Use cases / Plumbing / Quote follow-up
Water-heater replacement quote follow-up
Water-heater quotes go out, and many are never followed up.
The business case
Incremental-lift model: baseline lost volume × lift × job value × gross margin − running cost. Every input below is an illustrative assumption, not an industry statistic. Measure the client's real baseline first.
- Baseline: 5 open water-heater quotes per week with no follow-up today
- Average job value $2,200, gross margin 40%, running cost $100/mo, setup $1,200
| Case | Lift (extra booked jobs ÷ baseline) | Extra gross profit / mo | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 2.5% | $376 | 3.2 months |
| Expected | 5.0% | $853 | 1.4 months |
| Optimistic | 7.5% | $1,329 | 0.9 months |
Requirements & gating
- Jobber: public GraphQL API using OAuth. A custom integration can connect to up to 5 Jobber accounts without App Review; beyond that it must pass Marketplace review. verified
- Housecall Pro: the public API and webhooks are MAX plan only, and the owner generates the API key. Webhook events include
estimate.sent,job.completed,lead.created,invoice.paid. verified - ServiceTitan: API access is partner-gated (Request Access, then a verification that takes roughly 3–5 business days). ServiceTitan tells customers not to give third-party developers admin access or API keys, and to contact ServiceTitan Integrations first. Plan for this before you quote. verified
- Business SMS (US): requires A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration, with sample messages, a verifiable opt-in flow, and opt-out language. Since June 30, 2026, new campaigns must include public privacy policy and terms URLs, and the privacy policy must say mobile and consent data isn't shared for marketing. A sole-proprietor campaign is limited to one number. verified
- Zapier, Make, and n8n connectors for the job-management app: not verified. Confirm the exact trigger exists before you rely on it.
Check what the app already does first:
- Jobber includes automated quote follow-ups, visit reminders, on-my-way texts, invoice follow-ups, and Google review requests with up to two reminders verified.
- Housecall Pro includes scheduled, on-my-way, finished, appointment-reminder, and invoice-reminder notifications verified. Review features: not verified.
Build steps
- First check whether the app's own quote follow-ups (Jobber has them) are on. Often the fix is a configuration change.
- Trigger: Housecall Pro
estimate.sentwebhook (MAX), or poll Jobber quotes with statusawaiting_responsevia GraphQL. - Wait 2 days, then check status again. If it's still open, the LLM drafts a message from the tech's notes. The office approves it in a shared inbox for the first 2 weeks.
- Data fields: customer, tech, quote ID, quoted option, tech note, consent flag, last-contact date.
- Stop the sequence on any reply, approval, or STOP. Send at most 2 touches.
Test cases before go-live
- Quote approved before day 2: no message sent.
- Customer replies STOP: no further texts, and the opt-out is logged.
- Tech note is empty: falls back to a generic template.
- Quote is edited after sending: the latest version is used.
Tool names are examples, not endorsements. Check current features, plan tiers, and pricing before quoting a client.
Sample prompt
Write a short, friendly follow-up text from {tech} at {biz} about the water-heater quote for {customer}. Mention one benefit from the tech's notes. Keep it under 300 characters, offer to answer questions, and use no pressure language.Pitch it to the owner
"Open quotes get a polite check-in on schedule, so fewer of them get forgotten."
Lead with the outcome, not with "AI," and show the business case using their own numbers.
What can go wrong
- Treat follow-ups as conversational, keep them limited, and stop on any reply.
- Texting consent: Under the TCPA, automated texts generally need prior express consent, and marketing texts need prior express written consent. Honor STOP right away and keep consent records.
- Twilio/10DLC (2026): new A2P 10DLC campaigns must include public privacy policy and terms URLs (required since June 30, 2026), a verifiable opt-in, and opt-out language. Third-party lead generation and affiliate marketing are forbidden use cases. verified
- Reactivation defaults to email. Texting past customers is marketing. Use SMS only where written consent is documented.
- Call-recording consent: some states, including California, require all parties to consent (this list is not exhaustive). The safe default is to disclose recording and the automated assistant at the start of every call.
- AI voices: the FCC's February 2024 declaratory ruling (FCC-24-17) treats AI-generated voices as 'artificial voice' under the TCPA, so outbound AI calls generally need prior express consent. Further AI disclosure rules were only proposed in 2024. Keep builds inbound unless counsel approves. verified
- Failure modes: hallucinated details, missed escalations, and integrations that break silently. Add a human fallback, daily error alerts, and a weekly transcript review.
Not legal advice. Texting, calling, and recording rules vary by country and state and change over time. Have the client confirm compliance with qualified counsel before launch.
Suggested price
$800–$2,000 setup + $100–$250/mo
Starting estimate only, not verified against market rates. Adjust for scope and support.