Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I use.
If you build sheds, decks, fences, or any small job where people ask How much for a ___, this is for you. I am not a marketing guy. I am a one-person operator who got tired of losing quote requests in Messenger.
I built this funnel for free in Systeme.io, on the same account as this blog. It took one form, one thank-you page, and two follow-up emails. Here is exactly what I built, so you can copy the structure.
My live form: https://operators-toolbelt.systeme.io/shed-quote-request
The form fields – and why, phone-first
I kept the form short on purpose. Every extra field costs you people. These are the fields I ask for, in this order in the live form:
- Name – So I am not starting a text with Hey there. A name makes the follow-up human.
- Phone – This is the whole point. Phone comes early because texting is how shed and contractor leads actually answer. Messenger threads go cold. A text to a real number gets a reply while they still remember asking.
- Email – Systeme saves the contact by email, and it gives me a second way to reach them with the follow-up emails below.
- City / ZIP – One field. If they are two hours away, I need to know before I price travel into the job or politely pass.
- Shed size (8×12, 10×16, 10×20, 12×24, 12×32, Other) – Price changes hard with size. Asking up front stops the round of How much for a 10×16? followed by Which size did you mean? In my form I list the sizes right in the field so they can type the one they want.
- Timeline (ASAP, 2-4 weeks, 1-2 months, Researching) – ASAP and Researching get different follow-ups. One needs a quote this week. The other needs a reason to remember me next month.
The thank-you page – with Call/Text
Do not send people to a dead-end Thanks page. Mine says, word for word on the live page:
Got it – we will text you back. Want a faster answer? Reply to this email.
That does two jobs. It tells them what happens next, so they are not wondering if the form went anywhere. And it gives the impatient ones – often the best buyers – a way to skip the line and text me right now.
Live thank-you page: https://operators-toolbelt.systeme.io/shed-quote-thank-you
Tags by size
When a request comes in, I tag the contact by size: 8×12, 10×16, 10×20, 12×24, 12×32, or Other. Five minutes of tagging saves me digging through old texts later.
Why bother? If I get a cancelled slot next week, I do not blast everyone. I look at who asked for a 10×16 in my area and I text those people first. If a supplier runs a deal on a certain size, I know who cared about that size. It also tells me what people around here actually ask for, instead of what I guess they want.
The 2-touch follow-up (same-day + day 3)
Most quote requests do not need a newsletter. They need two short touches so they do not forget they asked. Here is the actual template text I use. Copy it and change the name, size, and town.
Email 1 – Same day (send within a few hours)
Subject: Your shed quote request
Hi [Name],
Got your request for a [Shed size] in [City/ZIP]. Thanks for sending the details up front – that makes quoting a lot faster.
I will text you at the number you gave me with a price range and a couple of questions if I need them. If you want a faster answer, reply to this email.
Talk soon,
Operators Toolbelt
Email 2 – Day 3
Subject: Still want that [Shed size] quote?
Hi [Name],
Just circling back on your [Shed size] request for [City/ZIP]. You said your timeline was [Timeline] – still true?
No pressure either way. If you want me to price it, reply to this email and I will get you a number. If you already bought or you are just researching for later, tell me that too and I will quit bugging you.
Thanks,
Operators Toolbelt
That is the whole sequence. Friendly, short, and it gives them an easy out. The easy out matters – people reply more when they know No is an acceptable answer.
Honest free-limit note
I built this on the free plan. My account on October 7, 2026 shows Free at $0/mo with 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 blog, 1 automation rule, and 15 funnel steps total. This funnel uses 1 funnel and 2 steps. That leaves room to run it and see if people actually use it before I spend anything.
The limit I watch first is contacts and the 1 automation rule. If I want several different automated sequences for several trades, free will feel tight fast. For one quote funnel with a same-day and day-3 follow-up, it is enough to start. If you hit the wall and one extra job pays for months of $17/mo Startup, that is your call to make with your own numbers. I am not promising you will get jobs from this. I am saying a form beats a Messenger thread I forget to check.
Where this fits in the stack
This funnel is one piece of the free setup I run the whole one-person business on. If you want the bigger picture first – the problem with leads in Messenger, the blog, the email and tags, and exactly when paid makes sense – read that post:
The Free Tool Stack I Run My One-Person Business On (2026)
Then come back, copy the fields, write your two emails in your own voice, and send your form link the next time someone asks How much for a 10×16?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I use.
About Operators Toolbelt
Operators Toolbelt is a real one-person business test bench: if a tool doesn’t save time or help bring in work, it doesn’t get recommended.
When you outgrow the free form: Jotform
If your quote requests get more complicated — deposits, delivery-zone questions, file uploads from customers — a dedicated form builder earns its keep. Jotform is the one I recommend for that step up: conditional logic that only shows the questions that apply, payment collection right on the form, and notifications that hit your phone the second a request lands. The free tier is enough to test it against your current setup before you pay anything.
Disclosure: that’s an affiliate link — if you upgrade to a paid plan through it, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.