A Calgary hardscaping contractor had a lead problem. Not a leads-coming-in problem. They had word-of-mouth working. Their Google profile was generating calls. Spring was arriving and the phone was ringing.
The problem was what happened to those calls when they were on a job.
This post covers what they changed, how it worked, and what the numbers looked like after the first month.
What was the contractor's situation before setting up automation?
Before setup, the business was running on a two-person crew: the owner and one labourer. The owner handled all calls, all quoting, and all customer communication between jobs.
In a typical spring week, approximately 12 to 15 calls would come in. The owner answered maybe 8 of them. The remaining 4 to 7 went to voicemail or rang out. Of those missed calls, the owner estimated he returned about half. The rest either called someone else or went cold by the time he got back to them.
Quote follow-up wasn't happening systematically. He'd send a quote, wait a few days, and follow up on the bigger jobs when he remembered. Smaller jobs like retaining wall installations, patio extensions, and gravel driveways would often go quiet and he'd move on.
Reviews were coming in when he remembered to ask. He had 12 reviews on Google. For a contractor with three years of work in Calgary, that number was low.
What did the contractor change?
Three things changed, in order of setup:
Missed call text-back. Every missed call now generates an automatic SMS within 30 seconds. "Hey, you tried to reach me. I'm on a job right now. I'll call you back shortly. What are you looking to get done?" The message stays brief, explains the delay credibly, and opens a text thread.
Automated quote follow-up. Every quote sent through the system triggers a follow-up at 24 hours ("Checking you got the quote. Happy to run through it or answer any questions.") and again at five to seven days if there's no reply. Nothing in the messages pushes or pressures. They just reopen the conversation.
Review request automation. After every completed job, the customer receives a message 24 hours later asking for a Google review. Simple, direct, and timed when satisfaction is freshest.
The phone number used for all automation is a Canadian number registered for 10DLC, which means the texts actually arrive instead of being filtered as spam.
What happened in the first month?
Week one: the contractor got three replies to missed call texts within the first four days. Two were spring patio quotes he would normally have lost. One was a driveway regravel. All three became paid work.
Week two to three: quote follow-up started showing results. A patio extension quote sent in week one came back with a booking after the 24-hour follow-up message. A larger deck and patio combination that had gone quiet for five days responded to the second follow-up and booked.
By the end of the month, the contractor had six additional booked jobs he attributed directly to automation touchpoints. Conversations that either started from a missed call text or were recovered from cold quotes.
At an average hardscaping job value of $4,200 in Calgary, six additional jobs was $25,200 in additional revenue.
Thryvia costs $750 CAD per month. The first month returned $25,200 in booked revenue from automation-recovered leads.
What did the review impact look like?
Over the same 30-day period, six new Google reviews came in. The contractor had previously accumulated 12 reviews over three years. He doubled that count in a single month.
By month two, he had 23 reviews. New leads who found him on Google were commenting that the reviews were why they called. His response to one new lead: "Someone said they saw the reviews and decided to call me instead of the other company they were looking at. That never happened before."
Review volume affects map pack ranking, which determines how often the business appears in local searches. More reviews also means new leads qualify themselves before calling. They arrive warmer and more likely to proceed with a quote.
What didn't change?
The contractor still handles every call personally. He still does all the quoting and site visits. His crew didn't expand. He didn't increase his Google Ads spend or post more on social media.
The only change was in what happened to leads who couldn't reach him and quotes that went into the pipeline. Those two gaps were costing him more money than he realised.
What does this mean for other contractors?
Every contracting business has a version of this problem. The specific numbers vary by trade, average job value, and call volume. But the pattern is the same. Leads are coming in. Some are being answered. Many are going cold. Revenue is leaving the pipeline at two predictable points: the unanswered call and the uncontacted quote.
For most contractors, the combined revenue impact of those two gaps is between $3,000 and $15,000 per month, depending on volume and job value. Automation at $750 per month closes both gaps for a fraction of that cost.
The gap between what's possible and what's currently happening doesn't require a bigger marketing budget or a different business model. It requires a system.
How do you find out what this gap is for your business?
The number you need is straightforward to calculate:
Weekly missed calls (estimate from your phone log) x average job value x close rate = weekly revenue leaving the pipeline.
Add the same calculation for outstanding quotes that go cold without follow-up.
For most contractors, the total is significantly higher than expected. Running the number is the starting point for deciding whether automation makes sense.
FAQ
Are these results typical for Calgary contractors?
The six-job recovery in the first month was above the average first-month result. The factors that contributed: high spring lead volume, a low current conversion rate on missed calls, and active quoting with zero follow-up in place. Contractors with higher existing conversion rates or lower call volumes will see smaller immediate impacts. The core pattern holds across the trades category: missed calls and cold quotes are recoverable revenue.
What types of contracting businesses in Calgary does Thryvia work for?
Thryvia works for any Calgary contractor who receives inbound calls and quotes work. Hardscaping, landscaping, fencing, decking, concrete, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, painting, and electrical all qualify. The setup includes a Canadian phone number and 10DLC registration for Alberta SMS compliance.
How quickly can a Calgary contractor get Thryvia set up?
Setup takes two to three weeks from the initial conversation to go-live. The period covers account configuration, phone number provisioning, message writing and testing, and a go-live check. The contractor in this post was live in 11 days.
Does automation replace the personal follow-up contractors do?
No. Automation handles the initial text-back and scheduled follow-ups. For large jobs or complex conversations, the contractor still follows up personally. What automation removes is the silent gap: the period where a quote is outstanding and nothing has happened on either side. That gap is where most cold leads solidify.
Find out what your own version of this gap looks like. Get a free Digital Review. We'll look at your current call volume, quote pipeline, and online presence. You'll get a personalised Loom video within 48 hours with a specific picture of what your business is currently losing.
Get Your Free Video Review →Ready to set it up? Thryvia gets your automation live in two to three weeks.
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