Best Practices¶
Small habits that get the most out of your system over time.
None of these are required. All of them compound. If you do half of them, you'll be ahead of 95% of contractors using software like this.
The Fast 5 rule¶
Call every new lead within 5 minutes during business hours.
This is the single highest-leverage habit in the entire system. Industry data is unambiguous:
- The contractor who calls back FIRST wins the lead 78% of the time
- Lead conversion drops 80% after the first 30 minutes
- After 24 hours, you're essentially competing with whoever called them in those 24 hours
The system gives you the lead within 5 minutes of opt-in. The remaining 5 minutes is on your team.
Pipeline hygiene¶
Move opportunities through stages on the same day events happen.
When you have a real conversation → move to Qualified that day. When they sign → move to Won that day. When the job's done → mark Completed that day.
If you're consistent, your weekly reports tell the story accurately. If you batch updates ("I'll catch up Friday"), reports lag, automations fire at wrong times, your team loses context.
Take 30 seconds per opportunity to update it in the moment.
Note-taking inside contacts¶
Add at least one note to every contact after every meaningful interaction.
Notes don't drive automations — they're for the future-you (or your teammate) reading the contact later.
Good notes: - "Wants to remodel kitchen + master bath, $40K budget, looking at 90-day timeline" - "Brother is also a potential customer — Mike S., 847-555-1234, also kitchens" - "Hesitant about price — would consider GreenSky if monthly payment under $400"
Bad notes: - "Called" - "Talked to them"
If you're typing it during a customer conversation: easy, just summarize. If you're catching up later: harder, so do it right after the call.
Tag taxonomy discipline¶
Use the existing tags, don't invent new ones unless you really need to.
Your taxonomy is already designed to feed reports and automations. Adding random tags ("interestedmaybe," "warmguy") clutters the system.
When in doubt, use:
- lifecycle-* for where they are in the funnel
- source-* for where they came from
- priority-* for urgency
- consent-* for opt-in status
If you genuinely need a new tag, tell Kevin first — we'll add it correctly so it shows up in reports.
Speed-to-respond on messages¶
Reply to inbound messages within 2 hours during business hours.
The Conversation AI handles common questions automatically. But escalated messages (the ones it flags) sit waiting until a human replies.
A 2-hour reply window: - Looks responsive to customers - Catches problems before they fester - Matches the "Fast 5" energy without burning out the team
If you can't respond same-day, the AI can usually carry the conversation until tomorrow with a "Darek will get back to you" hold message. Tell us when this would be useful.
Review request timing¶
Mark Job Status = Completed within 24 hours of finishing the actual job.
The Review Request fires 24 hours later. If you wait a week to mark Completed, the customer's experience is no longer fresh and you'll get more "meh" reviews.
Best: mark Completed at the end of the day the job wraps.
Use the mobile app, not just web¶
60% of your daily ops should happen on the LeadConnector app.
Web is great for reports, settings, and deep dives. But: - Notifications hit phone first - Click-to-call is one tap - You can reply to a customer in 90 seconds from a job site
Train your team to live in the mobile app for daily ops. Web for the planning work.
Don't manually send what the system can automate¶
If you find yourself manually sending "thanks for booking" emails — stop and tell us.
If you're doing something that feels repeatable, the system probably already does it OR could. Tell Kevin and we'll either confirm a workflow already covers it OR build one that does.
Sales rep attribution¶
When updating an opportunity, set the Sales Rep field to whoever actually handled the lead.
Why: end-of-quarter reports break down conversion by rep. Without this field, you can't see who's closing what. Useful for performance reviews, bonuses, and finding what works.
Pricing conversations¶
Never quote pricing over text or chat for projects over $5K.
Reasons: - Customer reads the lowest number and ignores everything else - Easy to misquote without all the variables - No paper trail for what was discussed - AI sometimes guesses pricing — never let it commit to specifics
For big projects: book the design consultation. Quote in person. That's where the real conversation happens.
Don't trash-talk competitors¶
Customers occasionally compare you to other Chicago contractors. The right play:
- "I don't want to comment on their work — they're good at what they do. What I can tell you is what we do differently..."
Then list your differentiators (European materials, fully custom, faster turnaround, financing).
Never name a competitor in writing. Never speculate on why a customer should choose you over them. Lead with strengths, not attacks.
Family-business voice¶
In every email, text, chat, voice call — sound like a family business, not a SaaS startup.
Avoid: "leverage," "synergy," "circle back," "touch base," "moving the needle" Use: "let me know," "happy to help," "we got you," "let's get this done"
Avoid: ALL CAPS, multiple exclamation marks, emojis everywhere Use: clean prose, occasional emphasis, signed by a real person
Avoid: "Dear Valued Customer" Use: "Hi {{contact.first_name}}" or "Hi there"
Your brand IS this voice. Protect it.
Track what doesn't work¶
When something goes wrong — bad lead source, slow follow-up, customer complaint — write down what happened and why.
Once a quarter, review the list. Patterns emerge: - "Every customer from Source X is a tire-kicker" - "Every project over $30K needs Darek personally on the first call" - "Weekly Tuesday morning calls outperform afternoons"
These insights are how the system gets smarter. Share them with Kevin.
Weekly habits checklist¶
If you do all of these once a week, you're operating at the top tier:
- [ ] Approve next week's social posts (Sara, ~15 min Friday)
- [ ] Review pipeline for stuck deals (>7 days in any stage)
- [ ] Respond to any review (positive or negative) that came in this week
- [ ] Update notes on any opportunity that progressed
- [ ] Check the dashboard's "conversion rate" — is it trending right?
- [ ] One coffee/call with Darek or team lead about what's working / not working
Monthly habits checklist¶
- [ ] Read RevStack's monthly performance report (5th of month)
- [ ] Decide on next reactivation stage (if applicable)
- [ ] Review one report you don't normally check (e.g., "Revenue by Source")
- [ ] Pick one thing from the "doesn't work" list to fix
- [ ] 1-hour strategic call with Kevin (last week of month)
What if I'm stuck?¶
There's no "right way" to use this system. The best practice that doesn't fit your team's workflow is the wrong practice for you.
If something here feels wrong for Dynamic Group, change it. Tell Kevin. The system bends to you.
Video walkthrough¶
A video walkthrough of these best practices lives here once we wire it in.
Last updated: 2026-06-01 by Kevin / RevStack