How to follow up Angi, Thumbtack and Google LSA leads

Why paid leads need a different follow-up

A referral from a neighbor will wait a day for your call. A paid lead from Angi, Thumbtack or Google Local Services usually won't. You're paying for the chance to talk to someone, and on shared leads, several other pros are paying for the same chance.

The platforms are open about this. A Thumbtack moderator writes that customers are usually comparing a few pros at the same time. Google says missed calls may negatively affect your responsiveness, which feeds into how your Local Services ad ranks.

Set up for speed before the lead arrives

Most slow follow-up isn't decided when the lead comes in. It's decided by how your phone and calendar are set up. Fix these once and the first 15 minutes get a lot easier.

• Turn on push notifications for every lead app you pay for, and give them a sound you will actually notice on a job site.
• Decide who owns new leads at each hour of the day, including evenings and Saturdays. If the answer is 'whoever sees it first', nobody owns it.
• Keep your calendar current so whoever calls can offer two real times on the spot instead of promising to call back.
• Save your call script and voicemail script in your phone notes. Nobody improvises well from a ladder.
• Set accurate business hours on each platform, and decide in advance what happens to leads that arrive outside them, so the first call goes out the moment calling hours open.

The first 15 minutes

Angi's help center recommends calling each lead within 15 minutes. Here's how to use that window.

1. Minute 0 to 2: read the lead. Note the service, the address or ZIP, and anything they wrote. Check that the job is in your area and something you actually do.
2. Minute 2 to 5: call. Not a text first, not an email. A call.
3. If no answer: leave a short voicemail (script below), then send a message through the platform so they see your name in the app.
4. Minute 10 to 15: call once more. People often miss the first call because they don't recognize the number, then pick up the second.
5. Log it: time the lead arrived, time of each attempt, outcome. You need this later to measure cost per booked estimate.

Google's help pages note that quick response times can drive greater consumer engagement on your ad for message leads, so answer LSA messages just as fast as calls.

What to say on the first call

The first call has one job: book the estimate. It isn't the time to quote, diagnose, or explain your whole company. Keep it under three minutes.

1. Open: "Hi, is this Sarah? This is Mike with Ridgeline Roofing. You just asked about a roof leak on Angi, is now an OK time for two quick questions?"
2. Confirm the job: "You mentioned a leak over the kitchen. Is it active right now, or only when it rains hard?"
3. Qualify: "Do you own the home? And is this something you're looking to get fixed in the next couple of weeks?"
4. Book: "I can have someone out Thursday at 10 or Friday at 2 to take a look. Which works better?"
5. Confirm: "Great, Thursday at 10 at 412 Elm. You'll get a confirmation, and the tech will call when he's on the way."

Offer two specific times instead of asking "when works for you?" It's easier to answer and moves straight to a booking. If they ask for a price, give a range if you honestly can, then explain that the visit is how you give a real number.

Common objections and short answers:

• "I'm getting a few quotes." Good, you should. Booking a time doesn't commit you to anything, and it lets you compare apples to apples.
• "Can you just give me a price over the phone?" A range, yes. A real number needs eyes on the job, and that's what the visit is for.
• "I need to talk to my spouse." Makes sense. Would it help to book a time when you're both home?

The voicemail script

Short, specific, and easy to call back. Say your name and number twice, slowly.

Mention the platform and the job so they know you aren't a random sales call. Skip the company history. On later voicemails, keep the same structure but change one detail, such as a new opening on your schedule.

A day 1 to day 14 follow-up schedule

Most contractors give up after one or two tries. Most homeowners who don't answer right away are busy, not uninterested. A written schedule takes the guesswork out. All times are inside the customer's local calling hours.

1. Day 1, minute 0 to 5: call. Voicemail if no answer. Platform message.
2. Day 1, minute 10 to 15: second call.
3. Day 1, 2 to 3 hours later: third call.
4. Day 1, late afternoon: fourth call. The MIT/InsideSales study found 4 to 6 p.m. was the best time block for reaching leads.
5. Day 2, morning: call plus a short platform message ("Still happy to come take a look this week").
6. Day 3: call at a different time of day than before.
7. Day 5: call and voicemail.
8. Day 7: call plus a short message asking whether they still need help.
9. Day 10: call.
10. Day 14: final call and a polite closing message: "I'll close this out on my end. If you still need help, just reply and we'll get you scheduled."

Notice the attempts get further apart. Angi suggests you follow up after 24 hours because some leads don't find the right contractor right away. But the MIT/InsideSales study also found that after about 20 hours, extra dials actually hurt the odds of qualifying a lead. The lesson: be fast and persistent early, then back off to a respectful pace.

When to stop

• They say no, hired someone else, or the job is done. Thank them and close it out.
• They ask you to stop calling. Stop right away and mark the number. Federal rules allow up to 10 business days to process a do-not-call request for telemarketing, but there is no reason to wait.
• The number is wrong or disconnected. Dispute the lead with the platform if its policy allows.
• Day 14 has passed with no contact. Send the closing message and move on. Don't keep the lead in a call loop forever.

Consent and calling hours for AI or automated calls

This is not legal advice. Rules vary by state, so talk to a lawyer about your specific setup.

If you use any automated or AI caller, know the basics. In February 2024, the FCC ruled that AI-generated voices count as an artificial or prerecorded voice under the TCPA. That means you need the called party's prior express consent before the call, and prior express written consent if the call introduces an advertisement or counts as telemarketing.

• Identify yourself: the federal rules require artificial or prerecorded voice messages to state clearly, at the beginning, who is responsible for the call.
• Calling hours: telephone solicitations to homes are barred before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., in the customer's local time. Some states set tighter windows.
• Opt-out: if the call is telemarketing, the customer must be offered a way to ask you to stop calling, and that request must be honored.
• Check the lead source: read what the homeowner agreed to on Angi, Thumbtack or your own form. Agreeing to be contacted through an app is not the same as agreeing to automated calls.

Keep a record of where each lead came from and what consent language they saw. If a question ever comes up, that record is what you will need.

Track cost per booked estimate by source

Cost per lead is what the platforms advertise. It's the wrong number to manage by. A $30 lead that never answers costs more than an $80 lead that books.

An example with made-up numbers for one month:

• Source A: $1,800 spend, 40 leads ($45 per lead), 9 booked estimates. $1,800 / 9 = $200 per booked estimate.
• Source B: $1,500 spend, 20 leads ($75 per lead), 10 booked estimates. $1,500 / 10 = $150 per booked estimate.
• Google LSA: $1,200 spend, 15 leads ($80 per lead), 8 booked estimates. $1,200 / 8 = $150 per booked estimate.

Source A has the cheapest leads and the most expensive estimates. Take it one step further with cost per job won (spend divided by jobs closed from that source) once you have two or three months of data.

A spreadsheet works fine. One row per lead: source, cost, time received, time first reached, booked (yes/no), won (yes/no), job value. Review it monthly. Fix your follow-up before you cut a source, because slow follow-up makes every source look worse.

Automating the playbook

This schedule is hard to run by hand when you're on jobs all day. HelloSetter automates the calling part: it calls new web leads within 60 seconds, qualifies them, handles common objections and books the estimate on your calendar. If nobody answers, it detects voicemail and retries up to 16 times spread over days, inside calling hours. It only calls leads that gave consent, answers callbacks on a local number, and emails you a summary after each call.