Marketing & Sales
Follow-ups, referrals, reviews, Google Business Profile, proposal format, and closing-tactics for service businesses.
Following Up Bids Without Being Annoying: A 7-Touch Cadence That Doubles Close Rates
Industry average close rate on residential bids is 30%. Disciplined shops close 50–60%. A 7-touch cadence across text, email, and phone turns cold bids into signed contracts.
ReadGetting Reviews From Happy Customers: A Process That Captures 30-50%
Google reviews drive 60-70% of residential contractor leads. A 3-touch review request process converts 30-50% of happy customers into reviewers — 4× the verbal-ask-only rate. Here's the exact cadence.
ReadTurning Referrals Into a Pipeline: How Top Contractors Generate 30-50% of Revenue From Word-of-Mouth
Referred customers close at 60-80% vs 25-40% for cold leads. The shops that treat referrals as a system — not luck — generate 30-50% of annual revenue from past customers, partners, and crew.
ReadGoogle Business Profile Tactics: Out-Rank Bigger Competitors in the Map Pack
The Map Pack captures 40-60% of local service clicks. Two hours a week on your Google Business Profile — categories, photos, posts, reviews, Q&A — beats competitors with 10× the marketing budget.
ReadThe Fastest-Closing Proposal Format: 13 Elements That Convert 40-55% of Bids
Two contractors can bid the same project at the same price and see a 2× difference in close rate. The winning format: 24-hour turnaround, good/better/best pricing, specific scope, exclusions, social proof, and an expiration date.
ReadHome Show ROI: How to Turn a $10K Booth Into $200K in Closed Revenue
Home shows cost 3-5× the booth fee once you count display, staff, and follow-up. Done right, a $10K all-in spend generates $75K-$250K in closed jobs. Done poorly, you burn a weekend for two jobs that would have closed anyway.
ReadDoor-Knocking Scripts That Work: 5-15% Conversion on Answered Doors
Door-knocking is not dead — random knocking is. Disciplined canvassing with the right hook (storm damage, active jobsite, age-of-home sweeps) converts 5-15% of answered doors. Here are the scripts and the legal/pay structure behind them.
ReadInsurance Restoration: How to Estimate and Get Paid Fairly on Claims Work
Insurance restoration can generate 40-60% of revenue for roofing, siding, and water damage contractors — or it can sink you with slow pay and underpaid scopes. Xactimate, ACV vs RCV, supplements, deductibles, and the legal pitfalls that matter.
ReadMulti-Bid Presentation Strategy: How to Win When the Customer Has 3 Proposals Open
60-75% of homeowners on $5K+ projects collect three bids. Your proposal is being compared side-by-side with competitors'. The shops that write for comparison — not isolation — win 20-35% more at the same price.
ReadRaising Prices Without Losing Customers: The Playbook Residential Contractors Need
A 10% price increase typically loses 3-7% of customers and nets 3-6% more revenue. The shops that raise thoughtfully protect margin; the shops that wait years for the 'right time' lose margin quietly. Here's when, how much, how to communicate, and how to handle pushback.
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