A steady stream of unique home improvement leads every month is the key to a successful contracting business. Though we are sure you already know this, and the reason why you are here is simple: You are having a hard time generating those leads.
Well, it is only natural despite how many people are looking for home improvement services today because, despite the number of clients, there are also many competitors and professionals just like you.
But once you have this down, you will be able to get more estimates, take on more jobs, and have enough cash flow for your team to grow as big as you want.
No one said the task of owning a business and bringing new deals was going to be easy, but hey! We are here to lend you the hand you need.
You just need to follow up the content here and have those proven tactics to get your new home improvement contracts. But first, let’s dive into a thing or two.
What You Need to Know
It can be difficult for contractors just starting out to get noticed because they might have a lot of potentials, but knowing exactly what you can do and letting others know are two different things.
Thus, each business owner will have a different rhythm of success, and how you implement your strategies will be the key whether you are one of the rising fast or slow.
That being said, we know it can be a bit frustrating to work around your organic strategies and all the lead generation ones we will share here. However, you should be cautious about using 3rd-party directory sites and paying for home improvement lead lists.
They are often automated and may not provide you with the leads you need, and the list is usually sold to many other companies competing for the same lads.
What we can tell you is that you need to work around the paid options that are natural (like Google ads) and boost your organic options like SEO and some we will share below.
Start Building Your Website
Websites are vital for any business. No matter what anyone tells you, ignore them and just focus on building your own site since over 60% of your prospects will fall in it and will take actions to contact or hire your services.
Think about it this way: Having a website helps customers find professionals they can trust, and businesses can generate more sales and clients by having one.
We know this world is all about social media today, but people take more time searching on Google and having a look at websites instead of using the social platforms for home improvement services, at least.
Besides, in the world of online marketing, a website is essential. You will be able to achieve many results if you start with one and work your way around it.
Websites can be even more effective when you have a Google My Business Account. You can then use their hyperlocal targeting to make your website more efficient.
Your contact information must be clear and accurate for the account to ensure that potential clients can reach you quickly.
Nevertheless, what are you able to do with your website?
- You can use your website to show off your talents. Potential customers can see past projects as a great way to showcase their talents.
- To help build your brand and keep you in mind of potential leads, you can include testimonials from clients you have worked with.
It can be difficult to create a website, but with so many tools and professionals available today, you can work around this with patience and enough resources.
Got Your Website Done? Optimize It
Let’s be clear: Your website is your best tool for lead generation and conversion, but if you don’t optimize it and only focus on the design, there’s no way you will get home improvement leads.
Optimization is what will allow people to find your site based on how much effort you pour into it. For example, are you using the so-hated but needed keywords? Are you working on a user-friendly site? Mobile-friendly as well?
All these factors are crucial, but optimization is more than that.
After all, optimizing your website should bring in more visitors. Once new visitors have visited your website, conversion tools can be used for lead generation.
Do you not know which tool to use for the conversion? These ones we recommend are the cherry on your cake (aka, website):
- Calls-to-action (CTAs).
Any element on your website that calls people to action is called a call-to-action. By using buttons, you’re encouraging people to take specific actions during their visit, like contacting you or leaving a message.
Having trouble understanding what they are? It’s easy.
Calls to action on your website make it easier to convert sales qualified leads and are easily visible.
Future clients should be worth your time and effort. A client who only visits your site for 15 seconds is not worth your time and doesn’t show any interest in your products or services.
Calls to Action are a great way for qualified leads to make buying decisions as long as they have stayed on your pages for over a minute, which means they are considering your business for this.
We know that many users won’t decide to request a quote or send a message even if you place a CTA. But it will be a good way to encourage them to do so whenever they are ready for it.
These visitors need a soft conversion opportunity. For it, you can also include content offers to encourage them along with the CTAs.
You can offer it in a section of your website where you may include a contact form that allows you to collect information on potential clients or visitors.
Your sales team doesn’t have to do much other than offer qualified conversion opportunities through content offers.
These are great ways to increase your lead generation. Content offers are basically about nurturing your website with reliable information and offering some free content and details in exchange for their data.
- Conversational marketing.
Most people forget or overlook this method because they feel it is a bit odd. But what if we tell you it is rather the opposite?
First, let’s answer a question you should be asking yourself: What is conversation marketing?
Conversation marketing is basically about establishing a dialog with your leads by using tools, support, or answering their questions.
