One named person on your team answers every reply.
Reply 1 or 2
- Send, or do
- Type Y in replied and booked.
Still want it, or ask a question (price included)
- Send, or do
- Your named person answers and offers two real times. Type Y in replied.
Got it sorted, or say no
- Send, or do
- Type Y in replied and stopped.
Reply STOP, or ask you to stop in any words
- Send, or do
- Send nothing else. Type Y in stopped.
The sheet
Open revive-template.csv in Google Sheets. The formulas assume the columns in this order, A to S. It has one example row; type over it.
A name, B phone, C zip
- What goes in it
- Their name, their phone in any format, and the ZIP code of the job.
D first_enquiry_date, E service_asked
- What goes in it
- The day they first asked, as a date, and what they asked about.
F consent_on_form
- What goes in it
- Y if they ticked the box agreeing to be texted, N if not.
G phone_digits, worked out for you
- What goes in it
- The last ten digits of the phone:
H days_since, worked out for you
- What goes in it
- Days since they asked:
I eligible, worked out for you
- What goes in it
- TRUE when the row has consent Y, a ten-digit phone seen for the first time, an enquiry 365 days old or less, and a ZIP code in your list in column S or no ZIP code at all:
J next_step, worked out for you
- What goes in it
- Which text is due, or Wait, Done, Replied, Booked, Stopped, Do not text:
K text1_sent, L text2_sent, M text3_sent
- What goes in it
- The date you sent each text. Text two shows as due two days after text one, and text three four days after text two. Type dates, not Y; anything else makes next_step read "Check the dates".
N replied, O booked, P stopped, Q notes
- What goes in it
- Y when they reply, Y when they book, Y when they say STOP or no. Notes for anything else.
S your_service_zips
- What goes in it
- The ZIP codes you serve, one per row. Column R stays empty. With column S empty, every ZIP code counts as yours.
Use the sheet
Import it
- Download revive-template.csv from the files below. In Google Sheets, choose File, Import, Upload, and pick it.
- Leave "Convert text to numbers, dates, and formulas" ticked.
Check it works
- Type 80203 in S3, under the example's 80202. The example row reads Send text 1. If its date is more than 12 months ago by now, type a recent date over it first.
- Type made-up rows under it and drag G2 to J2 down. A row with the example's phone written another way, like 303-555-0142, reads Do not text. A row with no phone reads the same, and so does a row with ZIP code 80401.
- Then clear columns A to F on the example and the made-up rows. Keep the formulas in G to J.
Add your list
- Type the ZIP codes you serve down column S, over the test ones.
- Paste your list into columns A to F, starting in row 2. Select G2 to J2 and drag the corner down to your last row.
Send, day by day
- Each working day, filter next_step to Send text 1, Send text 2 or Send text 3. Send those texts and type the date in the matching sent column.
Before you text anyone
These notes are general guidance, not legal advice.
No tick, no text
Text only people who agreed to be texted on your form. If your form never asked, leave them out of the texts.
An old agreement
They agreed when they asked about the job. Whether that covers a text months later is a question for your own adviser, and so is the exact wording of the box on your form.
Say who you are, and honour STOP
Name yourself and your business in the first text, and keep "Reply STOP to opt out" on every text. If anyone replies STOP, send them nothing else.
Take the files
The checklist
revive-checklist.txt
The list rules, the three texts for three trades, the replies and the sheet's columns with every formula, in one plain file.
DownloadThe sheet
revive-template.csv
With eligible and next_step already worked out. Open it in Google Sheets.
DownloadOpen a .csv in Google Sheets (File, then Import) or Excel.
The trades, names, jobs, dates and numbers on this page and in the video are examples to adapt. Nothing here is a result; it is a checklist.
The notes on texting are general guidance, not legal advice.
Three texts give quiet leads a reason to reply. Catching every new one is the system.
Lead Generation Group is a program that teaches you to generate your own leads and sets up the Lead Generation OS with you. The first 90 days focus on paid acquisition: Meta ads, the offer, the funnel, tracking, CRM and follow-up.
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