Every month, I talk to HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors who are frustrated with their marketing. They’re spending $3,000, $5,000, sometimes $10,000 per month on agencies, ads, and websites—and they have no idea if it’s working.
When I ask them basic questions like “What’s your cost per lead?” or “Which channel brings in the most revenue?” they can’t answer.
Here’s the truth: Bad marketing isn’t just ineffective. It’s expensive. And most home services companies are bleeding money without even realizing it.
Let me show you what bad marketing is really costing you—and how to fix it.
Most contractors focus on lead volume. “We got 50 leads last month!” sounds great—until you realize only 5 of them turned into paying customers.
The problem? Not all leads are created equal. If your marketing is attracting tire-kickers, price-shoppers, and people outside your service area, you’re paying for leads you’ll never close.
What this costs you: - Wasted ad spend on unqualified traffic - Your team’s time chasing dead-end leads - Opportunity cost (you could’ve spent that money on better leads)
How to fix it: - Track lead quality, not just lead quantity - Define what a “qualified lead” actually means (in your service area, ready to book within 30 days, matches your services) - Use AI or chatbots to pre-qualify leads before they reach your team - Calculate your cost per qualified lead, not just cost per lead
Bottom line: 10 qualified leads are worth more than 50 junk leads. Optimize for quality.
Speed matters. If someone calls you at 8 PM and you don’t answer until 10 AM the next day, they’ve already booked someone else.
Studies show that responding to a lead within 5 minutes makes you 100x more likely to convert them than waiting an hour. But most contractors are still checking voicemails once or twice a day.
What this costs you: - 40–60% of your leads go to competitors who respond faster - Lost revenue from jobs you could’ve booked - Damaged reputation (customers assume you’re too busy or don’t care)
How to fix it: - Implement 24/7 call answering (AI assistants, answering services, or dedicated staff) - Set up automated text responses for after-hours inquiries - Track your average response time and aim for under 5 minutes - Use scheduling tools so leads can book instantly without waiting for a callback
Bottom line: Every hour you wait to respond is money walking out the door.
Here’s the most common bad marketing expense: the $3,000–$5,000/month agency retainer with no performance guarantees.
You’re paying for “strategy,” “brand awareness,” and “SEO optimization”—but you have no idea if it’s generating revenue. When you ask for results, they show you vanity metrics like “impressions” and “engagement” instead of actual leads and revenue.
What this costs you: - $36,000–$60,000 per year with no ROI guarantee - Opportunity cost (that money could’ve been spent on performance-based marketing) - Frustration and distrust of marketing in general
How to fix it: - Demand performance-based pricing (pay per lead, pay per result) - Require monthly reporting on leads, cost per lead, and revenue generated - If your agency can’t or won’t tie their work to revenue, fire them - Switch to a model where you only pay for actual results (no retainers, no setup fees)
Bottom line: If your agency won’t guarantee results, they don’t believe in their own work.
I see this all the time: a $10,000 website with beautiful design, fancy animations, and zero calls.
Your website has one job—turn visitors into leads. If it’s not doing that, it doesn’t matter how pretty it is.
What this costs you: - Thousands spent on design with no ROI - Lost leads because your site is confusing or slow - Ongoing hosting/maintenance costs for a site that doesn’t generate revenue
How to fix it: - Audit your conversion rate (visitors to leads). If it’s under 2%, your site is broken. - Make your phone number clickable and visible on every page - Add clear CTAs (Call Now, Book Online, Get a Quote) - Simplify navigation—visitors should be able to book in 3 clicks or less - Test your site on mobile (most of your traffic is mobile)
Bottom line: A $3,000 site that converts at 5% is worth more than a $15,000 site that converts at 1%.
Most home services companies spend 90% of their marketing budget chasing new customers and 10% (or less) on keeping the ones they already have.
But here’s the reality: It costs 5–10x more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. And referred customers close at 3x the rate of cold leads.
What this costs you: - Constantly chasing new leads instead of maximizing lifetime value - Missing out on repeat business (annual maintenance, upgrades, emergency calls) - Losing referrals because you never asked
How to fix it: - Build a customer retention system (annual maintenance reminders, seasonal check-ins) - Automate follow-ups (email/text sequences for past customers) - Ask for referrals systematically (not just when you remember) - Create a referral incentive program ($50 off for every referral, etc.)
Bottom line: Your best leads are the customers you already have. Stop ignoring them.
I’ve met contractors spending $5,000/month on Google Ads or Facebook Ads with no idea which campaigns are profitable.
They know they’re getting leads, but they don’t know: - Which ads are generating the most revenue - Which keywords are worth the cost - Which campaigns are losing money
So they keep spending on everything, including the stuff that doesn’t work.
What this costs you: - Wasted ad spend on underperforming campaigns - Missed opportunities to scale what’s working - No data to make informed decisions
How to fix it: - Set up conversion tracking (Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, call tracking) - Track every lead source (which ad, keyword, or campaign it came from) - Calculate ROI per channel (revenue generated minus cost) - Pause underperforming campaigns and double down on winners
Bottom line: If you’re not tracking ROI, you’re gambling with your marketing budget.
Google reviews are free marketing. They boost your local SEO, build trust, and generate leads on autopilot.
But most contractors either don’t ask for reviews, or they ask weeks after the job when the customer has already forgotten about them.
What this costs you: - Lower rankings in local search (competitors with more reviews outrank you) - Lost trust (customers choose businesses with 50+ reviews over those with 12) - Missed opportunities (every review is a chance to show up in more searches)
How to fix it: - Ask for reviews within 24 hours of job completion - Automate the process (send a text with a one-click review link) - Respond to every review (good and bad) - Aim for 5+ new reviews per month minimum
Bottom line: Reviews are the easiest, cheapest marketing you can do. Automate the ask.
Most home services companies aren’t failing because they’re not spending enough on marketing. They’re failing because they’re spending on the wrong things.
Here’s what bad marketing costs you: - Paying for unqualified leads - Losing leads to faster competitors - Retainers with no accountability - Websites that don’t convert - Ignoring repeat customers - Ads with no ROI tracking - Missing out on free reviews.
The good news? Every one of these problems is fixable. You don’t need a bigger budget—you need a smarter system.
Want to see where your marketing dollars are going? I offer free marketing audits for San Antonio home services companies. We’ll review your lead sources, conversion rates, and ROI—then show you exactly where you’re wasting money and how to fix it.
No retainers. No setup fees. Just results.
Let’s stop the bleeding -
Schedule a FREE Consultation Today!
