How many times should you follow up on a roofing lead?

About six tries, spread over ten days to two weeks, mixing calls and texts. Then one polite last message that closes the file. Most roofers stop after one or two, and that's where a lot of jobs go missing.

It isn't that homeowners are rude. They're at work, they don't answer numbers they don't know, and the roof stopped being urgent once it stopped raining.

Why six?

The best-known study here comes from Velocify, a sales software company, in a report it called the Ultimate Contact Strategy. Looking across millions of leads from many industries, it found that the large majority of leads that eventually converted had been reached by the sixth call attempt. After that, the extra calls added little.

Two honest caveats. The data covered many industries, not roofing. And it came from a company selling follow-up software. Still, the shape matches what most sales teams see: the first try reaches some people, each try after that reaches a few more, and by about six you've reached most of the ones you ever will.

A two-week plan you can copy

• Minute 0 to 5: call. If there's no answer, leave a short voicemail and send a text right after. (Why fast matters: how fast should a roofer call back.)
• Same day, a few hours later: call again, at a different time of day than the first try.
• Day 1, morning: call. Early is good; people check their phones before work.
• Day 3: text. Keep it about their roof: "Still happy to take a look at the roof on Maple Street. Tomorrow at 9 or Friday at 2?"
• Day 5: call, early evening this time.
• Day 8: call and text.
• Day 12 to 14: the last message. "I don't want to keep bothering you. If you've already sorted the roof, no problem at all. If you'd still like an inspection, just reply and I'll set it up."

That last message gets replies, because it's polite and it's easy to answer. Some people write back "already done, thanks," which is useful too. It's a closed file instead of a maybe.

Rules that keep it from turning into nagging

• Every message is about their request. Their roof, their address, their inspection. No specials, no "limited time."
• Change the time of day. Six calls at 10 a.m. reach the same empty kitchen six times.
• Stop the moment they ask you to. "Stop," "not interested," "take me off your list," any of it. Write it down so nobody on your crew calls them again.
• Write down every try. A notebook, a spreadsheet or a CRM. Without notes, follow-up falls apart the first busy week.
• Keep to sensible hours. Federal telemarketing rules limit calls to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the homeowner's time zone, and some states are stricter.

When to stop

When they say no, when they ask you to stop, or when the last message has gone out with no reply. Then let it go. A homeowner who never answered six tries over two weeks isn't a lead anymore, and chasing harder won't change that.

The ones who did get a quote and went quiet are different. They're worth a second look later, and we'll cover how to go back to unsold estimates in a future guide.

Common questions

How many times should I follow up on a roofing lead?

About six attempts over ten days to two weeks, mixing calls and texts, then one polite last message. The best-known study found most leads that convert are reached by the sixth call attempt.

How long should I wait between follow-ups?

Call within minutes, again the same day at a different time, then spread the rest out: the next morning, day three, day five, day eight, and a last message around day twelve to fourteen.

When should I stop following up a roofing lead?

As soon as they say no or ask you to stop, or after your last message goes unanswered. Write it down so nobody else on your crew calls them again.

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