Most leads are not lost to a competitor. They are lost to silence: the inquiry that got a reply two days late, the quote nobody chased, the "I'll call them Friday" that Friday forgot. The fix is not a bigger CRM. It is a routine so simple that it survives a busy week, and someone, or something, that runs it every day.
Here is the routine, the three emails it needs and the tracker that holds it together. Then how Tensor Autonomous runs it for you, drafting each message for your approval so nothing goes out that you have not read.
The routine
- Same day: every new inquiry gets a reply before the end of the working day, even if the reply is "I have your request and will send a quote by Thursday."
- Day 3: if there is no answer to your quote or proposal, a short check-in.
- Day 7: one more, with a new fact: a date you can hold, a question answered, the price's end date.
- Then stop. Mark the lead quiet and leave the door open. Chasing beyond two weeks costs more goodwill than it wins.
The sequence stops early the moment they book, decline, ask for time or ask you not to write again.
The same-day reply
The first reply does not have to answer everything. It has to prove a person read the message.
Subject: Re: Office cleaning for 12 Harbor Street
Hi Sam, thanks for getting in touch about the weekly office clean. Two quick questions so I can quote properly: roughly how many desks, and do you need the kitchen included? Once I have those I will send a price the same day. We have Tuesday and Thursday evenings open at the moment.
Name the job. Ask the one or two things you need. Say when they will hear back.
The day-3 and day-7 emails
Subject: Your quote for the weekly clean
Hi Sam, checking that the quote reached you and whether anything in it needs explaining. If you would like to start, reply here and I will hold Tuesday evenings for you.
Subject: Tuesday evenings, if you still want them
Hi Sam, following up on the quote from last week. Tuesday evenings are still open, and the price holds until the end of the month. Happy to adjust the scope if the kitchen turned out not to be needed.
Agencies say "proposal" where cleaners say "quote"; the shape is the same.
The tracker
Keep every lead in one sheet, with a next-action date:
| Received | Name | Company | Asked for | Replied | Date sent | Status | Follow-up drafted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2 | Sam Carter | Harbor Street Co. | Weekly office clean | Oct 2 | Oct 3 | Sent |
A row with status Sent, a date sent five or more days ago and an empty Follow-up drafted cell is a lead that needs a touch. That is the check nobody has time to run by hand, and the one Tensor's starter runs for you.
Tensor runs it for you
Two Library starters cover the routine. Log new leads and draft a reply handles the front half: it logs each new client inquiry in your leads sheet and drafts a reply that asks for a short call, ready for you to read and send the same day. Hand it the request, or turn on Start from new email so new inquiries start it within about a minute. Follow up on open quotes handles the back half: it drafts a friendly follow-up for each quote or proposal with no answer after 5 days, and notes it in your quotes sheet. It expects the sheet laid out its way (status Sent, the date sent, a Follow-up drafted column it fills and then skips), so keep those columns. Run it when you like, or put it on a schedule, say weekdays at 8am. Once a starter is yours you can change its wording and its timing, so a day-3 check-in is a one-line change.
What stays the same in both:
- Nothing is sent by Tensor. Each row and draft is proposed for your OK until you set limits; the drafts then wait in your mailbox, and you read, edit and send them, which is what keeps the same-day reply yours. The logging happens as it runs: a row for each inquiry you hand it, a cell filled in for each follow-up it drafts.
- It never invents a promise. If a lead asks for a discount, a specific date or something outside the quote, the draft says you will come back to them, and the question is in front of you.
- Every run leaves a receipt: the inquiry it read, the row it wrote and read back, the draft it made and when.
What Tensor is not: a CRM, a quoting tool or an answering service. It works beside the tools you have, in Gmail and Google Sheets today, with Microsoft 365 to come.
Where to start
- Tensor for marketing and B2B agencies: Log new leads and draft a reply, with the proposal follow-up.
- Tensor for home services and cleaning: Follow up on open quotes, cleaning requests answered with your prices, voicemails turned into a callback list.
- Try it live on sample data. Plans from $149 a month.
Related reading
- How to follow up on an estimate: day-3 and day-7 emails
- Follow-up automation after customer calls
- Google Sheets automation for CRM and records
See it in a demo
If leads still go quiet because follow-up depends on memory, watch Tensor answer a sample rental inquiry: the draft, your OK, the receipt.