So I signed up with Thumbtack. My thoughts so far

Hey guys. I decided to give Thumbtack a try, depsite the general jate towards it. So far, I really like it! It’s free to sign up, and the cost of leads isn’t too pricey. I did my first quote for $8.67, called immediately, and landed the job! Afterwards, I was sure to send her an invoice with links attached to send a review. Thumbtack also sends a review request to the customer, so I got 2 reviews from her.

I typically get 2 leads per day and the price is usually 8 to 11 dollars. Sometimes they will send a discounted quote that will cost under 2 dollars.

My biggest issue so far is that most people want either pavers sealed or roofs cleaned, which i just can’t do yet because I haven’t set up the 12v pump and simply don’t have spare time to during this busy season for car sales. I also lack the experience and need to practice a few before I do one for money lol.

Anyway, it may just be market (sw florida), but for me, Thumbtack has started off well. Hopefully it really picks up this summer between them and Home advisor, which I plan to sign up in the next month. I just wanted to share my impressions so far. Maybe this will help a new guy considering to use them. Thanks for reading guys.

At $20 a day in leads…$140 per week…I.hope that you land a few good ones.

Or, do you only pay for the leads that you contact?

No way that I would give those clowns (or Home Advisor) my credit card number…no way.

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Oh no you only pay for one’s you want to contact. You can pass on whichever one you want. For example, it’ll say the client name, what they want cleaned, a message of any specific instructions, and the cost to send the customer the quote. Once you pay, you send a quote and you get their phone number. I send the quote then immediately call them. First to call usually gets the deal.

That sound good.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Thumbtack was great for my first season. Landed a few large apartment jobs and a few dozen residential. Only bad thing with thumbtack is most people are looking for the cheapest, and a lot of ppl post fake jobs to get reviews. Haven’t needed to use it since our first year but was good to us when we used it.

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I didn’t know that happens. Great that you were able to branch off from them. How are you getting most of your clients now?

Between my first and second season I emailed every property management company and Condo Association within 100 miles. Just from doing that I got in with four of the largest property management companies in our area and now we are 75% Condos… and 25% residential. Sell them on convenience, quotes in 24 hrs, no money upfront, net 30-60 billing, dont pay until their happy… Offer to do a unit for free to show them your quality of work. With residential all of our work comes from referrals from our thumbtack customers, and then it built from their. Now its mainly off of google searches and people from within condos refer us to friends and family with houses in the area. CONDOS is where the $$$ is.

One large condo job = $6,000 … You communicate with one person ( the property management company)… Do the work email one invoice. This is usually 4 days of work X 2 people

$6,000 in residential is = AVG of 24 houses… That would be 60 people contacting you…40 asking for quotes… and closing on 24 of them…24 houses to schedule…24 appoitments…24 invoices… in 4 days? Not possible.

Now the great thing about being booked with condos is that they are usually 3-4 day jobs… which leave you a day or two to fill in with residential at the end of the week.

A lot of condo associations are starting to self manage themselves, and usually belong to a group or association that helps teach them/ guidance. I found a group in my area that holds meetings twice a year with over 100 condo associations, and they are letting me set up a table outside of the auditorium for $100. Not til April, but super excited.

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If you bid on a job and they dont even open it up…chances are its fake… Should refund you though if they dont open it

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That’s amazing information. Congrats on the success man! You sound like you have your hands full. I just did a quote today for a routine cleaning on a house. They didn’t even provide a phone number so i can’t call them. Oh well, on to the next one.

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It’s full of price shoppers in our area and I haven’t had a favorable experience with it, but I’m glad it’s working out for you.

What kind of set up and personal do you need for condos and apartment complexes?

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Thumbtack can kick rocks its a waste of of money and full of price shoppers. Customers dont know that WE the contractors pay to submit every bid. They total amount of bids they get add up more then the job worth Im sure when posted. Id rather burn my 5-10 dollars at least I can enjoy the fire.

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Same as residential. We do haul our own water though, that is more of a convenience for us than anything else. Some Condos here in Michigan have there spigots in their garages so its A PITA trying to coordinate that one. 2 Guys 2 4GPM Machines, 2 Xjets, so nothing special. If dealing with three-four story buildings we will re rig the x jet so its before the lance/jrod

Not my Picture… but we do the exact same set up when doing taller apartments or condos. Unscrew the black piece that controls the fan and screw on ur standard quick connect.

.

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3 ft lance and a jrod and youll hit 3-4 stories no problem. The pressure the x jet creates helps the stream go further.

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Yeah, the consensus on this seem forum is that a 4gpm machine won’t get the job done. What all are you expected to clean? Siding and breezeways?

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expected? Whatever the bid is for. Most condos its just the siding… sometimes they want decks done, or patios done. Ya I see that all the time too, trust me you will be fine.

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Most likely getting a 4 GPM and have same concerns that it won’t be enough, so it’s nice to see your comment saying it will be :grinning::+1:t2:

I was thinking I’d have to turn down any potential 3 story jobs with a 4 GPM, but are you saying it’s doable with the x-jet? Not doable without?

You can hit 3 stories just down streaming too with a 4 gpm.

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I downstream and am pretty new to the business. Im on 4gpm, 4000psi and can hit three stories. Go for it. I am still working on landing these condo/apartments. Any tips to it would be awesome!

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Doable with both… normal X Jet would have a hard time though

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