2026-01-estimator-pm-electrical

# Campaign: Estimator & Project Manager | Electrical
**La Growth name:** Estimator & Project Manager | Electrical
**Audience:** SMB & MID - declining companies - Estimators & Project managers
**Leads:** 33 | **Reply rate:** 9%

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## LinkedIn path (connection accepted)

### Step 1: DM #1 (after accept)
Hey {{firstname}}, thanks for connecting. I'm starting a software company in construction and conducting user interviews to learn what the biggest pain points people face in the industry. Do you have 30 mins for a phone call sometime the next couple of weeks?

I was an electrical apprentice, studied electrical engineering then spent a decade building software at PlanGrid & Autodesk.


### Step 2: DM #2 (if no reply)
Totally understand if now’s not a good time. I’ve been chatting with a few electrical subcontractors in the Bay about where better tooling might actually save time and reduce admin headaches. I’ve learned some interesting things and I’d be happy to share.  


### Step 3: DM #3 (if no reply, no email)
I'm more than happy to share what I've learned from others or help with software questions as I've been learning from people in the industry.


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## Email path (accepted, has email)

### Step 4: Email #1
**Subject:** Former electrical apprentice
Hey {{firstname}},

I'm starting a software company in construction and conducting user interviews to learn what the biggest pain points people face in the industry. Do you have 30 mins for a phone call sometime the next couple of weeks?

I started out as an electrical apprentice, studied electrical engineering, and spent a decade building software for contractors at PlanGrid and Autodesk. 

Alexei

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## Email path (NOT accepted)

### Step 6: Email #1
**Subject:** Former electrical apprentice
Hey {{firstname}},

I'm starting a software company in construction and conducting user interviews to learn what the biggest pain points people face in the industry. Do you have 30 mins for a phone call sometime the next couple of weeks?

I started out as an electrical apprentice, studied electrical engineering, and spent a decade building software for contractors at PlanGrid and Autodesk. 

Alexei


### Step 7: Email #2 (if no reply)
**Subject:**
Would you be open to trying an early version of my AI Takeoff tool? Your feedback as an experienced owner would be invaluable. I've also been hearing that takeoffs aren't typically the biggest pain point, so I'd appreciate the opportunity to conduct a user interview.

Alexei


### Step 8: Email #3 (if no reply)
**Subject:**
I'm more than happy to share what I've learned from others or help with software questions as I've been learning from people in the industry.

Alexei

# Retro: Estimator & Project Manager | Electrical

**Campaign ID:** 2026-01-estimator-pm-electrical
**La Growth name:** Estimator & Project Manager | Electrical
**Audience:** SMB & MID declining companies — Estimators & Project Managers
**Leads:** 33 | **Replies:** 2 | **Reply rate:** 6.1%

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## Channel Metrics

| Channel | Contacted | Key metric | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn | 33 new contacts | 8 accepted (24%) | 2 LI replies |
| Email | 18 contacted, 17 received | 8 opens (47%) | 0 email replies |

**Connection acceptance rate: 24%** (8/33). All replies came via LinkedIn DM, zero from email.

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## Content Analysis

### DM#1 (61 words)
Feedback/research framing — "conducting user interviews to learn what the biggest pain points people face." Asks for a 30-min phone call. Includes the EE/PlanGrid credibility line.

**Observations:**
- Uses "30 mins for a phone call" CTA — later data shows this is a weak CTA (1.2% reply rate across campaigns). Open questions about pain points perform 12x better.
- At 61 words, it's in the middle range. The two best-performing campaigns (PM-electric-manufacturer, estimating-services) used 55-57 words.
- Founder-story element is present but comes at the end, not the opening.

### DM#2
Offers to share learnings from chatting with "a few electrical subcontractors in the Bay." Good social-proof angle. Low friction.

### DM#3
Generic offer to share learnings or help with software questions.

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## Leads Analysis (33 leads)

### Who replied (2 leads — both positive)

| Title | Company | Industry | State | Reply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical Estimator | Foster Electric Corp | Construction | Colorado | "Yes" |
| Estimator - Electrical PM | All Industrial Electric | Construction | Illinois | Interested but busy — built his own Excel tool, offered December call |

Both repliers are **estimators at small electrical contractors** — exactly the target persona. Both are in **Construction** industry. Neither is in California (Colorado, Illinois).

### Who connected but didn't reply (7 leads)
9 total connections, 2 replied → 7 connected non-repliers. Connection rate of 24% is moderate.

### Title distribution
| Title | Count | Replies | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical Estimator | 6 | 1 | 16.7% |
| Project Manager | 5 | 0 | 0% |
| Senior Project Manager | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Estimator variants | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Chief Estimator | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Other | 14 | 0 | 0% |

**Estimator titles converted at 22% (2/9)** vs Project Manager titles at 0% (0/8). Small sample, but directionally consistent with the hypothesis that estimators are the entry point for this tool.

### Industry
29/33 leads are in Construction (88%). Both repliers are in Construction. Sample too small to draw industry conclusions.

### Geography
All leads are US-based. Repliers from Colorado and Illinois — not Bay Area.

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## Hypothesis Verdict

**Hypothesis:** Estimators and PMs at declining SMB/MID electrical companies are receptive to user-interview outreach.

**Verdict: Partially confirmed.** Estimators specifically were receptive (2/9 = 22%). PMs were not (0/8). Small sample (n=33) limits confidence, but the estimator signal is consistent with cross-campaign findings.

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## Key Insights

1. **Estimator > PM for this persona.** Both replies came from people with "Estimator" in their title. PMs didn't engage.
2. **The "30-min phone call" CTA hurts.** One replier said "Yes" (brief, low-commitment reply), the other hedged on timing. Later campaigns with open-question CTAs performed 2-3x better.
3. **The Excel competitor signal.** The Illinois estimator "built an excel file that I bid my jobs really fast using" — this is the exact competitive landscape for SMB estimators. They've built their own tools and are proud of them. Messaging should acknowledge this and position Gink as augmenting, not replacing, their workflow.
4. **Email is dead weight when LI works.** 47% email open rate but 0 email replies. All engagement happened via LinkedIn DM.

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## Recommendations

1. **Drop the phone call CTA** in favor of an open question ("Is manually scrubbing specs a bottleneck for your team?").
2. **Lead with founder story** — move the EE/PlanGrid line to the opening instead of closing.
3. **Target estimator titles specifically** — "Electrical Estimator", "Senior Estimator", "Chief Estimator" over generic "Project Manager."
4. **Acknowledge DIY tools** — many estimators have built Excel workflows. Position as "a second set of eyes" rather than a replacement.

No leads linked to this campaign yet.