Tag: Agency Operations

You have a job to fill. You’ve probably already drafted the Indeed posting. Before you publish it, spend 20 minutes doing something that will generate better candidates, cost nothing, and quietly remind 400 warm contacts that your company exists.

Send an email to your entire local database.

This guide is the tactical companion to the strategic case for treating your CRM as a community. That article explains why this works. This one tells you exactly how to do it — the segments, the copy, the timing, and the follow-up. Take this document and hand it to whoever manages your email or your CRM. They can have the campaign out this week.

Before You Write a Word: Pull and Segment Your Database

The hiring email only works if it feels personal. A generic blast to a mixed list feels like spam. Three short, targeted emails to three different audiences feel like a phone call from someone who respects the relationship.

Your minimum viable segmentation is three groups:

Segment 1: Past Homeowner Clients (Local Only)

Filter your CRM or job management software for residential jobs completed in your service area in the last three to five years. If your system is ServiceTitan or Jobber, you can export this directly from the customer list filtered by job type and zip code. If you’re on a spreadsheet, sort by city or zip and pull anything within your service radius.

What you’re looking for: name, email address, job completion date, and job type (water, fire, mold, etc.). You don’t need anything else for this email.

Segment 2: Industry Contacts (Adjusters, Agents, Public Adjusters)

These are the professional referral relationships in your CRM — insurance adjusters you’ve worked with on claims, agents who have sent you referrals, PAs you’ve collaborated with. Filter by contact type if your CRM supports it, or manually tag this group.

Segment 3: Trade Contacts (Vendors, Subs, Partners)

Suppliers, subcontractors, and trade partners. These people understand your business from the inside and often have the strongest networks within the trades workforce.

If your database is in ServiceTitan: navigate to Customers → Export, then filter by customer type. For Jobber: go to Clients → Export CSV. For a spreadsheet: create a column called “Segment” and sort manually. The whole segmentation process for most restoration companies takes under an hour.

The Email Copy: Three Versions, One Campaign

Each version is short. The goal is a 90-second read that feels like a note from a real person, not a marketing email. Do not use HTML templates with banners and logos. Plain text or minimal formatting performs significantly better for relationship-based emails. No header image. No footer with six social icons. Just your name, your company, and the ask.

Version 1: Past Homeowner Clients

Subject line: Quick question — do you know anyone looking for good work?

Hi [First Name],

It’s [Your Name] from [Company Name]. We had the pleasure of working with you on your [water/fire/mold] job at [property address or neighborhood] — hope everything has been holding up well since then.

I’m reaching out because we’re growing. We’re currently looking for a [position title — e.g., crew lead, project coordinator, estimator] to join our team, and before we post publicly, I wanted to reach out to people we’ve worked with and whose opinion I trust.

If you know someone who might be a great fit for a company like ours — a family member, a friend, someone in the trades looking for a stable company with a good culture — I’d love to hear from you. Just reply to this email with their name and I’ll take it from there. No formal application needed on your end.

Either way, I hope you’re doing well. And if you ever need us again or have any questions about your property, don’t hesitate to reach out.

[Your Name]
[Title]
[Company Name]
[Phone Number]

Version 2: Industry Contacts (Adjusters, Agents)

Subject line: Growing our team — wanted to reach out to you first

Hi [First Name],

Hope things are going well on your end. I wanted to reach out personally because we’re adding to our team — specifically hiring for [position title] — and I always prefer to see if someone in my network has a connection before going the generic posting route.

If you know anyone in the area who would be a great fit for a professional restoration company — someone who takes their work seriously and wants to be part of a growing operation — I’d genuinely appreciate the introduction. Just reply with their contact info and I’ll handle it from there.

Thanks for everything over the years. Looking forward to the next one.

[Your Name]
[Title]
[Company Name]
[Phone Number]

Version 3: Trade Contacts (Vendors, Subs)

Subject line: Hiring for [position] — know anyone good?

Hey [First Name],

We’re hiring for [position title] and figured I’d reach out to people in the trades before going the job board route. You know the kind of people we work with better than anyone.

If anyone comes to mind — someone looking to land somewhere solid — just shoot me a reply. Happy to take it from there.

[Your Name]
[Company Name]
[Phone]

The Technical Setup: Getting These Emails Out

You have three realistic paths depending on what tools you already have.