Chatbots and other conversational marketing tools may be useful in increasing traffic to your most popular pages. However, it is a great idea to have a homepage that highlights your work.
Chatbots are able to answer questions and provide information on past projects, so you shouldn’t forget about them either and instead use them as a complement for this method.
You can also have them answer your questions based on pre-existing conversations, or they can reply directly to them.
Chatbots are great because they can collect contact information from potential leads in the process so your sales team can follow up later on and boost your sales funnel.
Your sales team will refer the lead to another site if they aren’t qualified. This will remove unqualified leads from your sales pipeline and save a lot of time in this lead generation process.
Although conversational marketing is still relatively new, it can be a powerful tool to convert visitors into leads.
Research shows that visitors are more likely to become leads if they have the information they require quickly.
You Should Join Facebook Groups
Utilizing local Facebook groups is the first of many proven marketing strategies to generate new leads for your home improvement business. It is usually overlooked since people think about other options on the same platform first.
In the case of using the groups, it is a great way to be the local contractor and to get tons of qualified leads.
You can simply go to Facebook and search for your city name. Then, select groups from their menu.
After you press enter, you will be presented with a list of groups matching your search criteria. It is important to search for large, community-type groups that encourage sharing and collaboration.
Also, make sure you follow the rules set for each group by the admins or moderators if you don’t want to be kicked out or even banned in future groups.
Submit a membership request after you have found one group that meets your niche and will be useful for leads based on referrals and other options.
Just to make sure you won’t have problems when joining groups, these are the factors you MUST remember:
- You should read the rules before you join a group.
- Introduce yourself, and engage the group. But don’t spam it with your services.
- Let people know what your offer and let them know that you’re eager to be part of the community.
- This strategy is about delivering value first, answering other people’s questions, and positioning your services for people who ask for recommendations.
- Once you have built up a reputation, people will recommend your services to other group members. This is when you know that you have done a great job.
- Offer incentives to encourage customers to purchase your product or service.
What do the incentives mean?
Let’s take, for example, a homeowner who is remodeling their bathrooms.
Any remodeling process in any home will usually cost more money than ordinary people can afford; this is why most of them will doubt contacting you even if they need the services.
What you can do to avoid this issue is to provide an incentive that includes, for example, a discount for their first remodeling job when requesting the services or a quote in your company.
Another way to capture those potential leads is to send customized messages when they show interest in your services.
Incentive programs are not limited to sales and rebates either. Customers also need easy financing options, fast delivery, and other perks. Consider what makes your home improvement business stand out from the rest. Don’t be afraid to tell your customers what makes your business unique.
- Follow up as well.
Sometimes, it’s not the right time to sell in those groups or maybe, on any other platform.
This is especially true for larger purchases that involve home improvement in this case. This is why it is important to stay in touch with them so that they can keep your company in mind when you are available or when they are willing to take on new projects.
However, it can be difficult to keep in touch with all the other things you have to do every day.
Pre-created emails can automatically follow up with customers and save you all the time you could be investing in other tasks and needs.
However, even when automated emails can be useful, you need to remember that timing is crucial. Your lead may feel put off if you send too many emails, but if you wait too long, your lead may not be able to recognize your company.
Sending the first email should be done within 2 to 4 days of them stopping by or showing interest.
Regarding the frequency, send enough marketing emails to keep leads engaged. However, not too many leads unsubscribe or resent them. Your unsubscribe rate should not exceed 2%.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Is a Must
Basic SEO is essential to drive traffic to your website and get you higher up in Google’s rankings. If done well, it can dramatically increase lead generation. In fact, it is our favorite part of all and more than just a favorite; it is necessary for any business.
However, it is not easy to understand or listen to SEO. However, it is vital if you want to see positive results and get more leads.
Google My Business is a fantastic place to start if you don’t know where else to look. We will continue our exploration of it later. For now, we will focus on the main aspects of this strategy.
If you’re unsure of SEO or how to improve it for your site and business, we suggest that you focus on these aspects:
- Use correct keywords.
You can use it to attract search engines’ attention and reach a particular audience by including vital keywords.
It is better to use multiple keywords that have low search volumes than one keyword with high searches. Your keywords will be competing with many brands, so you should take every opportunity to stand out.
- Be aware of your competitors.
Backlinks are links that connect to one website from another.
