Hey everyone — looking for some advice from other service business owners.
I run a small land clearing/brush clearing business in Ohio, and with how wet it’s been in our area lately, things are starting to slow down a bit. I’m trying to be proactive and focus on marketing so I can keep work coming in and continue growing the business. For those of you who’ve been in a similar spot, what marketing has actually worked best for you to bring in more customers and keep jobs lined up? Facebook ads, Google ads, yard signs, referrals, local networking, something else? I’d especially love to hear what’s worked well for seasonal or outdoor service businesses when weather starts affecting the schedule. Appreciate any advice or ideas you’re willing to share.Are clients buying the visible work, or the judgement behind it?
I am building a small dog training business, and one thing I keep coming back to is that clients often see only the visible part of the service. In my case, that might look like a walk, a training session, or some handling work outside. But the real value is not just the visible activity. It is the assessment, the judgement, the reading of the dog, the owner coaching, the risk control, and knowing when not to push further. I imagine this applies across a lot of home service businesses. A client may see the mowing, cleaning, repair, landscaping, or installation, but not always the planning, experience, insurance, equipment, decision-making, or risk carried by the business. That creates a marketing problem. If we only describe the visible task, clients compare us against the cheapest version of that task. If we explain the judgement behind the work, we have a better chance of being compared on value rather than price alone. For those further along, how have you explained the “invisible value” of your work without sounding defensive or overcomplicated?
How important is social media for growing your business?
Im a one woman show. I hire day laborers but majority of the time I work alone. I’m a female contractor in the cowboy capital of Texas. The struggle is real yall. I feel like I’m constantly having to prove myself. Nobody takes me seriously until I start doing the work. Would it be wise to do videos and how much would this help me in establishing my skills and help grow business? I’m busy and I just don’t want to waste time on this if it’s not going to help. What do yall think? And what kind of videos should I do? I do a variety of work. Do I pay someone to follow me around? If you’re doing this please give me some tips and lmk how much it helped you. ThanksIs anyone else using Homestars? What has your experience been like?
I have been using Homestars and I must say, it has generated me a lot of calls. I would say it's bringing in about 80% of my business right now. I took a lot of time to perfect my profile and always ask for reviews and that has really paid off. A lot of people have said the reason they requested or hired me was because of my profile and reviews. My only issue with them is tire kickers and dead leads. People who post a job then shortlist you and don't respond, shortlist multiple pros or people who are "just looking". I wish they had more of a guarantee or verification system. Also getting a refund used to be a lot easier, but they changed their system to make it harder. Is anyone else using Homestars? Any tips or tricks on how to succeed better on there? If anyone is interested in it but has questions, feel free to DM me or reply here for my advise also!Any of you - OVER automated? Where's the Line
I was thinking about this as I'm reconfiguring our sales intake system. We are about to implement a system that will automate a lot of follow up and keep nudging people that haven't responded. I'm trying to do the same with email, and occasionally will send voice texts also. But when is it too much and you've lost the human touch? I definitely don't want to take the personality out of my business. Where have you drawn the line in your own business to keep the machine from running the whole thing?Marketing Funnels - What are you using?
I'm starting to use a Go High Level service called Snipey leads and it has a lot of capabilities for marketing funnels. I know jobber has automations around quotes, jobs etc. Those are great - but what I'm looking for is what are some of your favorite funnels you have set up right now that have been successful in your business? Or do you have a nurture campaign set up you'd be willing to share. I'm looking at setting up an IG "comment this" for XX amount off your next job or something but I want it to be valuable. One that I've had set up with Chiirp (but will be switching soon) is following up with their job after 30 then 90 days. Checking in to make sure everything is looking good and seeing if they have any questions on their install.You Get One Billboard.....
If you had one billboard for your business, just a few words seen by thousands of people every day, what would it say? The one message that really explains what you do best and why a customer should choose you over anyone else. Think about what makes your business different, what your best customers appreciate most, or what you wish people understood right away when they hear your name. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s answer!
