Your next batch of work is already sitting in your software.

It's every quote you sent last year and every regular who's due for a visit. One short text asking "yes or no?" brings some of them back.

Daniel Dixon, who runs a coatings business, texted about 270 archived quotes. Of those, 15 people re-engaged, and he describes the result as "almost a hundred thousand dollars in new opportunities or work".

On Tuesday we set up 4 follow-ups for every new quote. Today's play picks up the quotes still open after day 14, plus every past customer who's due again.

You've already paid for every name on that list, in ad spend, phone calls, driving time and quote writing. Dixon found 1,400 unconverted quotes in his system and estimated they cost him $400K to $500K to produce.

Plenty of those customers simply got busy. Life got in the way, and a friendly question gives them an easy way to pick the project back up.

A short, human text to people who agreed to hear from you is one of the cheapest revenue plays there is. AI handles the list sorting and the first draft of the message, so the whole job fits in about an hour.

Time: about 45 to 60 minutes (our estimate)

Step 1. Export the list.

From the software you run jobs or appointments in, pull archived or unapproved quotes from 6 to 18 months ago, or customers overdue for their usual repeat service. Keep only people who opted in to texts.

Step 2. Sort it with AI.

Remove names first (initials are fine). Upload the spreadsheet and paste this:

Step 3. Write the text.

Start from Dixon's yes-or-no ask:

Ask the AI for 2 short versions in that style, then rewrite your favorite so it sounds like you.

Step 4. Send to 1 group first.

Dixon's batch was about 270. Reply personally to every "yes."

Step 5. Make it a habit.

Set a reminder to run this every 6 months. For repeat services, set up automatic "you're due" reminders in your software.

Home services (HVAC, plumbing, roofing, cleaning, lawn): Archived quotes 6 to 12 months old are your richest list. For maintenance trades, time "you're due" texts to the season, like fall tune-ups and gutter cleaning. Adam Sylvester has a twist for people who went with someone else: "Are you happy with the provider you chose?"

Dental: Your recall and unscheduled-treatment lists live in your practice-management software, so use its built-in reminders. Use AI only to draft the template wording, with zero patient data. Keep texts generic ("time to schedule your next visit") and leave procedure names out. The Dental Boardroom's advice: write down your SOP before you automate it.

Med spa: Your list is lapsed clients whose treatments have a natural rebook interval. Treatment history is health information, so it stays out of consumer AI tools and out of the text itself.

Chiropractic: Reach out to patients who stopped partway through a care plan with a generic "we'd love to see how you're doing" message. The KAC/ChiroPreferred guide from Oct 1 says to start with low-risk uses and to check vendor security and HIPAA before anything touches patient information.

Opticians, salons, vets, auto and other service businesses: Copy the optician model below. A date rule ("12 months since last visit") picks who gets the text, and a fixed template sets the words. Natalia Brattan's point: with both of those decided up front, AI has very little left to get wrong.

Here's my honest read.

Dixon's result is one owner's result, and your reply rate will be your own. For reference, 15 out of 270 is about 5.6% (our math on his numbers). His phrase "opportunities or work" counts open opportunities along with booked jobs, so I'm quoting him exactly.

Every "no" is useful too, because it tells you who to take off the list. And the optician's growth came from her whole retention effort, with the reminders as one piece.

Pull your list and text 1 group before Saturday.

Then hit reply with 2 numbers: how many people you texted and how many said yes. I'll share the totals (no names, no business details) in a future issue.

Nate