Totally agree, they call us from time to time.
Word of mouth is huge here too. Most people are also pretty trusting. If I lived 3 hours North in Chicago I bet they wouldnāt beā¦lol. Iāve never met most of my customers. They fill out my online form, I email the the estimate, they accept it, we schedule, I clean, I email an invoice, and they pay. Just the way I like it. Some do want to meet or want me to come out and do an estimate in person. They are usually the older folks. I think California just does the opposite of everything we do here. Well, except for @Chesebro. Heās one of us. 
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Iād say 75% of the time we do in person bids, people here like the meet and greet. We donāt mind, we think it helps us land not just the job but loyal customers. We have a high repeat rate, customers going back 25 years. So spending a little time upfront to get them to see the value in who their getting is worth it. We do have some that just call, want a price and schedule. But we try to meet all our customers, we just like it that way. Itās worked for us, but totally see how other ways work for others too. Preference comes into play here I think too.
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Hope everyone is having a great year, so I signed up with home advisors when I started my business a month agoā¦ Iām a new business ive been going door to door hanging tags and passing out flyers. On the jobs I get my self I make a lot more than the home advisors job the leads suck but I have been doing slot of the jobs they send me but they are all very low net deals. Does any one do direct mail?
I agree. I do the same meet and greet, and even explain to them how I come up with my estimate. All while explaining my process and equipment. I also believe it leads to a pretty high conversion rate. If you do great work, and are cordial with customers, your reputation will speak for itself, and land good jobs.
Welcome to the board Lakeside. I have been at this line of work full time for a little over a year and a half. I invested in my equipment/trailer and tools pretty heavily after I got about 6 mos experience. It is important to have your name on something-your trailer, your vehicle, yard signs. Get known in your neighborhood/friends neighborhood fb groups. You want to be the guy that gets tagged on the ādoes anyone know a good pressure washerā¦ā blind inquiries on fb neighborhood groups. I canāt speak for direct mail, I donāt do it. My thoughts are that itās not a terribly high success rate, more of a āspray and prayā marketing scheme, where the interest you receive will mostly be cost based. (How cheaply can I get this service that I didnāt initiate interest in). However, if you are trying to get your name out there, it may be worth it to take a reduced rate on say SC ing a driveway in exchange for getting yard sign visibility in a neighborhood you want to be in.
Speaking of getting tagged. I had a customer call me up and cuss me out because I was ātoo good to work on a Saturdayā. She asked on Facebook for reccomndations after and 3 of my customers tagged me in it 
ultimate payback
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Awesome thank you for the advice most of the work has been word of mouth I havenāt decided on a direct mail piece yet I was considering because a local company just did one in the area Iām thinking Iām going to stick to the hang tags and signs for now Iāve got signs on my truck and water tanks to some yard signs definitely need more
Facebook ads are also pretty good return too if you already have a page. People love the job recap videos I post
Thank you, yeah Iāve got to get better with the face book ads Iām not to familiar with Facebook Iām going to have to do more research on doing ads I ran one in the beginning but didnāt see any return I also didnāt invest a lot into it though
Feel free to checkout my ads for any ideas. I have my leads down to like $6-8 rn. Having customers comment on the post reccomending you is a big help too
Should be my last couple posts
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They were upset you wouldnāt work on a Saturday?
Thanks brotha!! Much appreciated I will check them out thank you
Donāt ask me why man. Theyāre business owners (retail) who are open on Saturday and they expect me to be too, not how it works
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Thatās just crazy.
I hope you hung up on themā¦ I would have.
I actually really like Home Advisor, but it only serves a specific purpose in my company of getting us work when leads from other sources have dried up. Itās more expensive than other marketing and way more tedious, but hereās how Iāve been able to make it work for me:
-Only turn on leads when you are available to immediately respond to them. Call the customer as soon as the lead comes in. Download the app so when you see the call come it, you can reject the call, and call the customer through the app without having to wait for the automated phone system. If you make contact with the customer, set up a time to meet them ASAP, or let them know you will be sending them their quote immediately so they can keep an eye out for it.
-Only turn on leads when you have availability in the next few days to do the work. Iāve had multiple instances where the customer accepted my bid, then cancelled because one of the other guys called and could get to it sooner. Iāve found I can beat out competitors by being extremely responsive and securing appointments with the customer
-I typically bid on the lower end of my normal spectrum, to where Iād cover my costs and still make a profit, but am not trying to make a crazy amount on these jobs. These jobs are just to get us through slower times while still making some money.
-Always use up your free credits. If you call and leave a voicemail, you can request a credit for that job after 24 hours, and they will automatically approve up to 3 every few weeks or so. Once Iāve used all my credits, I often turn leads back off. I donāt lie about leads to get them credited, but if I havenāt heard back within 24 hours I get my credit. The customer may call back a week later, but youāve already got your money back.
-HA is more valuable if you have a customer database that you market to, because you acquire every leads address, email, and name. If you leave a voicemail, their automated greeting will often contain their phone number.
Iām always very happy when we get booked out and I get to turn it back off, but Iāve definitely come to realize itās like any other tool: worthless if you donāt know how to use it, but it definitely has its place for us.
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After explaining that I would like to come in at 3 am the next morning to pickup a fridge (they own an appliance store) I did!
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Or, call them up at 2:00 a.m. and cuss them out for not being open in the middle of the night.
Thank you man thatās basically how Iāve been handling it i came from management in a car dealership into this so I handled the leads the same way Iāve noticed Iāve gotten quite a bit of business from them but there all shoppers I can go bid a job I get for my self and Iāll net double than these home advisors leads I like the idea of turning them on and off. The credits are nice you can also call your rep and ask why they are sending bad leads Iāve gotten a few credits back and your right done over use the system and youāll be fine.
