2026-03-estimating-services

# Campaign: Estimating Services
**La Growth name:** Estimating Services
**Audience:** Estimating Services
**Leads:** 139 | **Reply rate:** 18%

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## LinkedIn path (connection accepted)

### Step 1: DM #1 (after accept)
Hey {{firstname}}, thanks for connecting. I’m a former electrical apprentice turned software dev that spent the last decade building tools at PlanGrid and Autodesk.  I'm building a tool that scans construction documents for takeoffs and Q&A. I’m curious if manually scrubbing specs and drawings is currently a major bottleneck for you or your team at {{companyName}}?

Alexei


### Step 2: DM #2 (if no reply)
Would you be open to trying an early version of this platform for free? Getting feedback from folks like yourself help me build something that people actually need.


### Step 3: DM #3 (if no reply, no email)
I can also send a demo video of the platform and get your feedback that way?


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## Email path (accepted, has email)

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

I’m a former electrical apprentice turned software engineer that spent the last decade building tools at Autodesk and PlanGrid.

I'm building a tool that scans construction documents for takeoffs and Q&A. It allows you to "ask" the documents questions directly - automating the extraction of electrical gear or verifying quotes against submittals.

Since you are managing projects at {{companyName}}, I’m trying to validate if this solves a real bottleneck for you. Do you or your team lose significant time manually scrubbing specs and drawings for this kind of data?

Alexei

---

## Email path (NOT accepted)

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

I’m a former electrical apprentice turned software dev that spent the last decade building tools at Autodesk and PlanGrid.

I'm building a tool that scans construction documents for takeoffs and Q&A. It allows you to "ask" the documents questions directly - automating the extraction of electrical gear or verifying quotes against submittals.

Since you are managing projects at {{companyName}}, I’m trying to validate if this solves a real bottleneck for you. Do you or your team lose significant time manually scrubbing specs and drawings for this kind of data?

Alexei


### Step 7: Email #2 (if no reply)
**Subject:**
Would you be open to trying an early version of this platform for free? Getting feedback from folks like yourself help me build something that people actually need.

Alexei


### Step 8: Email #3 (if no reply)
**Subject:**
I can also send a demo video of the platform and get your feedback that way?

Alexei

# Retro: Estimating Services

**Campaign ID:** 2026-03-estimating-services
**La Growth name:** Estimating Services
**Audience:** People at estimating services firms
**Leads:** 139 | **Replies:** 19 | **Reply rate:** 13.7%

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## Channel Metrics

| Channel | Contacted | Key metric | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn | 139 new contacts | 49 accepted (35%) | 18 LI replies |
| Email | 82 contacted, 81 received | 44 opens (54%) | 1 email reply |

**Connection acceptance rate: 35%** (49/139) — second highest across all campaigns. Strong signal that estimating services professionals are active on LinkedIn and open to connecting.

**LinkedIn reply rate: 13.0%** (18/139) or **36.7%** of connected leads (18/49). The highest quality engagement across all campaigns.

**Email open rate: 54%** (44/81) — highest email engagement, but only 1 email reply. LinkedIn is dominant.

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## Content Analysis

### DM#1 (57 words)
Founder-story-first framing — "I'm a former electrical apprentice turned software dev that spent the last decade building tools at PlanGrid and Autodesk." Ends with an **open question**: "I'm curious if manually scrubbing specs and drawings is currently a major bottleneck for you or your team at {{companyName}}?"

**This is the best-performing DM#1 across all campaigns.** It combines:
- Founder story opening (proven best framing)
- Short length (57 words — in the sweet spot)
- Open question CTA about pain point (proven best CTA)
- Company-name personalization
- Specific, relatable problem statement

### DM#2
"Would you be open to trying an early version of this platform for free?" — Good escalation from question to trial offer.

### DM#3
"I can also send a demo video?" — Low-friction alternative.

### Email subject
"Former electrical apprentice & Autodesk dev" — Strong credibility hook. Longer email body (95 words) with more product detail.

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## Reply Analysis (19 replies)

### Reply-by-reply breakdown

| # | Title | Company | State | Sentiment | Reply summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assistant PM | Accu-Crete | NC | Neutral | "nice to connect" — polite acknowledgment |
| 2 | Senior Associate | Michael Baker Intl | CA | Decline | "I am not in the type of work that could use your services" |
| 3 | Project Manager | AZ Estimators | — | **Strong positive** | Has helped develop AI estimating software, thinks others "were going at it from the wrong direction" — wants to share insights |
| 4 | Senior Construction Estimator | Rogue Field Services | TX | **Positive** | "This is the best" — shared personal email for follow-up |
| 5 | Project Director | First Onsite Property Restoration | WA | **Positive** | "Of course" — open to engaging |
| 6 | Architectural Standards & QA Lead | Higharc | SC | Decline | "No, thanks" |
| 7 | Sr Project Controls Manager | HNTB | MI | **Warm decline** | Acknowledges "great application" but wrong market (heavy civil, not electrical) |
| 8 | Senior Estimator | HSH Contracting Services | ON | **Positive** | Also building AI estimating software — potential peer/partner |
| 9 | Senior Director of Cost Mgmt | OCMI | CA | Decline | "No thanks" |
| 10 | Senior Building Consultant | Aggregate Construction | TX | Decline | "My field is forensic construction, no new builds" |
| 11 | PM - Civil Engineer | AGCM Project Mgmt | TX | **Positive** | "Hello Alexei, sounds good" |
| 12 | Planning & Scheduling Manager | Granite Construction | TX | **Positive** | Shared personal email for follow-up |
| 13 | Senior Construction PM | Redemption Engineering | IN | **Positive** | "👍 sure" |
| 14 | Senior PM | Helical Pile Solutions | AB | Spam | Sent a sales pitch back (home renovation lead gen) |
| 15 | Senior PM | SKANSKA USA Building | GA | Polite decline | Role changed, no spare time |
| 16 | President | Site Construction Estimating | SC | **Strong positive** | Familiar with PlanGrid, interested in the product — best lead |
| 17 | Owner | Self employed | MO | Decline | "I only do architectural woodwork estimating" |
| 18 | VP Operations | McGill Restoration | NE | Timing | "Between roles right now, not in need" |
| 19 | VP Operations | NEO-Build.Homes | ON | **Positive** | Shared company email for follow-up |

