Who Should Call Back New Leads When My Techs Are on Jobs?
Last updated: November 4, 2026
Not your techs. Give new leads to one person whose job is answering and calling back, during the hours your ads and phone are on. Techs are on a roof or under a sink, so a lead that waits for them waits hours. The tech's job is the work in front of them; the callback belongs to someone who isn't holding a wrench.
Book a CallWhy the tech shouldn't be the one calling back
Your tech is in the middle of a job. He can't stop a furnace install to call someone back, and he shouldn't. So the lead sits. For example, a homeowner in Etobicoke fills out a form at 10 am for a leaking water heater. If nobody calls until the tech wraps up at 3 pm, she's already booked someone else. The reason why is simple: when something's leaking, people call the next number.
Your options
- The owner. Works when you're small, but you're also quoting, ordering and running the crew. Leads get squeezed in between.
- An office person. Better, if calling back new leads is their first job and not something they do after invoices.
- A dedicated SDR. Someone whose only job is following up with every lead and booking the ones who are ready, so the techs just get booked jobs.
Set up the handoff
Whoever owns it, write down three things:
- Who gets every new call, form and message, and who covers when that person is off.
- How many times they try before a lead is closed out, and over how many days.
- How a booked job gets to the tech: the address, the problem and the time, so nobody calls the customer twice.
What that means is the tech never has to think about leads. He shows up to booked jobs.
Check it once a week
Pick five leads from last week and look at when they came in and when someone first reached them. If the gap is hours, it's not a marketing problem, it's a callback problem. That's what our speed to lead work fixes, and a dedicated SDR is part of our lead generation.
Questions you should also be asking
- How do I tell a junk lead from a lead we didn't follow up?
- Should my office answer calls or should they go to the owner's cell?
- How many times should we try to reach a new lead before giving up?
- How long should a call be before I count it as a real lead?
FAQ
Should my techs call back new leads?
No. Techs are on jobs, so leads wait for hours. Give new leads to one person whose job is answering and calling back.
Who should handle new leads in a small contracting business?
The owner, an office person whose first job is callbacks, or a dedicated SDR. What matters is that it's one person's job, not everyone's.
What should the handoff to the tech include?
The address, the problem, the booked time and any notes, so nobody has to call the customer twice.
How do I know if callbacks are too slow?
Check when last week's leads came in and when someone first reached them. If the gap is hours, fix that first.
Should my office answer calls or should they go to the owner's cell?
Go with whoever can answer every time during your hours. A cell that goes to voicemail while you're on a job loses the same leads.
How many times should we try to reach a new lead before giving up?
More than once. Set a number and a window, write it down, and track it, so it doesn't depend on who's busy that day.
How long should a call be before I count it as a real lead?
There's no one number. Listen to a sample of short and long calls and set your minimum where real conversations start.
Want us to look at how fast your leads get a callback? Book a call and we'll go through last week with you.