Speed-to-lead is everything
If the first text takes longer than 60 seconds, three other contractors are already in the homeowner's pocket. Web-form-to-tech-phone has to be instant or you are price-shopping by default.
For HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, and landscaping pros. Tells alerts your techs in under 60 seconds when a lead lands, sends branded ETA and tech-photo updates, captures the Google review after the job, and brings customers back every season.
The problem
Homeowners get three to five quotes before they pick. The one who responds in under a minute books the work most of the time. After the call, branded ETA texts beat "white-van" anxiety, day-after review prompts beat a stale Yelp profile, and seasonal reminders beat "I forgot you guys existed." Tells covers all four moments.
If the first text takes longer than 60 seconds, three other contractors are already in the homeowner's pocket. Web-form-to-tech-phone has to be instant or you are price-shopping by default.
A branded ETA with the tech's photo and credentials kills the white-van anxiety before the doorbell rings. No photo, no name, no opener at the door.
Happy customers will leave a five-star review if you ask them by text the next day. They will never type it into Google on their own. Manual review-request workflows fall off the desk by week two.
Every customer is a recurring revenue stream the next time the season changes. Tune-up reminders, gutter cleanings, salt deliveries, AC startups. Manual list-building each quarter does not get done.
The path
Two-week pilot on one trade. Connect your lead sources, route into your dispatch software, fire the first sequences, then watch lead-to-booked rate move week over week.
Web forms, HomeAdvisor, Angi, Yelp, Google Local Services Ads, Thumbtack. Every inbound becomes a Tells lead the moment it lands, no matter the source.
Pre-built bidirectional integrations with ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, and FieldEdge. Jobs land on the right tech's board with the lead context attached. See integrations for the full list.
Lead alert to tech, branded ETA + tech-photo, day-after review prompt, quote follow-up cadence, seasonal recall. Templates ship live; you tweak the voice in 20 minutes.
Lead-to-booked rate, average ticket, review capture rate, and seasonal recall conversion roll up by trade, by tech, by source so you can pour more into what is working.
Where it shows up
Six sequences that cover the lead, the visit, the review, and the repeat. Each one runs on the same Tells inbox so dispatch and the office see one conversation, not five tools.
New lead lands and the closest available tech's phone buzzes in under 60 seconds. Lead source, address, and complaint all in one push so the first text back lands warm.
"Mike is 15 minutes out" with the tech's photo, name, certifications, and live tracking link. Cuts no-answers at the door and turns the visit into a brand moment.
Auto-fired 24 hours, 72 hours, and one week after the quote, with offer escalation built in. Stops quotes from going stale while the homeowner shops three other contractors.
Day-after-job SMS with the Google Reviews CTA and a one-tap shortcut. Cuts the review-ask awkwardness for techs and gets the five stars while the experience is still fresh.
HVAC tune-up in spring, gutter cleaning in fall, AC pre-cool in early summer, salt + ice in winter. Recurring revenue without anybody rebuilding the list every quarter.
Post-job "happy with the work? share with a neighbor" with a referral link and a stacked offer for the referrer. Turns happy customers into the cheapest lead source you have.
Why Tells
Generic CRM blast tools are not built for the realities of a dispatch board, a tech in a truck, or a homeowner with three other quotes. Tells is.
Native, bidirectional integrations with ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, and FieldEdge. Lead, job, tech, and invoice all stay in sync. See integrations for the supported stacks.
Customers know who is showing up before the doorbell rings. The branded ETA + photo + credentials block opens the door, raises ticket size on upsell calls, and feeds the next review request with a recognizable face.
Personalized post-job SMS that references the tech, the address, and the work done. Beats the generic mass-blast review-bot and pulls in the five-star reviews that actually win the next homeowner search.
The platform knows it is March, June, September, December and which customers need which tune-up. Recurring revenue runs in the background while the office focuses on the calls that came in this morning. Pairs with high-volume SMS for multi-zip seasonal pushes.
From the blog
Real estate teams win more conversations when new inquiries receive an immediate, useful response. Here is how SMS and voice AI help agents …
Read more →Car shoppers move fast across websites, marketplaces, and lender forms. SMS and voice AI help dealerships respond quickly, qualify intent, a…
Read more →Dive into how a sub-3-second lead response impacts your business, and why speed is essential in SMS and AI marketing.
Read more →Pilot one trade in two weeks. Speed-to-lead, ETA SMS, review capture, seasonal reminders, all measured against your last 90 days so the lift is undeniable before you roll it out to the rest of the shop.