7 FUB Texting Best Practices That Actually Move the Needle

Sending texts through Follow Up Boss is table stakes. Sending them well is what separates agents who get replies from agents who get ignored. Here are seven practices that consistently improve response rates.

1. Send During Business Hours (But Not at 9 AM Sharp)

Everyone sends their texts first thing in the morning. Your lead's phone lights up with five agent texts at 9:01 AM and yours gets lost in the pile.

Stagger your send times. Mid-morning (10-11 AM) and early afternoon (1-3 PM) tend to see higher open and response rates. SendMate handles this automatically — its randomized delays spread your texts naturally across your send window.

2. Keep Messages Under 160 Characters When Possible

Longer texts get split into multiple SMS segments, which can arrive out of order or feel overwhelming. Short, direct messages that sound like a real person texted them get the best responses.

Good: "Hi Sarah, saw you were looking at homes in Wilmington. Any specific neighborhoods you're interested in?"

Too long: "Hello Sarah, my name is John Smith with ABC Realty and I noticed you recently inquired about properties in the Wilmington area. I wanted to reach out and let you know that I specialize in this market and would love to help you find your perfect home. When would be a good time to chat?"

3. Use the Lead's First Name

This sounds obvious, but check your action plan templates. If you're using generic openers like "Hi there" instead of the contact's first name, you're leaving response rate on the table. FUB merge fields make this automatic.

4. Don't Text Landlines

Sending a text to a landline doesn't just fail — it wastes a task and makes you look unorganized if the contact ever finds out. Tools with landline detection (like SendMate) catch these before they send and convert them to call reminders instead.

5. Respect Quiet Hours — It's the Law

TCPA regulations restrict texting before 8 AM and after 9 PM in the recipient's time zone. Violating this isn't just bad etiquette — it's a legal liability with fines up to $1,500 per message. Any automation tool you use should enforce this automatically, not leave it up to you to remember.

6. Space Your Texts Out

Sending 50 texts in 5 minutes doesn't look human. Carriers may flag it as spam, and leads who compare notes will realize they all got texted at the exact same time.

Natural spacing — anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes between sends — mimics how a real person would work through their list. This is one of the biggest advantages of automation: it's patient in a way humans aren't.

7. Track What's Working

Do you know which action plans generate the most replies? Which time windows get the best response rates? If you're not tracking your text metrics, you're guessing.

At minimum, track: daily send count, response rate by time of day, and which lead sources produce the most engaged contacts. Over time, this data tells you exactly where to focus.

The Common Thread

All seven practices come down to one thing: making your assisted texts feel like they came from a real person who cares. The technology should be invisible. The connection should feel genuine.