Build a lead funnel that fits the work you want
A flooring lead can start with a supplier conversation, a neighbor's recommendation or a homeowner finding your business online. What happens afterward determines whether that opportunity becomes a suitable job.
For a small crew, finding work and moving it toward an agreement belong in the same process. A useful funnel tells you where an opportunity came from, why it fits and who owns the next step.
Start with the jobs you want
Write a short description of suitable work: service area, project types, realistic capacity and the information you need before offering a site visit.
For our fictional flooring example, the homeowner wants luxury vinyl plank, or LVP, in a living room and hallway. The first conversation should establish location, desired timing, occupied-home constraints and whether the customer has selected a product. Those details help you decide what to ask next.
A job can be a good fit while still having unanswered questions. Record the questions instead of filling the gaps with assumptions.
Give sourcing a regular place in the week
Choose a few channels you can maintain. Keep your business listing accurate. Share recent work with permission. Build relationships with suppliers and neighboring trades. Follow up with past customers who welcome contact, including opportunities for referrals or another project.
Record the channel behind each inquiry. Over time, compare how many suitable conversations, site visits and agreed jobs each channel produces. That is more useful than counting names on a list.
Keep service requests visible too. A customer reporting a problem needs an answer before a referral request.
Give every opportunity a next action
Use a small set of stages that reflect your business: new inquiry, qualification, site visit, proposal, agreement and won or closed.
A stage is useful when it tells you what happens next. “Proposal sent” should have a person responsible for following up and a date. “Waiting for customer” should say what decision you need.
Ask which communication channel the customer prefers. Keep the discussion connected to the customer and proposed job, so a second conversation can start with what is already known.
Carry the conversation into the site visit
Before measuring the fictional LVP job, prepare a brief containing:
- Customer and property details.
- Lead source and preferred contact method.
- Rooms and desired result.
- Timing and budget context the customer shared.
- Selections and conditions still unknown.
- Next action, owner and date.
The person visiting the home can verify that brief and add evidence. The customer gets a more coherent conversation, and the estimator receives a clearer starting point.
Try it on your next job
Review three active opportunities. For each, write down why it fits, what is still missing and the next action with its owner and date. Then choose one sourcing activity to repeat each week and track the inquiries it produces.
See how ScopeAccord helps turn job information into a reviewable Wisconsin agreement.
More in this series: From first lead to final payment