2026-02-estimator-pm-active

# Campaign: Estimator turned Project Manager | Active on LinkedIn
**La Growth name:** Estimator turned Project Manager | Active on LinkedIn
**Audience:** Estimator turned Project manager - Active
**Leads:** 347 | **Reply rate:** 13%

---

## LinkedIn path (connection accepted)

### Step 1: DM #1 (after accept)
Hey {{firstname}}, thanks for connecting. I want to make it easier to bid on more div 26 jobs so I'm starting a software company to do that. I'm conducting user interviews to get feedback on what I've built thus far. 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)
Would you be open with playing with the application or giving me feedback based on a demo video?


### 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.


---

## Email path (accepted, has email)

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

I want to make it easier to bid on more div 26 jobs so I'm starting a software company to do that. I'm conducting user interviews to get feedback on what I've built thus far. Do you have 30 mins for a phone call sometime the next couple of weeks?

Alexei

---

## Email path (NOT accepted)

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

I want to make it easier to bid on more div 26 jobs so I'm starting a software company to do that. I'm conducting user interviews to get feedback on what I've built thus far. Do you have 30 mins for a phone call sometime the next couple of weeks?

Alexei


### Step 7: Email #2 (if no reply)
**Subject:**
Would you be open to trying an early version of my AI Takeoff tool? Or watching a demo video if you'd prefer to give feedback that way?

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 turned Project Manager | Active on LinkedIn

**Campaign ID:** 2026-02-estimator-pm-active
**La Growth name:** Estimator turned Project Manager | Active on LinkedIn
**Audience:** Estimator turned Project Manager — Active on LinkedIn
**Leads:** 347

---

## Data Limitation

**This campaign's leads.csv export is missing all engagement columns** (relation, status, replyDate, replyMessage, emailOpenCount, etc.). The export contains only 41 columns vs the standard 51. This means we cannot analyze:
- Who replied vs who didn't
- Connection acceptance rates from leads.csv
- Reply text or sentiment
- Reply timing or step attribution

All engagement analysis below relies on the metrics CSV (channel-level aggregates from La Growth).

---

## Channel Metrics

| Channel | Contacted | Key metric | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn | 331 new contacts | 133 accepted (40%) | 27 LI replies |
| Email | 200 contacted, 197 received | 116 opens (59%) | 4 email replies |

**Connection acceptance rate: 40%** (133/331) — the highest acceptance rate across all campaigns. "Active on LinkedIn" targeting clearly works for getting connections.

**LinkedIn reply rate: 8.2%** (27/331 contacted) or **20.3%** of those who accepted (27/133).

**Email reply rate: 2.0%** (4/200). Low, but 4 email replies is more than most campaigns.

**Total replies: ~31** (27 LI + 4 email). La Growth reports 13% reply rate.

---

## Content Analysis

### DM#1 (58 words)
Problem-first framing — "I want to make it easier to bid on more div 26 jobs." Asks for 30-min phone call. Founder story at the end.

**Observations:**
- "Div 26" is insider language that signals electrical trade knowledge — good credibility signal.
- Uses the "30-min phone call" CTA which underperforms vs open questions.
- At 58 words, it's in the shorter range — correlates with better performance.
- Mentions "user interviews" — feedback-ask framing.

### DM#2
Offers to try the application or watch a demo video. Low friction.

### DM#3
Generic offer to share learnings.

---

## Leads Analysis (limited — no engagement data)

### Title Distribution (347 leads)
| Title | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| Project Manager | 238 | 69% |
| Estimator/Project Manager | 20 | 6% |
| Project Manager II | 9 | 3% |
| PM/Estimator variants | 21 | 6% |
| Other | 59 | 17% |

This campaign is heavily skewed toward **Project Manager** titles (69%). The "Estimator turned PM" targeting worked — most leads have PM in their title with estimating background.

### Industry Distribution
| Industry | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 247 | 71% |
| Real Estate | 6 | 2% |
| Business Consulting | 5 | 1% |
| Civil Engineering | 5 | 1% |
| Other | 84 | 24% |

Mostly Construction, which aligns with the target persona.

### What we can't see
Without engagement columns, we cannot determine:
- Which specific titles replied (PM vs Estimator/PM hybrid)
- Whether the "div 26" language resonated with particular sub-segments
- Reply sentiment distribution
- Connection-to-reply conversion by any cohort

---

## Key Insights

1. **"Active on LinkedIn" targeting drives high acceptance.** 40% acceptance rate is 4x the Bay Area owner campaign (10%) and well above average. Self-selected active users connect more readily.
2. **Volume campaign with decent conversion.** 347 leads × ~9% overall reply = ~31 replies. Even without per-lead data, this is the highest absolute reply count alongside estimating-services.
3. **Missing engagement data is a significant gap.** Future exports should always verify all columns are present. This may have been an early La Growth export before the platform added engagement columns, or a settings issue.
4. **"Div 26" insider language** is a credibility signal worth testing in other campaigns. It shows electrical trade knowledge without being verbose.

---

## Recommendations

1. **Re-export leads.csv** from La Growth if possible — the engagement data would make this the largest analyzable dataset.
2. **Keep "Active on LinkedIn" as a targeting criterion** — the 40% acceptance rate is too valuable to drop.
3. **Test the "div 26" framing element** in future campaigns targeting electrical estimators.
4. **Swap the phone call CTA** for an open question — this campaign's reply rate could have been even higher.