How to follow up on HVAC estimates that haven't closed?

Pull every open HVAC estimate from ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro or Workiz, call the customer the same business hour it went out, then again on days 2, 4, 7 and 14 until you get a yes, a logged no, or they ask you to stop. The reminder email already went out. The call is the part that is missing.

This is the habit for a 2-to-10 truck HVAC shop whose change-outs go quiet.

What “hasn’t closed” actually means

An unsold estimate is still open until someone sells it, dismisses it, or the customer approves it.

Status	Follow up?
Sent, awaiting response, or Open	Yes
Contacted, thinking, spouse, or financing	Yes, on the date they gave you
Sold, approved, or Won	No. Book the install
Lost, declined, or hired someone else	No. Log the reason and stop
Expired, then they call back	New quote. Pricing may have moved

ServiceTitan’s Follow Up screen (updated 2026-07-11) uses Open, Not Attempted, Unreachable, Contacted, Won, or Dismissed. Dismiss the ones they confirmed they do not want. On r/HVAC, shops still say most homeowners who go another way ghost you. Silence is not a no until you have asked.

Pull the open list

Work the office list, not last week’s memory.

• ServiceTitan: Follow Up, Unsold Estimates. Sort by value. Click Call the customer, then sell, log a next date, or dismiss. Help updated 2026-07-11.
• Jobber: Quotes in awaiting response. Quote reminders (updated 2026-02-20) sit on the schedule and remind you to call. Quote follow-ups (updated 2026-08-06) on Connect and up email or text the client up to twice.
• Housecall Pro: Pipeline, Estimates, then CALL. Pipeline automations (dated 2026-08-06) can resend the estimate, step First through Third Follow-Up, then decline it.
• Workiz: Estimates in Pending. Automations is a Marketplace add-on (updated 2024-01-31, read 2026-10-07). Stock template: email three days after; you can switch it to text.

Pull every open replacement, change-out, heat pump, furnace, and AC quote, with amount, age, notes, and last call.

A cadence that gets used

One CSR job post for this work asks for a callback within 30 minutes, then days 2, 4, 6 and 7. Five phone attempts in two weeks is a cadence a small shop can actually run. Leave the FSM emails and texts on. They are the safety net, not the call.

When	What you do	What you are trying to learn
Same business hour (day 0)	Call. Confirm the estimate arrived	Did they get it, and is there a first question
Day 2	Call. Text if you cannot reach them	Who else needs to see it, and is financing in play
Day 4	Call. Offer the next two open install slots	Timing vs price vs a second bid
Day 7	Call. Ask what is stopping them	A real objection, or a polite stall
Day 14	Last call. Close it won or lost	A reason in the notes, then dismiss

If they already gave you a date, park it and call then. If nobody answers, leave a short voicemail with your name, the shop, the address, and a callback number. Do not pitch into the mailbox.

There is no reliable public number for how much this raises close rate. Score it from your own FSM: open this month, called within a business hour, booked after a call, lost with a reason.

What to say on the call

Call as the shop, by the company name. Read the estimator’s notes first. This is a check-in, not a second sales visit.

Day 0. “Hi, it’s Maya from Northside Heating and Air. Luis was out at 18 Maple this morning. I wanted to make sure the estimate came through and see if you had any questions.”

They need to think about it. “What’s the one thing you’re still weighing?” Then stop talking. Price, the spouse, a second bid, payments, and “maybe we just repair it” are different next steps. Log the actual one.

Spouse was not home. “When can I catch you both for ten minutes on the two options Luis left?” Put that time on the follow-up. Do not keep calling the person who is not deciding.

Another bid or a price question. “Ours includes [the line items]. I can have Luis call you back on anything that looks different.” Do not drop the price on the phone.

Financing or repair-instead. Send the payment options from the visit, or book the repair and leave the change-out on file. Log financing as financing, not thinking.

Day 14. “I’m closing out open estimates and wanted to give you a last look at 18 Maple. If you went another direction, no problem. I just need to mark it so we stop calling.” Then dismiss it with a reason.

Tonnage, line-set, permit, or a different outdoor unit goes back to the comfort advisor. This call books, answers schedule and financing from the notes, and writes down the no.

What the FSM already sends

The field-service app wins the reminder. It is already in the plan, and it does not forget.

Job	FSM email or text	A person on the phone
Sends every time	Yes, on the schedule you set	Only if someone owns the list
Picks up the phone	No	Yes
Answers what the visit included	No, unless a preview bot is on	Yes, from the estimator’s notes
Books the install	If they approve in the portal	Yes, while they are on the line
Logs why they said no	Not captured	Only if you write it down
Cost	Included in the FSM	Time, a CSR, or a hire

Jobber’s two quote follow-ups and Housecall Pro’s Pipeline resends never miss a day. Workiz’s three-day template is the same once the add-on is on. ServiceTitan’s default path is a person clicking Call the customer; a Virtual Agent that texts unsold estimates is in Private Preview (updated 2026-09-30) and not on every account. Keep the reminders on. Add the call.

When to stop

• They said no, hired someone else, or asked you not to call. Dismiss it that day so CSRs are not calling dead quotes.
• They replied STOP, or they put you on their do-not-call list on the call. Honor it immediately.
• The FCC (updated 2026-02-27) prohibits telemarketing calls to the home before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. local time, and says telemarketers must comply immediately with a do-not-call request. This is not legal advice. Check with your own counsel.

Five attempts in two weeks, then a logged no, ends this estimate. A year-old quote they bring up again is a new conversation.

Who should make the call

The comfort advisor who was in the house wins the first call when they can make it. A CSR can run days 2 through 14 if the notes are in the ticket. The owner at 8 p.m. knows the job and burns the evening. One person has to own the list.

Four ways shops actually keep the list moving

1. Run the FSM as designed

Work the Follow Up screen, quote reminders, Pipeline, or pending estimates every morning, highest dollar first. Right answer when someone is at the desk. It breaks the first full week.

2. The estimator calls from the truck

Same-hour check-in from the person who wrote the quote. Best first call. It stops the afternoon the advisor has three more houses.

3. Hire someone whose job is the list

Job posts from 2025 list a sales VA for estimate follow-up at about $700 a month and an estimator or lead converter at about $400 a month. You still hire, train them on your price book, and check that they log the reason.

4. Use software that builds the daily call list from open estimates

A newer set of tools leaves the FSM in place, pulls open estimates, and puts each one on a call cadence so the office, or a caller working as the shop, actually dials. We make Escloser, which does this, so weigh that suggestion accordingly. Ask who is on the phone and whether every no gets a reason.

How to tell this week

Follow-up is working when yesterday’s unsold change-outs have a same-day call, thinking and financing have a next date, lost jobs have a reason, and Friday’s open list is shorter than Monday’s. If the list only grows, the reminders are sending and nobody is calling.

Open last month’s estimates in the FSM. Lay the open ones next to the phone. Start there. They already exist.