Path A: Your CRM’s Built-In Email (ServiceTitan or Jobber)

Both ServiceTitan and Jobber have basic email blast capability built in. In ServiceTitan, navigate to Marketing → Campaigns → Email. In Jobber, use the Client Communications feature under the Marketing tab. Compose your email, select your filtered list, and send. This is the fastest path if your contact list is already clean in the system. Limitation: formatting options are limited and tracking (opens, clicks) may be minimal depending on your plan tier.

Path B: Mailchimp (Recommended for Most Shops)

Mailchimp’s Essentials plan starts at $13/month for up to 500 contacts. For a typical restoration company database of 300–800 local contacts, you’ll likely stay in the $13–$30/month range depending on list size. The free plan as of 2026 caps at 250 contacts with no automation, which is not enough for most shops — pay for Essentials.

Setup process:

1. Export your three segments from your CRM as CSV files (Name, Email, Segment Type, Job Type)
2. Create three Audiences in Mailchimp — one per segment — or use one Audience with tags for each segment
3. Build one campaign per segment using the corresponding email template above
4. Schedule them to send on the same day, 30 minutes apart, so you’re not flooding your own inbox with replies simultaneously

Important Mailchimp note: the platform charges for unsubscribed contacts unless you manually archive them. If your list has been in Mailchimp for a while, audit it before your campaign — you may be paying for contacts who can’t receive your email. Archive anyone who unsubscribed more than 6 months ago.

Path C: Brevo (Best if You Have a Large or Mixed List)

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) prices by emails sent rather than contacts stored, which works in your favor if you have a large database but only email them a few times a year. Their free plan includes 300 emails per day with unlimited contact storage. For a quarterly campaign to 800 contacts, Brevo’s free tier may cover your needs entirely. Upgrade to the Starter plan ($9/month) if you need scheduling and no daily send limit.

Timing and Frequency

Send the homeowner version on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning between 9am and 11am local time. Open rates for warm, local databases are typically highest mid-week in the morning window — people are at their desks, not yet in weekend mode.

Send the industry version on the same day, 30 minutes later. These contacts are professionals and check email throughout the day — timing matters less than it does for homeowners.

Send the trade version on the same day, afternoon. Tradespeople often check phones between jobs in the afternoon rather than first thing in the morning.

Do not send all three simultaneously. Staggering by 30 minutes gives you manageable reply volume and prevents any single moment of inbox overwhelm.

What to Do With the Replies

This is where most companies drop the ball. The email generates replies. Someone refers their nephew who’s looking for work. An adjuster forwards it to a plumber he knows. A past homeowner replies just to say hi and mention their neighbor had a pipe burst last month.

You need a simple log. A Notion page, a Google Sheet, or even a notes field in your CRM — whatever you’ll actually use. For every reply:

• Log the sender name and contact type (homeowner, adjuster, vendor)
• Log whether they referred someone (yes/no)
• Log any other signal in the reply (lead mention, service inquiry, general warmth)
• Set a follow-up reminder for 30 days if the reply was warm but didn’t lead anywhere immediately

This log becomes the seed of your community intelligence layer. Over time, you’ll see which contacts are active in your network and which have gone completely cold. That’s information worth having.

The Prompt Library: Using Claude to Write Your Versions

If you want to adapt these templates for your specific company voice, job title, or market, here are four ready-to-use prompts for Claude (claude.ai). Paste these directly into a new Claude conversation:

For the homeowner version:

“Write a short, plain-text hiring email from a restoration company owner to a past homeowner client. We completed [water damage / fire damage / mold remediation] work for them in [city]. We’re hiring a [job title]. The email should feel personal and warm, mention that we’re reaching out before posting publicly, and ask if they know anyone — family or friends — who might be a great fit. No sales pitch. No marketing language. Sign it from [owner name] at [company name]. Keep it under 150 words.”

For the industry version:

“Write a short professional email from a restoration company owner to an insurance adjuster they’ve worked with on claims. We’re hiring a [job title]. The tone should be collegial and peer-to-peer — not formal, not salesy. We’re reaching out to trusted contacts before posting publicly and asking for referrals if they know anyone in the area. Keep it under 120 words.”

For the subject line variations:

“Give me 5 subject line options for a hiring referral email from a restoration company to past clients. The email is not a job posting — it’s a personal note asking if they know anyone who might want to work at a company like ours. The tone should be warm and human, not corporate. No clickbait. No exclamation points.”

For customizing to your brand voice:

“Here are two emails I’ve written before that represent how I communicate with clients: [paste examples]. Using this voice, rewrite the following hiring email template: [paste template]. Keep the same message but make it sound like I wrote it.”

Frequently Asked Questions