It’s a great way of getting more leads by copying your competitors. Although it sounds simple, it can be tricky if you want it to be effective, and avoid copying someone else’s work to get your leads.
To identify potential prospects, it is simple to create a list simply by looking at your competitors’ links. Backlink checking software can provide this information.
Multiple tools may be required to gather the information, as they only offer a snapshot of a URL’s backlink profile.
- Use long-tail keywords.
These keywords are phrases that relate to your home improvement business and are formed by more than three words such as “Home improvement in Cincinnati” or “kitchen improvement for home or residential properties.”
Customers search for specific terms and keep their search terms local when searching for something. To help local customers find your website in search engines, long-tail keywords may be added to it.
- Take control of your website.
A website can look amazing on a desktop, but it is another story when it comes to mobile devices.
Your site must be mobile-friendly due to the shift to mobile-first indexing. Mobile sites generate the majority of leads since people don’t use their computers for searching.
- Track your journey.
Answering questions such as “What strategies are working for my company?” will be crucial to determine how you are or not on the right track to find crucial answers for your company.
You must track your progress so that you can identify areas that are performing well and others that are not. This will allow you to determine which areas you should put more effort into and which ones you should quit making room for something else.
If you’re looking for the best way to track and analyze your marketing and lead generation strategy, a CRM (Customer Relations Manager) is the best choice. To determine which leads are being generated, you can still make use of your contacts every day.
What does CRM do with people you talk to? Here’s a quick overview:
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- Tell your leads how you found them.
- This will allow you to identify the source of your leads and help you determine which generation strategies work best for generating leads and clients for your company or service.
- Ask your customers why they chose you to be their home improvement professionals.
- Are they enjoying the content? What about the latest guides and posts you have shared? Are they useful? Are you the first Google search results? What makes your company stand out from the rest? Those questions will be answered and reviewed by the CRM.
- Focus on the most effective platforms for your business.
You can adapt your lead generation strategies by understanding your current efforts and platforms, their performance, and how leads usually reach your company.
Find out if you’re participating in enough social media platforms, including using other tools and more.
An Incentive Referral Program
Word of mouth advertising has been and will remain important for one specific reason: People trust those who recommend services, and others are more likely to do the same for them.
Now, technology has changed how people spread information about businesses. It has made it easier for people to decide whether or not they can trust a company.
Customer referral programs have become more powerful than ever in lead generation strategies. They are easy to track, quantify, and measure, so you should set one immediately.
How can you make it work? It all depends on the niche of your company and the services provided.
It is possible to create personalized referral codes for each prospect and client so that they can get it immediately and feel motivated to recommend you to others when they request a service.
How does the code work? Your loyal client gets a referral discount, and a new client receives a discount for their first purchase. This cycle will result in a new client.
Clients will feel more comfortable sharing referral codes, links, and programs by emailing, texting, or any other means.
Invest Time in Multichannel Outreach
Relying only on certain channels and platforms is one of the biggest mistakes home improvement companies can make.
It is normal and acceptable to use the main channel to reach your target audience and generate leads that can be converted into clients. But did you know that your main channel could be losing qualified leads?
We’re sure you didn’t.
Don’t get us wrong. While you can still use one primary channel to reach your audience, other channels are more effective and reach more people quickly depending on their location, and if you are present in all of them, you are doubling your efforts.
We can provide you with a few reasons to invest your time in this strategy:
- Your company’s visibility increases.
- This helps you to create a complete customer experience for your company.
- You might be familiar with social media and other digital channels, so you are on-trend.
Invest in Pay-per-Click (PPC) Advertising
Pay-per-click is a great way to attract leads who are likely to convert. However, it should be done wisely.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand them entirely as long as you’ve probably seen the “Ad” signs next to Google search results for anything you are interested in. Well, here you’ve got PPC.
Ad clickers are 55% more likely than organic traffic or SEO leads to purchase your products or services.
You can still keep SEO in mind, and we stand our mention about it being crucial for any business. However, you can work around PPC and SEO while looking for your keywords and complement both lead generation strategies for high-quality leads.
Keyword selection is a key factor in PPC. This determines the location of your ad and impacts the cost per click (CPC) and how you reach your target audience.
Because they only have one or two words, short-tail keywords are harder to rank for. These phrases are highly desired.
A larger fund account will make it more likely that prominent companies will use short-tail keywords.
