How should pool builders nurture leads who plan to build next year?

For pool builders whose pipeline is full of homeowners who said “next year” and who want more of them to sign when that year comes.

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How do I stay in touch with a pool lead who won't sign for a year?

Pool builders should treat a “next year” homeowner as a scheduled lead, not a lost one: record when they want to swim, sort them by that season, and work backward from it so design, financing and permits fit before the build slot they need. Between now and then, send something useful about once a month, such as finished builds, how the process works and what to decide when, and have the person they met check in personally every few months. When the homeowner’s decision window opens, hand the lead back to sales with a real conversation, not another email.

Long-horizon nurture is a big part of how we think about pool marketing, because a lead you’ve already paid for often costs less to sign than a new one. The agency was an equity partner in a pool construction company, where it streamlined back-office operations, built the lead-generation engine and ran sales and marketing. That business did $2M+ revenue in year one. Follow-up sequences, lead tracking and reminders are part of our automation work, and the pool builder marketing page shows how they fit next to ads and SEO. The rest of the pool builder marketing questions library takes the other steps one at a time.

Why is a homeowner who says "next year" still worth the effort?

Because they’ve already done the hardest part: they found you, picked up the phone or filled in the form, and in many cases sat through a design consultation. You paid for that lead once; letting it go cold means paying again later.

In our view, “next year” is often an honest answer, not a brush-off. A pool is a large, mostly one-time purchase, and plenty of homeowners call early on purpose: they’re saving, waiting on a bonus or a home sale, settling a question with the HOA, or simply planning ahead. Those are good reasons to wait, and none of them means the homeowner has chosen someone else.

This page is about that long stretch, from the day they say “not this year” to the season they’re ready to sign. For the shorter follow-up after a first call or a proposal, see following up during a long sales cycle.

Step 1: How do I find out when they actually want to swim?

Ask, and write the answer down. “Next year” means very different things to a homeowner who wants to swim by Memorial Day and one who’s thinking about a fall build. A short set of questions at the end of the call or the consultation gives you what you need:

• When do you want to be swimming? A season, or a month if they know.
• What has to happen first? Saving, financing, a home sale, an HOA approval, a survey of the lot.
• Who else decides? A spouse or partner who wasn’t there should get the same follow-up.
• How would you like to hear from us? Email, text or a call, and how often. Ask for consent to text here, not later.

Save the answers on the lead in your CRM or field-service software, not in someone’s notebook. The target season is the single most useful field, because every later step keys off it.

Step 2: How should I sort my next-year leads?

By two things: when they want to swim, and how far they got with you. A homeowner who has a proposal in hand needs different messages from one who only filled in a form. A simple grid works:

• Target season: spring, summer or later.
• Furthest stage: inquiry only, consultation held, or proposal sent.
• Project type: new build or renovation, since a resurfacing decision usually moves on a different clock.

Most field-service software can hold this with tags or custom fields. Jobber’s Campaigns help page, for example, describes filtering email recipients by client tags, by client status (including new leads) and by clients who never booked a job, and stacking those filters to narrow the list. Housecall Pro’s automated email campaigns can send only to customers with certain tags, or skip customers with certain tags. Whatever you use, the point is that a summer-next-year lead with a proposal never gets the same email as a someday lead who only asked a question.

Step 3: How do I work backward from their swim date?

Build each lead’s plan from the end. A homeowner who wants to swim next summer has to get through design, financing, any HOA review, permits and the build itself before then, and your crews can only take so many pools at once. Work out, from your own past jobs, how long those steps usually take in their town, and you have a date by which they really need to decide.

That date drives the follow-up. Far from it, the job is to stay useful and familiar. Close to it, the job is a clear, honest conversation about the build calendar. In our view, this is the most useful thing a pool builder can tell a next-year homeowner, because most of them don’t know how far ahead a pool has to be planned. It’s real information from your schedule, not pressure, and it’s a far better reason to decide than an invented deadline.

Keep the dates honest: use your own permit and build history for each town, and if you’re not sure, say so.

