How To Reactivate Old Roofing Quotes By SMS

The short answer: send one short, friendly SMS to every quote you issued in the last twelve months that didn't turn into a job, wait a few days, follow up once, then close the loop with a final message. Most "lost" quotes were never rejections — the homeowner got busy, the money moved, the summer ended. A text costs them nothing to answer, which is exactly why it works where a phone call feels like pressure.

Why Old Quotes Are A Goldmine

Think about what an old quote actually represents: a homeowner who had a real roofing problem, found you, let you on their property, and received your price. Every expensive part of the sales process — being found, being trusted enough for a visit — is already done. The only thing missing is the decision.

And decisions get deferred for reasons that expire. "We'll do it after the holiday." "Let's get through Christmas." "I want a second quote first." Six months later, the leak is worse, the urgency is back — and whichever roofer happens to make contact that week gets the job. It might as well be you.

The Three-Message Sequence

Copy these, swap in your details, and keep them this short:

Message 1 — the check-in

Personal, specific, zero pressure. Naming the month and the job proves this isn't a blast; offering a price update gives them a practical reason to reply.

Message 2 — the nudge (3–4 days later, only if no reply)

This adds one honest, time-bound reason to act (your availability, the season) and makes replying effortless — one word.

Message 3 — the graceful close (a week later, only if still no reply)

The close matters more than it looks: it ends the sequence politely (nobody gets pestered), and "you've got my number" plants you as the firm they'll text when the problem returns.

The Rules That Keep It Welcome

• Only text people who enquired with you. These are your own past prospects responding to their own enquiry — not a bought list. Never text numbers you didn't earn.
• Identify yourself and the company in every message. An anonymous "still want that roof done?" reads as spam.
• Stop on request, immediately and permanently. One "no thanks" ends the sequence.
• Three messages maximum. The sequence above is the ceiling, not the floor.
• Send at civilised hours. Mid-morning or early evening on weekdays; never late night or Sunday morning.

What To Realistically Expect

We won't invent a percentage for you — response rates depend on how old the quotes are, how warm the original visit was, and the season. What we can say honestly: replies cluster into three groups — a few "yes, actually, can you still do it?", a larger group of "not yet, but thanks for checking" (future pipeline, worth its own diary note), and silence. Given that a single revived re-roof is worth £3,000–£8,000 and the sequence costs you a few minutes per contact, the downside is close to zero.

Doing It Manually vs Automating It

Nothing above requires software — a Sunday evening, your quote book and a cup of tea will do it once. The catch is keeping it done: next month's unconverted quotes need the same treatment, replies need answering within minutes to matter, and the follow-up timing needs tracking per person. That's the part that quietly dies in a busy season.

This is exactly what the old quote revival feature on RoofFlow's Grow plan automates: your past 12 months of quotes get the polite sequence above, replies are qualified instantly like any other enquiry, and you get a lead summary when someone bites. It runs alongside the missed call text back system, so new and old enquiries end up in the same tidy stream on your phone.