Home Advisor Leads “False & Phony” Says FTC – Do you use them?

Brandon,

Well, it looks like Home Advisor is in hot water again. This time, it’s with the Federal Trade Commission.

Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said of Home Advisor “platforms should not use false claims and phony opportunities to prey on workers and small businesses.”

If you’ve ever used these predatory pay-per-lead services, I’m sure you’ve experienced the low-quality, run-around and extortionate pricing.

It’s sad that so many painters fall for this… sacrificing their hard-earned money.

Why do painters, especially those who have been in business more than three years, still rely on these platforms?

Well, there are two main reasons…

First, painters are really, really bad about staying in touch with past clients.

Most of the time, owners are sitting on a list of hundreds or thousands of past clients, yet they never communicate with them. Or, if they do, they send a quarterly email.

This doesn’t work.

That’s a shame… because past clients close at 60-65% on average vs. the low 20% for online lead services. And, the average job for a repeat client is about $3,500 vs. $1,700 for a lead service lead.

Plus, it costs about 10 to 20 times more to get a new lead vs. a repeat client.

All this adds up to lower income and watching your sales volume stall as you lose as many clients as you get each year due to lack of retention.

Finally on this point, new leads can’t refer you to anyone because they have not used your services. Past clients, on the other hand, can keep the referrals rolling in all year long.

It’s not about being “busy.” It’s about being busy with the RIGHT kind of clients and the RIGHT kind of projects.

Second, many painter fail to invest in their own websites or Google My Business platforms, instead they hand Home Advisor thousands each month. Pay-per-lead services then use this money to BEAT you in the rankings in your OWN TOWN!

Even though they do not have a business ANYWHERE in your market!

If you are sill throwing away money on pay-per-lead services, let me make a few suggestions…

#1 – Put together a Customer Reactivation and Retention Plan

When you stay at a hotel, buy something online, attend an event or even purchase at a store, they collect your contact information – if they’ve got any business sense.

You see, businesses understand that the PERSON is where the money comes from. Not the product you sell or the service you offer – certainly not your vans and paint brushes.

People write checks to people.

When you stay in touch with people the right way and build a persona connection, they will keep buying from you… and referring their friends and relatives.

#2 – Invest in Your Own Digital Real Estate

If you’ve in business over three years, and you are still paying lead-services, something is wrong. Shift your marketing expenses toward the following…

– Your Website: This is a property you OWN. The money you put here will come back to you and it is also a form of equity you can sell if you ever decide to get out of painting.

If you aren’t getting leads from your current website, explore the SEO strategies that are working for painters TODAY all over the nation.

– Monthly E-Newsletter: Your clients should be hearing from you monthly by U.S. Mail and Email. This is one of the most basic things you can to put your money where it will give you the biggest ROI – repeat and referral business.

– Generate Reviews: Today, reviews are how people evaluate a business. You need an in-person and digital strategy for gathering reviews after each and every job.

– Google My Business: Your GMB account is arguably as important, and in some cases more important, than your website or Facebook page. Make sure you understand how to optimize this to rank in the map pack.

In summary on Home Advisor…

For years, I have been warning painters to stay away from these platforms.

They are like the pay-day-lenders of leads.

These large, behemoth organizations do not care about you, your business or our industry.

Listen, if you are feeling lost after reading this email – especially if you rely upon Angie’s List or Home Advisor for your leads – I get it.

It’s hard to make a change in your business. It’s easy to get addicted to these services and feel like you can’t survive without them.

I’m here to tell you, you can!

In fact, you’ll do far better without them.

Here at the Painters Academy, we have done for you programs to help you with marketing that doesn’t require going broke or dealing with crappy leads.

We also have an online leads department where we help you invest in your own digital real estate, not some faceless corporations that don’t care about you or your family.

If you need help with any of this, just reply to this email and we will set up a time to talk about what’s going on in your business. If you prefer the phone, text or email 423-800-0520.

No pressure. No B.S.

I’ll just take a look at what you’re doing and make some recommendations.

What you do from there is up to you.

Take care and talk soon.

Brandon Lewis
Founder, Painters Academy
423-800-0520