# Dispatch Board Looking Light? What Home Service Owners Can Do This Week

> When the dispatch board looks light, start with the work you already own: text past customers who opted in, follow up every unsold estimate, call back missed calls and post this week's real jobs to your Google Business Profile. Then find out why it went quiet. Digital Marketing Coach Chris Heidlebaugh checks the why in the $497 Marketing Inspection.

Source: https://digitalmarketingcoach.com/learn/hub/slow-dispatch-board-what-to-do
Author: Chris Heidlebaugh, Digital Marketing Coach
Updated: 2026-11-01

Who this is for: Owners staring at open Tuesdays and Wednesdays while paying for marketing and not sure what's working.

## Quick checks
- Unsold estimates from the last 60 days have been followed up
- Every missed call this week got a callback or text
- Opted-in past customers were offered open spots
- Your Google Business Profile shows recent jobs

## Today: work the leads you already have
- Pull every unsold estimate from the last 60 days and send a friendly check-in text.
- Check missed calls and voicemails for anyone who never heard back.
- Text opted-in past customers about open spots for a seasonal service.

## This week: get seen
- Post two real job photos to your Google Business Profile with the town named.
- Ask every customer from this week for a review the same day.
- Search your main service plus your town from a customer's area and note where you show.

## Before you spend more: find the why
- Ask whoever runs your marketing for booked jobs by source, not clicks or impressions.
- Compare this month's calls to the same month last year.
- Look for something that changed: profile edits, website changes, a new competitor, a dropped ad budget.

## Fast fixes vs. root causes
| Action | Helps when | Who can do it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Estimate follow-up texts | Quotes are going out but not closing | Office team |
| Past-customer offers | You have an opted-in customer list | Office team |
| Google profile posts + reviews | Visibility has slipped | Office team or partner |
| Booked-jobs-by-source report | You don't know what's working | Owner + marketing partner |

## FAQ
### What should a contractor do when the schedule is slow?
Work the leads you already have first — unsold estimates, missed calls and opted-in past customers — then check your Google Business Profile and ask for booked jobs by source before spending more.

### Should I cut my marketing when it's slow?
Not blindly. First find out which sources produce booked jobs. Cutting the wrong thing can make a slow month longer.

### Is a slow week always a marketing problem?
No. Seasonality, weather, follow-up and phone handling all play a part. That's why it pays to check before you change anything.