Playbooks
Question first outreach to local business owners: what one agency's 677 conversations show
Uberwood Agency sells ads to owners of landscaping, HVAC, spa and real estate businesses. Its agents asked each owner one question about how they win customers, followed up with an angle typical for their industry, and offered a 15 minute strategy call. 196 of 677 replied (29%), 14 asked for a call and 9 meetings were confirmed.
Published by Sellinger AI. Numbers and settings checked on 19 October 2026 against the fact register. Report an error.
- owners and leaders messaged, from 7,229 connection requests
- 677
- replied: 196 people. 70% of replies came to the first message
- 29%
- asked for a call: 9 confirmed meetings, 5 who offered a phone number
- 14
- more replies from follow ups that brought a new angle
- +43%
The scenario
Owners of local service businesses are busy, sceptical of agencies and rarely on LinkedIn for long. The agents wrote from four team profiles and had to start a real conversation in one message. Bookings went to the agency's own calendars, which Sellinger does not see, so every replied thread was read to find the meetings. See the agencies industry page.
The configuration
- 1
Day 0
Connection request
From one of four team profiles, almost always without a note.
- 2
On accept
One question
Straight to it: what is the single biggest constraint on your customer acquisition right now?
- 3
Day 5
A follow up with an angle
A typical pain for their industry, not a plain bump.
- 4
Day 10
Value, then a soft close
A stat, or a written analysis with no call needed, then a polite breakup.
- 5
Buying signal
A 15 minute strategy call
With a named business development lead. No fluff, just strategy.
The messages
| When | Who | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Agent | Noticed you're driving growth at [the company]. With your focus on expanding the client base, what's your primary method for generating new landscaping and hardscape leads right now? |
| Day 5 | Agent | Many landscaping businesses find it challenging to get a consistent stream of new leads beyond referrals. Curious if that's something on your radar? |
| 7 hours later | Prospect | It is on my radar, I have not really scaled the business yet. |
| 2 minutes later | Agent | Scaling beyond a niche is all about building a predictable system for new leads. Hop on a 15 minute call with our Director of Business Development. |
| 3 minutes later | Prospect | Thanks, I just grabbed some time with him tomorrow. |
Condensed. Names and companies removed.
The result
| Touch | Reply rate | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Intro | 19.6% | 129 of 660 |
| Follow up 1 | 8.8% | 38 of 430 |
| Follow up 2 | 3.5% | 11 of 316 |
| Follow up 3 | 2.0% | 4 of 197 |
| Follow up 4 | 1.2% | 1 of 84 |
With follow ups the reply rate reached 27.9%. Six of the 14 call requests came after an unanswered follow up that added a new angle. 37 replies were positive.
What did not work
- The offer matters more than the agent. A Connected TV plan B drew replies but, across 181 conversations where it came up, no meetings.
- Five of the nine meetings were with target buyers. The other four were marketers and consultants.
- Beyond the second follow up, very few people replied.
- The founder stepped in to reschedule or phone in 4 of the 14 wins. Close the loop with a person.
Common questions
Which question worked best?
How many follow ups should I send?
Were the meetings held?
Can this work for a new agency?
Sources and method
A playbook here is a configuration that ran, with the outcome it produced and the base of every number. It is not a template promise: your audience and offer decide your own rates. Source: Uberwood Agency case study, Sellinger production data, LinkedIn only, 18 September 2025 to 6 June 2026, snapshot 9 October 2026.
Related: Uberwood case study, agencies industry page, LinkedIn agent, all playbooks.