On the other hand, long-tail keywords have a lower CPC, which makes them great for lead generation. These keywords are less competitive because they are more specific.
Long-tail keywords are your best bet to get the best results. They will enable you to get more clicks for a smaller budget.
Once you have chosen your keywords, you are able to bid for your ad. The maximum bid is the price you will pay for a click on an ad, and prices are not as high as people think.
Your campaign will launch once you have received your placement and set your price per click.
Many business owners feel that paid ads are not worth the cost when they can generate organic leads. However, sometimes an increase in traffic is worth it, and the ads will bring better results as long as they are properly launched.
The Local Lead Generation Process for Your Home Improvement Business
All right! So, everything is about building properties and generating leads. But how does the process actually take place? Are there other steps I need to know?
The steps I mention below are what students from our local lead generation program follow to generate leads for businesses like yourself. So I’ll help you see what we do. And how if you join our program, you can simply generate leads for your own business (unless you want to start a side hustle and build a laptop lifestyle business).
Essentially, our lead generation can be divided into four steps:
The first is prospecting. You need to take the time to do market research on a niche (industry) and determine how many phone-driven businesses are there.
Keep in mind that this is local research as you need to know how many companies need leads. For example, you may search for “plumbing services Youngstown OH.”
You will find dozens or even hundreds of businesses trying to get themselves in front of the customers by ranking on Map Listings, organic results, and even Ad.
The second step, building. When you find a niche (plumbing, tree services, a software company, real estate…), you will need to start building your digital properties. You don’t need to be an expert in HTML or coding. It can be easy with the right tools.
The third step is now taking time to rank your lead gen website. With the site done, you need to work on SEO strategies and start dominating those Google search results. If you’re new to SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization.
To keep it simple, it consists of the entire process of growing a company’s visibility on search engines like Google and generating organic traffic. And remember this, local lead generation is part of the strategies.
Moving on to step four, once you rank the site, you will start getting your ROI and profits. You only need to rent it out to a local business interested in the leads the site generates. You can offer a couple of free leads to their move on with the actual pay per lead.
To review steps 1-4 above, I described it to a normal student who is building a lead gen business to help local service providers generate more calls. But replace the student with you as the business owner. And replace sending the leads to a business to simply siphoning the leads to your personal business.
By the way, fun fact, about 20% of our students in our local lead gen program are actually business owners who went through the program. And they use the skillsets we teach to generate leads for their own business.
An Example of Lead Generation: Home Advisor
You must be thinking, “if lead generation sounds so good so far, how come I haven’t seen any company?” That’s the thing; there are many out there. You just don’t know they are dedicated to it.
HomeAdvisor is one of the best examples you can find on the Internet as it is a top lead generation company that has spent millions building its brand but also earned even more zeros for this same reason.
They started small as everyone else but invested in building their brand awareness to make people who are looking for home services go to their website and find what they need. They are over 75% of people’s first choice when they need those services.
If you don’t get HomeAdvisor that much or need a refresh, users need to submit their information to request a service and get a professional or expert who can provide it.
HomeAdvisor’s job is to share your information, which makes you a lead, with local companies so they can contact you and offer the service you’re requesting. For sharing this lead information, HomeAdvisor gets paid by the companies. This happens for every single lead they send to multiple businesses.
Business owners who don’t have marketing skills or don’t even know how to have any online presence will always rely on those pages to list their services. They will save time and effort, but companies like HomeAdvisor can make them spend lots of money as leads aren’t exclusive (one lead is sent to multiple companies after all).
Using Facebook Ads aka Paid Ad Platforms: Do They Generate Leads?
They DO generate leads. If not, no one would use them.
However, you need to remember two facts:
- Paid ads or platforms can be expensive.
- They don’t generate “natural” leads.
Whenever someone sees or clicks in one of those ads, over 80% of them did it by accident or are trying to close/report it.
Why? Because they aren’t looking for those services. At least not at the moment.
What those ads do instead is interrupt their time on the platforms. Users aren’t there to find companies or businesses unless they are searching for a specific company’s user, and for that, there’s a search bar. This is why it is hard to convert them to actual customers who will show interest in the companies’ services. Also, you’re limited by a budget.
When using lead generation, everything is organic. You aren’t forcing others to pay attention to your business but rather being there when they need you. This is why Google’s organic traffic will always beat paid ads, and the reason companies continue investing in it, which is a lot cheaper as well.
What Is Local SEO?
