Keeping up with the times: the speed to lead formula that closes 10x more HVAC sales
The homeowner has changed. Buying decisions happen faster, attention evaporates, and expectations for paperless, financing-ready, rebate-accurate proposals are higher than ever. If your team still walks out of a home with plans to “email the quote tonight,” you are already losing to the companies that can put a clean, complete, signable proposal on the table in minutes.
The Speed to Lead Game Plan: Book the visit. Put the price in front of them. Actually follow up.
Every HVAC company says they “value their leads,” but very few know how to take full advantage of them. The truth is simple. You already paid for the lead. What happens next determines whether you win or lose the job.
Here is the proven sequence that top-performing companies follow.
1. Get in the home before your competitors do.
Speed to lead is the first gate. You need to get into the home. Quickly.
Harvard Business Review found that companies who reach out within an hour are far more likely to qualify a lead than those who wait. InsideSales’ large-scale data shows the same trend. The longer you wait, the faster your chances collapse.
Responding quickly is not about being pushy. It is about securing the visit before the homeowner fills their schedule with other contractors. The goal is simple. Book the appointment now, not tomorrow.
But the real money is made in the home.
2. Price on site with clarity, confidence, and an easy decision.
This is where the winners separate from everyone else.
Homeowners want clarity, confidence, and an easy decision. Fast, accurate, on-site pricing wins at the kitchen table because it removes the friction that kills deals.
The data speaks for itself
• Proposals with built-in e-signature are 3.3 times more likely to close and close 30 percent faster.
• DocuSign reports that up to 80 percent of agreements finish within one day and 44 percent finish within 15 minutes. Digitized agreements cut time to close by an average of 41 percent.
• ServiceTitan reports that contractors who offer financing see 12 percent higher close rates and 13 percent higher average tickets.
• Rilla’s analysis of 62,000 in-home conversations found top closers spend about two hours in the home, not 45 minutes. High performers take time to scope properly, walk through options, and finalize the deal right there.
• Homeowners consistently rank “waiting for a quote” as one of their top frustrations when hiring home service companies.
And here is the uncomfortable truth
Nothing kills a sale faster than telling a homeowner you will “email the quote tonight.” The moment you walk out that door, competitors respond, financing disappears from their memory, rebates get muddled, and all the clarity you built in the home starts to fade.
If you cannot price at the kitchen table, you are forcing your consultant to play from behind. (And let’s be honest, you and I both know that quote is not getting sent that evening anyway.)
What on-site pricing needs to include
- Multi-option proposals that help the homeowner compare choices
- Honest, accurate after-rebate pricing based on their specific local programs
- Monthly payment options to reduce decision pressure
- Instant digital signatures, so the agreement is done before you pack up
When homeowners can see the real investment and sign on glass immediately, your close rate climbs fast.
3. Follow up with 7×7: The winning formula.
Even with a flawless in-home process, some homeowners still need time.
Most companies treat follow up as a loose afterthought. A call tomorrow, maybe an email later in the week. By then, the homeowner has already moved on.
The companies that consistently win unsold jobs use a specific formula.
The winning formula: 7 touches over 7 days
Hatch’s analysis of 163,000 HVAC estimates revealed a pattern.
• Average response rate was 60 percent
• Top campaigns hit 80 to 90 percent response
• The winning sequence was 7 touches across 7 days with short, simple messages
Structure beats hope. Predictability beats “checking in.”
When a homeowner leaves your table without signing, your follow-up becomes your closer. It must be consistent, clear, and automatic.
The combined impact: how much more likely are you to sell the job?
When you stack every advantage in this article, you create a multiplier effect.
Respond fast.
Present professional pricing at the table.
Show real after-rebate numbers.
Offer financing.
Use e-signature.
Run a 7-day follow up sequence.
Individually, each improves close rate. Together, they compound.
A contractor who follows the full sequence is more than 10 times more likely to win the job compared to the average HVAC company.
This is the difference between surviving and scaling.
The ROIgenie advantage
ROIgenie makes this entire playbook effortless. Your team does not have to manage any of it.
They show up, open the tablet, and everything is already built for them. Multi-option proposals. Verified local rebates. Accurate net pricing. Financing-ready totals. Instant digital signatures. And if the homeowner needs time, the estimate automatically enters a proven 7-day follow up sequence.
It is the fastest, cleanest way to squeeze every bit of value out of the leads you are already paying for. Contact ROIgenie to see the impact your business could have.
Works Cited
Harvard Business Review
“The Short Life of Online Sales Leads.”
https://hbr.org/2011/03/the-short-life-of-online-sales-leads
InsideSales (XANT)
Lead Response Management Research.
https://www.insidesales.com/research/lead-response-management-study/
Proposify
State of Proposals Report (E-signature Impact).
https://www.proposify.com/blog/state-of-proposals
DocuSign
Agreement Cloud: Time-to-Close Insights.
https://www.docusign.com/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-a-document-signed
ServiceTitan + Synchrony
Consumer Financing Impact Data.
https://www.servicetitan.com/blog/financing-trends
Rilla Voice AI
In-Home HVAC Sales Conversation Analysis (62,000 conversations).
https://www.rilla.com/blog
YourTradebase
“Quicker quoting wins more work” homeowner frustration data.
https://www.yourtradebase.com/blog/quicker-quoting-wins-more-work/
Hatch
HVAC Estimate Follow-Up Benchmark (163,000 estimates).
https://www.usehatchapp.com/blog