Step 4: What should I send someone who's a year away?

Things that help them make a better decision, in roughly the order they need them. A simple content plan by distance from the decision date:

• Far out: finished builds close to what they described, with a sentence on what made each one work; the difference between pool types; ideas for the space around the pool. How to use project photos and videos covers what to shoot.
• Getting closer: how your process runs from design to the first swim; what the backyard looks like during the build; questions to settle with the HOA or the city; how financing works with your lender partners, if you offer it.
• Near the decision date: which build months are still open for their season, what the design and permit steps take in their town, and an invitation to meet again.

A two-line note from the designer they met, with one photo of a pool like theirs, often does more than a newsletter. If you mention financing terms in any of these, check the rules first; advertising pool financing covers them.

Step 5: How often should I contact a next-year lead?

In our view, about once a month by email or text is enough for most next-year leads, as long as each touch gives them something. On top of that, a personal check-in from the person they met every few months keeps the relationship human: a short call or a text that asks how their plans are going, not whether they’re ready to sign.

Then change pace as their decision date approaches. In the last couple of months before it, move from monthly content to direct conversations about schedule and design. That’s the stretch where a homeowner is most likely to talk to other builders, so it’s when your attention matters most.

Watch the replies. If someone tells you their plans changed (a move, a job change, a different project first), update the target season or close the lead with a reason.

Step 6: Which parts of nurturing can I automate?

The steady, predictable parts: the monthly emails, the reminders to your team to make personal check-ins, and the switch to a different sequence when a lead’s decision date gets close. Software can carry those so nobody has to remember them.

As one example, Jobber’s Campaigns include automated templates to “win back lost leads” (leads with archived quotes that were previously considered lost) and to “close on pending quotes”. Jobber’s page also notes that automated triggers only apply from the moment the campaign is created onward and aren’t sent to clients who met the criteria before it existed. So if you set up a nurture campaign today, check that your existing next-year leads are actually in it.

Keep people on the check-in calls, the real questions and the conversation when the homeowner is ready. Automation keeps the lead warm; it doesn’t sign the contract.

Step 7: How do ads keep me in front of them for a year?

Ads cover the long gaps between your messages, when the homeowner is browsing and planning. Google and Meta both let you show ads to people who already know you:

• Website visitors. Google’s page on your data segments (what used to be called remarketing) describes using your data to re-engage people who previously interacted with your business, with ads shown as they browse Google or partner sites.
• Your own contact list. Google’s Customer Match uses customer information you’ve collected to show ads to those customers across Search, Gmail, YouTube and Display. Use only contacts who gave you their details, and leave out anyone who opted out.

For a next-year lead, the ads should match the content plan: finished builds and process far out, open build months closer to the decision. In our view a small, steady remarketing budget suits this better than bursts, because the homeowner’s timeline is long and uneven.

What rules apply to a year of emails and texts?

This is general information, not legal advice. The FTC’s CAN-SPAM compliance guide says commercial email must include your valid physical postal address and a clear way to opt out, and that you must honor an opt-out within 10 business days. The FCC’s guide to unwanted robocalls and texts says commercial texts require written consent and that people can opt out of robotexts in any reasonable manner.

A year is a long time for a list to drift. Keep the consent you collected in Step 1 on the lead, make opting out easy in every message, and stop when someone asks, on every channel. A clean list of homeowners who want to hear from you is worth more than a long one.

When should a next-year lead go back to a salesperson?

As soon as they show they’re ready to talk, and no later than their decision date. Signals worth acting on the same day:

• They reply to an email or text with a question, even a small one.
• They ask about the schedule, a material or financing.
• They mention that the thing they were waiting on (the bonus, the home sale, the HOA approval) is done.
• They call or fill in a form again.

Route those straight to the designer or salesperson who met them, with the notes from Step 1 attached, so the homeowner doesn’t have to start over. Then the job becomes the one covered in turning design consultations into signed contracts.

How do I know if nurturing next-year leads is working?

