Is your follow-up helping you close, or annoying your leads?
This is one I had to learn the hard way. Speed-to-lead matters. If someone fills out a form, asks for a quote, or reaches out with interest, the business that responds fast usually has the advantage. A fast response can be the difference between closing the job and losing the customer to the next company they call. Quote reminders matter too. People get busy. They forget. They compare options. They need a little nudge. A good follow-up system can recover a lot of sales that would have gone cold. But there’s a point where follow-up stops feeling helpful and starts feeling pushy. That line matters. I learned this lesson from my only 1-star Google review. It wasn’t because of the service or because we did a bad job scooping. It came from a lead who didn’t want to receive any more messages, and because of technology issues with our automations, messages kept going out after they should have stopped. That one stung because it was preventable. It also taught me that automation can make you look organized when it works, and careless when it doesn’t. A follow-up system should never make someone feel trapped in your sales process. If a lead says they’re not interested, asks you to stop, or opts out, that needs to be respected immediately. No excuses. No “just one more reminder.” No system glitch that keeps poking them after they already said no. For us, that means paying closer attention to: how many quote reminders go out how close together they are what the wording sounds like whether the lead has a clean way to opt out whether the automation actually stops when it should whether a real person needs to step in before another message goes out The goal of follow-up is to reduce friction, not create resentment. A good reminder should feel like: “Hey, just checking in in case life got busy.” A bad reminder feels like: “Why won’t you answer me?” That difference affects your brand. Especially in local home services, where trust matters. People may not remember every detail of your quote, but they will remember if you made them feel pressured, ignored, or annoyed before they even became a customer. I still use automation. I still believe in follow-up. I still think most businesses lose money because they don’t follow up enough. But now I also think your follow-up system needs brakes. It needs opt-outs. It needs timing rules. It needs limits. It needs someone checking that the customer experience still feels human. Because closing more jobs doesn’t matter if the process damages your reputation with the people who don’t buy. How many times do you follow up on a quote before you stop? And do you have a clear opt-out process for people who don’t want more messages?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.Sweat equity
Building a pressure washing business with sweat equity. I've been leaving flyers and tear aways at local businesses. About to post some on local Facebook groups, is there any additional advice for adding customers but keeping it local and personal. I am hoping to build a locally recognized company... patriot Pressure Washing, PPW!Are cheap competitors actually your fault?
This is probably going to rub some people the wrong way, but I think it’s worth talking about. A lot of service business owners complain about cheap competitors. I get it. There is always someone willing to do the work for less. In my industry, I’ve seen people charge prices that make no sense once you factor in drive time, labor, supplies, fuel, insurance, taxes, and the actual time it takes to do the job right. But I also think we have to be honest as business owners. If the only thing a customer understands about your service is the task itself, they are going to compare you against the cheapest version of that task. For us, that would be: “They scoop dog poop.” So the customer starts comparing: price frequency who can come sooner who seems cheaper That’s a weak position to be in. The customer has no reason to value the difference because we haven’t explained the difference well enough. That’s where positioning matters. For us, we had to get much better at explaining what the customer is actually paying for: proactive communication reminders before service on-the-way messages gate photos after every visit waste hauled away thorough multi-pass yard checks professional invoicing and scheduling reliable weekly service trained and background checked technicians a company that shows up consistently Those things matter to our best customers. And when we looked through our reviews, customers were already telling us that. They were saying things like: “worth every penny” “like clockwork” “one less thing to worry about” “they text before they come” “they send a picture of the closed gate” “they take the waste with them” “our last company left the gate open” That changed how I thought about cheap competitors. Some customers will always choose the cheapest option. That’s fine. But if too many good-fit customers are comparing you only on price, your message may not be doing enough work. Your marketing should make it clear why your service costs what it costs before the customer ever asks. That means talking about: risk trust reliability communication safety convenience consistency the cost of hiring the wrong company The cheaper competitor may still win some customers. But I don’t want to lose the right customers because I failed to explain why we’re different. Are cheap competitors hurting your business, or is your positioning making it too easy for customers to compare you on price?
How To Get Customers Without Relying on Thumbtack or Lead Generation Apps?
Hey yall. Im Simon 35 based in Brooklyn NYC and im a Mobile Welder. My jobs comes from Thumbtack however that platform along with others like it are beginning to get saturated with low ballers. Any advice you guys can offer for marketing and customer reach? Im open to all suggestions and guidance.Brand new junk removal biz grossed $9k from June 1 - June 22nd
I was learning how to market while trying to rent websites to businesses (set up a lead generating website and sell all the leads to an exclusive partner on a monthly flat rent) and realized I wanted my hands on that blue collar service. I always wanted to run a business that genuinely helps people and the community and found that junk removal could do just that. Making money of course is important. I want a good life just like everyone does. So here is what made our junk removal business start paying the bills in our first month of ditching W2. Verified Google Business Profile Clean website with SEO/Keywords Google search ads (pay per click) Google local service ads. Meta Ads Posting organically Begging on Facebook marketplace (actually got a good amount of jobs but is not super reliable or consistent. I know that customer acquisition is tough but so necessary for running a business so really focus on your online presence!
What are some ways to remarket your business that are effective?
I am basically starting all over from scratch other than the five or so clients that I currently have. I've been a solo cleaner since 2022 and have been able to keep my business afloat without any debt and making sure everything is in order in my office. From 2023 to the end of 2024 I had a very successful cleaning business because of a apartment complex I was cleaning for on a regular basis, I no longer have that client or situation. I am coming to a portion of trying to get clients again and I'm not sure if I need to lower my rates at this point, but I don't know if my marketing game is on point right now. So my question is what are you doing to market your business to bring in more clientele? How are you advertising? Thank you! - Teig
