Callbacks.
The doors worth the most money are the ones where somebody half-listened and told you to come back. They're also the ones most often lost.
A callback is a door where someone answered, did not buy, and gave you a reason to return. It is worth more than a fresh door because the conversation has already started and the person is qualified. Callbacks carry a date, and they stop being worth anything the moment that date passes without you showing up.
Common questions
- Why is a callback worth more than a fresh door?
- Because the expensive part already happened. Someone answered, listened, and did not close the door. A fresh door still has to clear all of that before it becomes a conversation.
- When should I go back to a callback?
- On the day you said you would, at the time they told you they would be there. Most callbacks are lost to a rep arriving on a different day, not to the homeowner changing their mind.
- What is wrong with tracking callbacks in a notes app?
- Nothing, until Thursday. A notes app does not surface anything on the day it is owed, so remembering to open it is the whole system. That is the part that fails on a busy week.
- Is a callback the same as an appointment?
- No. An appointment is a scheduled sit with a time both sides agreed to. A callback is a softer promise to return. Trades that live on sits, like solar and alarms, care about the difference more than pest control does.
- How many times should I go back before giving up?
- Fewer than the number that makes you a nuisance, more than one. The honest answer is that your own numbers will show you where returns stop paying, and that number differs by trade.