Guides for builders and trades
Plain guides on getting homeowner enquiries, answering them, and winning the quote.
Answer and follow up
- 01How to filter tyre kickers before you spend a day on an estimateA tyre kicker is someone who wants a price but is not ready to buy. Five questions, asked kindly in about three minutes, tell you who is worth a day of your time.
- 02Missed call text back for tradies: what to say and what to avoidA short, honest text within minutes of a missed call keeps the job warm while you are on site. Here is what to write, when to stop and the spam rules to check.
Australia, New Zealand and the US
Buying leads
- 04Where to buy leads for a trade business, and what to check before you doLeads come from four places. What matters is how many other businesses get the same homeowner, and what the seller puts in writing.
- 05A lead generation agency or doing it yourself: what a small trade business should weighWhat a lead generation agency actually does for a builder, what it costs in hours and cash, and how to test one before you commit.
- 06Lead generation companies for builders and contractors: how to choose oneA checklist for choosing any lead generation company, for any trade: what to ask, what to read in the contract, and when to walk away.
- 07Tradie leads in Australia: five sources and the catch in eachFive ways tradies get homeowner enquiries, what each one costs you in time or competition, and which suits which job.
- 08Pay per call or pay per lead? A guide for HVAC and home-services contractorsPay per call bills you for phone calls and pay per lead bills you for enquiries. Here is what counts as billable, what to get in writing and where the US differs.
- 09Types of leads for contractors: shared, exclusive, call, aged and marketplace explainedEach type of lead answers two questions: how many businesses get the homeowner, and what was checked first.
- 10Cost per lead: what a lead is worth to your businessThe most you can pay for a lead comes from four numbers in your own books. Here is the worksheet, with a made-up example.
- 11What is a verified lead? What the word should meanVerified can mean a real phone call or a confirmed email. Here is what to ask, with six checks as one example.
Leads by trade
- 13Construction leads for residential builders: where the real ones come fromWhere residential builders find construction leads that turn into signed contracts, how the common sources differ and what to track after the enquiry.
- 14Builder leads: judge them by signed contracts, not cost per leadWhy cost per lead misleads for custom builds, what to track from enquiry to signed contract, and how to qualify land, drawings, budget and finance.
- 15Air conditioning leads in Australia: what a good ducted air enquiry looks likeSingle or double storey, replacement or new, rooms and zones, owner or renter: the details that make an air conditioning enquiry worth quoting, and where to find them.
- 16Solar leads in Australia: what to ask before you buy exclusive onesHow comparison sites, shared leads and exclusive leads differ for solar installers, and the questions that show which one you are buying.
- 17Renovation leads and extension enquiries: telling real projects from window shoppersScope, drawings, approvals, budget and finance: the facts that tell a renovation project from a daydream, and how to get them before you quote.
Your own ads and site
- 18Google Ads for tradies or buying leads: how a builder decidesYour own Google Ads give you control and data, while bought leads give you speed and a known price per lead. Which suits a builder depends on job value, area size and how fast you answer.
- 19Tradie website or marketplace listing: which do you need first?A listing can put you in front of homeowners this week, but a website is the one thing you own. Here is what each does, and a simple order of work.
Paid preliminary work
- 20Charging for preliminary workHow Australian residential builders move from free quotes to paid preliminary agreements, what the successful ones actually charge, and the four things that have to be true before a homeowner says yes.
- 21How much to charge for a preliminary agreementWhat Australian builders actually charge for preliminary and feasibility work, how to set the number against your deliverables, and why the amount matters less than the structure around it.
Qualifying enquiries
- 22Free quotes vs paid preliminary agreementsA straight comparison of the two models Australian builders use, what each one actually costs, which clients each attracts, and the hybrid most builders end up running.
- 23How to qualify an enquiry before you quoteThe four things you need to know before spending a day on an estimate, how to ask them without sounding like an interrogation, and what to do with the answers.
Quote conversion
- 24How fast should you respond to an enquiry?What speed to lead actually does to your odds, why most builders lose the job before they know it exists, and how to respond in five minutes when you are on site all day.
- 25Why quotes go quietThe real reasons a homeowner stops replying after receiving a quote, why price is usually not one of them, and the follow-up pattern that recovers the ones worth recovering.
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