Free DIY lead standard builder for service businesses

Give every lead a status, an owner, and a next date.

Build a simple follow-up process your team can use in a notebook, spreadsheet, whiteboard, or CRM.

Build your lead standardAbout 15 minutes

The working flow

Inquiry

Contacted

Estimate

Scheduled

Completed

A useful pipeline is short enough for the team to keep current.

Curated for service businesses

We collected some key resources so you can focus on having the next step in front of you.

These resources are to help you see what is already in place, what may be missing, and what deserves regular attention. Use the walkthroughs to get started yourself. If you want help setting things up correctly or interpreting what you find, we can work through it with you.

Before you buy more attention

A lead should never live only in someone's memory.

New inquiries can arrive through phone calls, website forms, Google, social media, referrals, email, booking tools, and other advertising. The problem starts when those inquiries have no shared status, responsible person, next action, or follow-up date.

Before paying for more leads, make sure the leads already coming in have somewhere to go and a clear next action.

Common places leads arrive

Phone
Website
Google
Facebook
Instagram
Referral
Email
Booking tool

Step 1: Lead sources

Where do leads come in?

Where can a new customer contact your business?

Your working field note

Your Lead Handling Standard

A clear process your team can use without keeping every lead in someone's memory.

Complete the five decisions above, then create your printable process.

Our lead sources

No active lead sources selected.

Our pipeline stages

1New inquiry
2Contacted
3Visit or estimate scheduled
4Quote sent
5Scheduled or won
6Closed

Who owns each step

New inquiries: Not assigned yet
Backup: Not assigned yet
Open estimates: Not assigned yet
Status updates: Not assigned yet

Our response target

Respond to a new inquiry within 1 business hour.

Acknowledge the inquiry and assign follow-up for the next business period.

Our missed-call process

Send an acknowledgement and assign a callback.

Our quote follow-up rule

Schedule the next follow-up before closing the record.

Use the company’s approved follow-up cadence.

Close the opportunity when it is won, completed, declined, lost, postponed, or not a fit.

Where we record the next action and date

Choose a shared notebook, whiteboard, spreadsheet, or CRM.

Our weekly review

How many new inquiries arrived?
Did every inquiry receive a response?
Which leads are waiting for a next action?
Which estimates are still open?
Which jobs were won?
Which opportunities were lost or postponed?
Which lead sources produced booked work?
Are any records missing an owner, status, or next date?

A blank working file

Simple Lead Tracker

Download a blank CSV with the fields needed to keep every lead, owner, status, next action, and next date visible. Open it in your preferred spreadsheet tool.

Download blank CSV

simple-lead-tracker.csv

Date receivedLead sourceService requestedStatusOwnerNext actionNext dateEstimate amountOutcomeLost or postponed reasonNotes

A simple operating habit

No open lead without a next step.

The tool matters less than the habit. Keep every inquiry visible, assign responsibility, and record what should happen next.

When the process crosses several tools

Want help connecting the handoffs?

ALT x CCG can help trace how leads enter the business, organize the pipeline, and connect the tools your team already uses.

Book an intro call