The problem in deck building
A deck sale is not one conversation. It starts with a consultation in the backyard, turns into a drawing and a proposal, goes back and forth on material (composite or cedar, which railing, whether to add stairs to grade), waits on financing for some buyers, then waits again for a building permit. Only then does it reach your schedule. Each of those steps is a place where a project can stall without anyone noticing.
Meanwhile the homeowner is usually talking to two other builders. The builder who answers questions quickly, sends the revised drawing on time and keeps them updated tends to win, even at a higher price. The builder who sends a proposal and then goes quiet for two weeks because the crew is busy tends to lose.
Deck building also has a lopsided year. Requests flood in from late winter through spring, when everyone wants the deck done before summer. That is when proposals go out in batches and follow-up falls apart. Then late fall and winter get quiet, which is exactly when a builder wants a list of warm prospects who said "maybe next year."
What we build for deck builders
- A project pipeline that tracks the waiting steps. Stages for consultation, design and proposal, revisions, deposit, permit submitted, permit approved, scheduled and final inspection, so you can see at a glance which jobs are stuck and why.
- Consultation booking and reminders. Online booking for backyard consultations with confirmations and reminder texts, and a short questionnaire ahead of time about size, material and budget.
- Proposal follow-up built for comparison shoppers. A sequence that starts with a task for a personal call, then spaced messages with relevant photos and answers to common questions. Our post on automating follow-up on lost and booked jobs explains how to keep it helpful rather than pushy.
- Permit and schedule updates. Automatic texts or emails when a permit is submitted, approved, and when a build date is set, so homeowners aren't left guessing.
- A "next season" list. Prospects who postponed are kept in their own stage with a reminder to reach out in late winter, before the spring rush.
- One inbox for calls, texts, web forms and social messages, with drawings and photos attached to the customer record.
- Monthly management to keep stages accurate, close dead deals and adjust follow-up timing.
How it works
- Map your process. We walk through a recent deck job from first call to final inspection and note where it waited and on whom.
- Build the pipeline. We set up the stages, the consultation calendar, the forms and the follow-up automations to match.
- Migrate and train. We import current prospects and open proposals and train you and your office on the daily screens.
- Manage month to month. We keep it clean through the spring rush and adjust it in the off-season.
What to look for (even if you don't hire us)
- Can you see every open proposal, with its value and how long since the last contact, on one screen?
- Can drawings, proposals and revision notes live on the customer record?
- Does it track permit status as its own step?
- Can it hold postponed prospects and remind you to reach out next season?
- Can you tag lost deals with a reason, such as price, timing, material or another builder?
- Is someone available to adjust stages and automations as your process changes?
Keep every deck project moving
RGS offers CRM build and management on GoHighLevel and other platforms. See our broader work with deck builders, and our estimate follow-up sequence for contractors for a schedule you can adapt today.