Don’t worry… I didn’t get it at first either. Following the short explanation, local SEO focuses on scaling businesses’ visibility on search engines. However, this is only for those who serve their communities face-to-face.
What does this mean?
Experts and professionals like painters, plumbers, and dentists (but not only them) offer their services to their local customers. Why? Because they can’t deliver them unless they are located in the same area of their customers.
To make sure those businesses get more leads, you need to rank them locally by claiming the business listing on Google to place them on Map Listings. Local SEO also involves online reviews, citation management, and how you manage your entire online presence in the local area.
If you are going to bet on lead gen, you need to adapt yourself to today’s world: The Internet.
Keep in mind that although traditional channels and methods like billboards, warm calls, and pamphlets still work, they aren’t part of your tools. Whenever someone needs a service, they go to Google and search for it.
“Dentist in Miami” or “plumbing services in Orlando,” etc. And you can keep coming up with services or professionals people need and look for. Thus, you need to make sure you’re using Google to get the companies in front of their clients.
Users will always click on the first search results (those near the top), and many of them will be either Ad links (people paid to place their websites there), Map Listing, and then you get websites. Almost all of them are your goal and where you should always aim to place yourself.
Can My Home Improvement Business Utilize a Local Lead Generation Strategy?
If you want customers, you better know you need it. Following the previous explanation, lead gen is all about placing businesses in front of their customers, choosing them over their competitors.
Put it simply – it’s all about closing deals and having clients for those companies to make money. The main difference with the usual methods companies use for this is how lead generation approaches different channels to get them in the right place of the market to get customers.
Those channels are all focused on the Internet as most people are searching for products but also services across the net. The issue is that the Internet is way too broad, and businesses don’t know how to place themselves. They usually try, but they get one common result: losing money and time.
How Powerful Are Organic Home Improvement Leads from Google?
For companies looking for customers, it’s everything. For you? Pretty much the same. When you build a business with digital properties, you get to make thousands of dollars a month.
This isn’t a “get started today and get rich tomorrow” thing, but it is HIGHLY scalable, and ROI + positive results are guaranteed. Learning a fairly decent and very needed set of skills to create your digital properties and start ranking them on Google is required.
I have invested in several online businesses over the years, and if there’s something uncertain, whether you will get your ROI or not, even more than the actual profit.
However, this business moved my earnings from five figures a year to a month in ONLY passive income while sitting comfortably at home.
On my laptop. Anywhere. Anytime.
You can look at one of the first sites I built back in 2016, and it continues making me over $1.000+ every month. The best part is that I don’t need to touch it or the rest I’ve built over the years, just like this digital property.
What Makes Lead Generation SO Alluring?
Here it goes: you can work from home.
The main issue with regular business opportunities is how much you need to invest in staff, equipment, or rent to have a place to sell your products or offer your services.
We all know the hassles of traditional businesses that involve regular expenses, which are extremely high. Can you afford it? I don’t think so, and even if you can, is it worth it? Now, it isn’t only about the money. You also need to put in a lot of work, and it isn’t only during the first couple of months or years. Usually, it is as long as you continue running it.
You can save yourself those headaches and bone-breaking tasks and expenses with lead gen since it is more about generating leads with digital channels—mainly websites.
Websites can be VERY cheap to build, and with many tools online, you get to do it in a couple of hours instead of days. Any virtual or digital business is scalable and won’t need constant maintenance.
So, let’s summarize this:
- You save money in regular expenses with traditional and most online businesses as what you need is yourself and digital properties (websites).
- You can bet on passive income.
- There’s no need to hire more people to get started.
- You can generate leads in multiple industries, which allows you to work on any niche you want.
How Can I Get Started in the Local Lead Generation Program?
Anyone can start and learn. That’s the beauty of this business model. I knew nothing about SEO, Map Listing, and everything I’ve mentioned so far. It is all about learning the skills, gaining experience, and deciding to take the step.
Remember that this business model will never get old as business owners are always looking for leads. They need to do business and scale their companies. Why not do the same while helping others and still making money?
You can start with this local lead generation course highly recommended for anyone wanting to grow in the business. It is a close training that will take you through each step and make sure you are able to get your ROI, profits and take control of your life.
You will be added to an incredible lead generation family ready to help you 24/7 when asking questions on the group. Anyone is welcome who’s willing to put in the work. Click here to watch the lead gen webinar.