DRAFT — not published or linked anywhere

July 2, 2026 · 1 min read

The estimate that never got a second touch

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What the leak looks like

A rep sends the quote — software demo recap or a water-heater estimate, same thing — and then the thread goes quiet. Nobody owns touch two.

  • Day 0: quote goes out, everyone feels productive
  • Day 3: the prospect has questions and asks nobody
  • Day 9: a competitor answers the phone instead
  • Day 30: the deal is marked “lost — price”

It wasn’t price. It was silence.

What it costs

Quotes/monthClose rate lift from touch 2–4Avg dealMonthly leak
20+10 pts$4,000$8,000
50+10 pts$9,000$45,000

The system that fixes it

  1. Every sent quote enters a 14-day cadence automatically
  2. Every reply cancels the cadence — a human takes over
  3. Every no-response gets a clean break-up note
Touch 1 — Day 1: "Did the quote come through okay?"
Touch 2 — Day 3: one specific question about scope
Touch 3 — Day 7: the option to adjust
Touch 4 — Day 14: close the loop

The cadence is the system. The CRM is just where it happens to run.