How to follow up leads and estimates in the US

GuideUSChecked 29 October 202613 primary sources7 min readUK version

The short answer

In the US, answer each inquiry quickly, send the estimate, follow up once after a few days and once more a week later, then stop. Commercial email must follow CAN-SPAM, with opt-outs honored within 10 business days. Marketing calls and texts made with an autodialer or prerecorded voice need prior express written consent under the TCPA.

How many times should I follow up on a lead?

Answer a new inquiry as fast as you can, then follow up an estimate twice: once after a few days and once a week later. Then stop, and note the date.

Common reasons an estimate goes quiet: someone else replied first, the estimate was a number with no explanation, it was not clear what happens next, or the customer had a question and no easy way to ask it. Silence often means busy, not no.

  1. The same day if you can: acknowledge the inquiry, ask what you need to price it and say when the estimate will arrive.
  2. The estimate: the work in the customer's words, what is included and what is not, the price and whether it is fixed, what happens if the job changes, and how and when you expect to be paid (see how to price an estimate).
  3. A few days later: a short message asking whether they have any questions.
  4. A week after that: one more, with an easy way to book or say no.
  5. Then stop, and honor any request not to be contacted.

What does CAN-SPAM require of follow-up emails?

CAN-SPAM needs no consent for email, but every commercial email, business-to-business included, must follow its rules (15 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.; 16 CFR Part 316).

  • No false headers or deceptive subject lines.
  • Identify the message as an ad, unless the recipient consented to receive it.
  • A valid physical postal address.
  • A working opt-out, honored within 10 business days (15 U.S.C. 7704(a)(4)).

FTC civil penalties reach $53,088 per email, the 2025 level the FTC kept for 2026 (16 CFR 1.98). As of Oct 2026.

Can I text a lead?

Yes, with care. The TCPA requires prior express written consent for marketing calls and texts made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)), so get that consent on your inquiry form before any automated follow-up, and have an attorney check the form's wording.

  • What counts as consent: a signed written agreement, e-signatures included, that names your business, authorizes marketing calls or texts to that number by autodialer or prerecorded voice, and says consent is not a condition of purchase (64.1200(f)(9)). Keep the signed record.
  • Autodialers: Facebook v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021), narrowed the term to equipment using a random or sequential number generator, but prerecorded messages, Do Not Call claims and state laws do not depend on it.
  • Opt-outs: honor one made by any reasonable method within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days (64.1200(a)(10)). A "stop" reply counts. As of Oct 2026.
  • Damages: $500 per message, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing, or actual loss if greater (47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3)). As of Oct 2026.
  • Hours: calls and texts only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone (64.1200(c)(1)).
  • Registration: business texting from ordinary 10-digit numbers (10DLC) needs your brand and campaign registered with The Campaign Registry, through your texting provider, before messages are allowed.

Can I call a lead whose number is on the Do Not Call Registry?

Within limits. No telemarketing calls or texts go to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry without consent or an established business relationship, which lasts 3 months after an inquiry and 18 months after a purchase (47 CFR 64.1200(c) and (f)(5)). As of Oct 2026.

So a lead who inquired can be called for 3 months, subject to the other rules here; after that you need their consent. A recipient who gets more than one call in breach within 12 months can sue (47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5)).

What do states add?

Several states go further, so apply the strictest rule for the recipient's area code and known address. Examples, As of Oct 2026:

  • Florida: calls only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time, and no more than 3 calls on the same subject in 24 hours (Fla. Stat. sec. 501.616(6)); separate consent duties and a private right to sue (sec. 501.059).
  • Maryland follows the Florida model (Stop the Spam Calls Act, Com. Law secs. 14-4501 to 14-4504, in force January 1, 2024).
  • Texas requires telemarketers to register (Bus. and Com. Code ch. 302), and some states keep their own Do Not Call lists.

Do I need a privacy policy for lead details?

Have one on your website saying what you collect, why and who you share it with. There is no single federal privacy law, and which state laws apply turns on where your customers live, not where you are.

California's CCPA, for example, covers a for-profit business doing business there with annual gross revenue of more than $26.625 million in the preceding calendar year, or that buys, sells or shares the personal information of 100,000 or more California consumers or households, or earns 50% or more of its revenue from selling or sharing it (Civ. Code sec. 1798.140(d)). As of Oct 2026.

The Academy covers selling the replacement at the kitchen table and winning HOA and commercial bids.

Greymill

How Greymill helps

Connect Outlook and every email is sorted to the specialist who can help, so a new inquiry reaches Sales & Quotes, which covers estimates, follow-ups and winning the work, including an estimate that went quiet. Writing drafts the messages in your style, Outlook can hold the drafts you approve, and nothing is sent unless you press Send.

Rules & Licensing tells you which rules apply to your business and drafts a data protection policy, and Marketing plans how you get found. The specialists share one memory, so the inquiry, the estimate and the customer's questions are known to all of them, and you can see, edit or delete anything Greymill remembers.

Your books change and an email goes only when you approve it, and conversations are not used to train AI. Greymill owes no professional duty and says when an attorney or other regulated professional must sign something off. Try it free for 7 days on full Scale access, no card needed; plans from $130 a month plus tax. See pricing, how it works and the FAQ.

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Questions owners ask

How many times should I follow up on a lead before giving up?

Twice is a sensible pattern: a short message a few days after the estimate asking if they have questions, and one more a week later. Then stop and note the date.

Do I need consent to email a lead?

Not under CAN-SPAM, but every commercial email needs an honest header and subject line, a physical postal address and a working opt-out honored within 10 business days (15 U.S.C. 7704(a)(4)).

Do I need written consent to text a lead?

For marketing texts sent with an autodialer or a prerecorded voice, yes: prior express written consent under the TCPA (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)). Damages run $500 per message, up to $1,500 if willful. As of Oct 2026.

Can I call a lead on the Do Not Call list?

For 3 months after they inquired, an established business relationship lets you make telemarketing calls, subject to the other TCPA rules; after that you need their consent (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5)).

What hours can I call or text leads?

Federal rules allow marketing calls and texts between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone. Florida is stricter, at 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. As of Oct 2026.

Sources

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