### Reply sentiment distribution
| Sentiment | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| **Positive / strong positive** | 8 | 42% |
| Polite decline | 3 | 16% |
| Hard decline | 3 | 16% |
| Wrong market/fit | 3 | 16% |
| Neutral (small talk) | 1 | 5% |
| Spam | 1 | 5% |

**42% of replies showed genuine interest** — the highest quality ratio across all campaigns.

### Who converted (positive replies profile)

| Title | Company size | Industry | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Manager | Small (estimating firm) | — | — |
| Senior Construction Estimator | Small (field services) | Oil & Gas | TX |
| Project Director | Mid (property restoration) | — | WA |
| Senior Estimator | Small (contracting) | Construction | ON |
| PM - Civil Engineer | Small (project mgmt) | Construction | TX |
| Planning & Scheduling Manager | Large (Granite Construction) | Construction | TX |
| Senior Construction PM | Small (engineering) | — | IN |
| President | Small (estimating firm) | Consulting | SC |
| VP Operations | Small (residential builder) | Residential | ON |

**Pattern:** Positive replies are dominated by **senior titles at small-to-mid firms** — PMs, Senior Estimators, Directors, Presidents. These are people who both do the work AND make purchasing decisions. Texas (4 positive) and Ontario (2 positive) are the hottest geographies.

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## Leads Analysis (139 leads)

### Title distribution vs reply rate
| Title cluster | Count | Replies | Rate | Positive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Manager variants | 7 | 3 | 43% | 2 |
| Owner | 6 | 1 | 17% | 0 |
| President | 6 | 1 | 17% | 1 |
| Senior Estimator | 4 | 1 | 25% | 1 |
| Director variants | 3 | 1 | 33% | 0 |
| Senior PM | 3 | 2 | 67% | 1 |
| CEO | 3 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
| Other | 107 | 10 | 9% | 3 |

**Project Managers and Senior PMs dominate** — 5/7 PM-titled leads replied (71%), with 3 positive. This validates the cross-campaign finding that PM titles are the best segment.

### Industry distribution
| Industry | Count | Replies | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 64 | 7 | 10.9% |
| Civil Engineering | 5 | 2 | 40.0% |
| Business Consulting | 5 | 0 | 0% |
| Oil and Gas | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| Software Development | 1 | 1 | 100% |

Construction is the core audience. Civil Engineering at 40% is interesting — these are adjacent professionals who also do estimating.

### Connection-to-reply conversion
49 connected leads → 18 LinkedIn replies = **36.7% conversion of connected leads**. This is exceptional and confirms that the content resonated strongly with this audience once they accepted the connection.

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## Hypothesis Verdict

**Hypothesis:** Estimating services professionals are a strong target for construction AI tooling.

**Verdict: Strongly confirmed.** 13.7% reply rate, 42% positive sentiment among repliers, 35% connection acceptance. This is the best-performing campaign on every quality metric. The open-question CTA + founder-story + short length formula works.

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## Key Insights

1. **This is the gold-standard campaign.** Best combination of volume (19 replies), quality (42% positive), and connection rate (35%). Every future campaign should use this as the template.
2. **The DM#1 formula works:** founder story + open question about pain point + under 60 words + company name personalization.
3. **Senior titles at small firms are the sweet spot.** They do the work, feel the pain, AND can make purchasing decisions. Large enterprises (SKANSKA, Granite) reply politely but can't act.
4. **Texas and Ontario are hot.** 4 positive replies from Texas, 2 from Ontario. These geographies should be weighted in future targeting.
5. **The "also building AI" signal.** Two repliers mentioned they're building or have built AI estimating tools themselves. This is a sign the market is ready — people in the industry recognize the opportunity. These could be collaborators or acquisition targets.
6. **Wrong-market replies reveal audience bleed.** 3 replies from people in forensic construction, heavy civil, and architectural woodwork — all outside electrical. Better Sales Nav filters could exclude these.
7. **Email subject line "Former electrical apprentice & Autodesk dev"** drove 54% open rate — the best across all campaigns. The dual credibility hook (trade + tech) works for email subject lines.

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## Recommendations

1. **Clone this campaign's DM#1 as the default template** for all future campaigns.
2. **Target estimating services firms nationally** — don't geo-restrict, but weight Texas, Ontario, Florida.
3. **Tighten Sales Nav filters** to exclude civil engineering, forensic construction, and architectural woodwork estimating. Focus on electrical + mechanical.
4. **Follow up with the 8 positive replies** — especially AZ Estimators (deep domain knowledge), Site Construction Estimating (familiar with PlanGrid), and Rogue Field Services (shared personal email).
5. **Test a "social proof" variant** in the next campaign: "I've been testing with estimators at a few firms and the feedback has been positive" to see if it beats pure founder-story.