Home Advisor

Well, I think this is an example of how markets vary. I just canceled my membership after a 6 month run at it. In 6 months I got 18 leads with a coverage area quite large. I am in a metropolitan area and continually expanded my coverage area to include not only the entire metropolitan area but also up to 40 miles outside the metropolitan area which would have been as much as 1 to 1 1/2 hour each way commutes. In that 6 months, I got 18 leads. Of those 18 leads, I got to actually speak to 5 potential customers and got 4 jobs. All the rest of the leads where nothings. No answer, no response to VM, text or e-mail all the while paying $20-$35 a lead. At the end of the day, it just doesnā€™t seem to work in this market.
If someone asked me about HA, I would tell them where I am at, for pressure washing, it does not do much. Maybe too much competition on HA I donā€™t know, but if they are in another market or another service profession, give it try and see how it works for you.
@squidskc - where I am at, if I donā€™t call within 1 minute, I never get an answer. Maybe a bad lead, or maybe someone else already spoke to them. Seems odd though that a lead comes in and the customer would only talk to the first call and then not answer any more callsā€¦So I got 18 leads, spoke to 5 of them which means 13 never answered the phone or responded to any form of communication. 72% of leads were dead ends with no chance to go anywhere much less bid a job.
Trying to get credit on those leads is impossible. They do not do it. Had a lead 2 days ago, that when I called after 5 rings the phone went dead. If it is a landline and no one answers, after about 15-20 rings a recorded message will play and if it is a cell number you get VM, VM full or VM not set-up or phone disconnected. To get a dead line is very odd. I asked for credit and told them exactly that. Got told NOPEā€¦
Called to terminate membership and get asked, ā€œWhat can we do to keep you?ā€. Perhaps a better business model in my market. If you are over-saturated with pressure washers stop adding more(not sure about this as I have looked at competitors websites and only 1 or 2 have the HA seal on it - maybe more are and just donā€™t put it on their website). If you are sending out dead leads and people ask for credit, give it to them.
Like all marketing, some will work for some and some will work for others.

Perhaps I look at it wrong, but a good lead generation service, will provide pre-qualified leads of potential customers that want to speak with the number of companies that the generation service sets-up. I get opportunities to communicate and bid on a real job. If I lose out to a competitor, no problem. But not getting to even talk to folks and paying for that - no thanks.

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My wife was doing a Google search for roof replacement and somehow got shoved to AL (which we are members) and she put in our phone number for a call back.

I know HA and AL merged in 2017, but we never expected what happened next. Within a couple minutes she got ten calls from roofing contractors. One company (and Iā€™m not exaggerating) called SIXTEEN TIMES. She was pissed. We had to track down that companyā€™s owner to get him to stop.

The calls continued for two weeks.

The upside of HA is when you get a lead for a customer that scheduled with another provider 3 days ago. Then you get to hear Adam Carolla (star of a show that busts crooked contractors) talk for 40 mins while you hold, just to be cussed at and told you suck at closing. All this for only $25 bucks a ride!

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