Recently I had a lot of major breakdowns, two motors, and a truck and chipper flipped and totaled. We had a tough few months trying to get going and now I feel like my sales are down and the money is becoming overwhelming with low income compared to our normal..
im need to amp up my sales and call volume. I’ve tried all I know to be possible. What’s your alls advice?
We do a lot of different advertising. We do our search engine optimization on our website, we do Google ads, we do Facebook and Instagram, a lot of networking events. Our team members distribute door knockers around the homes that we clean. I find nowadays you gotta do a lot of things to get some traction. Our top two lead source is Google ads and referrals.
Respectfully — you don’t have a sales problem. You’ve got a margin problem.
That truck, that chipper, those motors — that’s not just bad luck. That’s the business testing if your numbers can take a hit. And most guys don’t find out until it’s too late.
1. Raise your overhead and markup — period.
You have to price today’s jobs to cover yesterday’s damage. That’s what real businesses do.
If you’re not marking up materials at least 20–30%, start now.
Your hourly rates need to absorb downtime, breakdowns, and admin — not just labor.
You’re not a laborer. You’re a business owner. Charge like it.
2. You can’t out-sell broken pricing.
It doesn’t matter if you book 20 jobs — if your margin’s trash, the pressure just builds.
Rebuild your price book.
Every job should cover:
Materials (with markup)
Labor (at a profitable hourly rate)
Overhead (equipment, insurance, downtime)
Profit (yes, that’s a separate line)
If you’re pricing emotionally instead of mathematically, that’s the first fix.
3. Sales volume comes from systems, not just effort.
You said you’ve tried everything — I believe you.
But now it’s time to shift to repeatable systems:
Follow-up tracker. Every estimate gets 3 follow-ups minimum.
Maintenance or inspection offer to past clients.
Call every builder or GC you’ve ever worked with. Let them know you’ve got openings.
Offer a referral incentive that makes people want to help — not just a “spread the word.”
Bottom line:
Your income didn’t dip by accident.
It’s the result of pricing that wasn’t built for adversity.