Count it. Once a quarter, look at the next-year list and answer four questions:

• How many next-year leads did we add, and from which marketing source?
• How many came back into a real conversation?
• How many signed in the season they named, and how many signed later?
• How many closed out, and why: timing, budget, chose another builder, moved?

Tie the signed ones back to the source that first brought them in, even if it was a year ago, or your reports will undervalue whatever produces planners. Tracking which marketing produces signed contracts shows how to keep that link intact.

What's different about nurturing pool leads

The buyer’s year is your schedule. A homeowner who waits too long doesn’t just lose a few weeks; they may miss the season they wanted. That makes the build calendar the most honest and useful thing you can share.

Outside steps set the pace. Financing approvals, HOA reviews, surveys and permits sit between a yes and a start date, and they vary by town. Nurture that explains them keeps the homeowner moving.

The off-season is decision season. Many next-year homeowners do their real deciding in the cold months. Plan for your nurture list to need the most attention when your phones are quietest; keeping leads coming in the off-season covers the rest of that plan.

New builds and renovations wait differently. A full build has a long lead time; a resurfacing or equipment upgrade can decide faster. Keep them in separate sequences so neither gets the wrong timing.

A worked example: what a next-year list is already worth

These numbers are made up to show the math, not a benchmark for your market. Say you spent $24,000 on marketing last year and it brought in 120 leads, so each lead cost you $200. Say 40 of those homeowners told you “next year”.

That list represents $8,000 of marketing you’ve already paid for. If a year of steady nurture turns 4 of those 40 into signed contracts, each of those contracts cost $2,000 in marketing that was already spent, plus whatever the nurture itself costs you in time and software. Whether that’s good depends on your own cost per signed contract from new leads, which is the number to compare it with.

On our side, Essentials ($3,500 a month) includes a 3-email welcome flow, and Growth ($4,500 a month) includes a 5-email welcome flow and Meta remarketing. Custom follow-up sequences are part of Scale, and automation add-ons such as a lead tracking dashboard and calendar reminders plug into any package and are priced on the discovery call.

Frequently asked questions

Should I offer a discount to lock in a next-year pool lead now?

In our view, rarely. A discount for signing early can pull a contract forward, but it also teaches homeowners to wait for the next offer. An honest look at which build months are still open for their season is usually a better reason to decide.

Is a monthly newsletter enough to nurture pool leads?

Usually not on its own. A newsletter keeps your name in front of them, but a next-year homeowner also needs personal check-ins and a clear conversation about timing as their decision date gets close.

Should next-year leads get the same emails as past customers?

No. Past customers need service, maintenance and referral messages; next-year leads need help deciding. Keep them in separate segments so each group gets what’s relevant to them.

What if a next-year lead stops opening my emails?

Try another channel they agreed to, then ask one direct question: keep them on the list for their season, or close the file? Update the lead with the answer instead of mailing into silence.

Can I add old pool leads from past years to a nurture list?

Only those who gave you their details and haven’t opted out. Start with a short message asking whether a pool is still on their plans, and remove anyone who says no or asks you to stop.

Key takeaways

• Treat “next year” as a scheduled lead: record the season they want to swim and what has to happen first.
• Sort next-year leads by target season, furthest stage and project type, and send each group what it needs.
• Work backward from the swim date so design, financing and permits fit before their build slot.
• Automate the monthly useful touches; keep personal check-ins and the decision conversation with a person.
• Count how many next-year leads sign in their season, and credit the source that first brought them in.

More in this section

• How do pool builders keep leads coming in the off-season?
• How should pool builders follow up on leads during a long sales cycle?
• How do pool builders qualify leads before the design consultation?
• How should a pool builder prepare marketing before peak season?
• How can pool builders get referrals from landscapers and builders?

Sources

1. Campaigns | Marketing Tools — Jobber Help Center
2. Automated Email Campaigns Overview and FAQ — Housecall Pro Help Center
3. About your data segments — Google Ads Help
4. About Customer Match — Google Ads Help
5. CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business — Federal Trade Commission
6. Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts — Federal Communications Commission