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- Yes, Your Lead Gen System Could Dry Up
Yes, Your Lead Gen System Could Dry Up
A harsh reality you can't ignore
Hello home service operators,
You got leads, you got a chance to win in the home service business. That’s a fact.
Today, I share some in-depth thoughts on lead generation. No surface stuff here. Just actionable advice.
Today’s resources include…
If your truck is a mess, your work will be a mess
Here’s the secret to maximizing profit and minimizing stress
Unlock the lead source thousands of home service businesses use
HVAC shipments fell 22% in June, with many possible reasons for the dip
Here’s how we’re staying busy during slower summer months (which I know is affecting a lot of HVAC operators)
OAO is going on the road for shop tours. Find one near you and see a $30M shop up close and personal (no cost to attend, spots limited).
More Referrals + Lower CPL = Skyrocketing Revenue
It’s a simple formula, right?
When you get more referrals in the door, at a lower cost per lead than usual, you can expect revenue to climb.
The only question is how you do this. My answer is the same every time: Volca.

Those are real numbers.
I’ve experienced similar results.
And I’ve talked with many others who are doing even better.
Here’s what you get:
Instantly drive qualified leads
Automatically track referral performance
Share real-time results with your team
Integrate with ServiceTitan in minutes
Define a Lead Gen Strategy Before You Lose Momentum
In a service business, you can feel the slowdown before you can measure it.
The phones aren’t as busy.
The calendar has more white space than you like.
Sales meetings feel more like troubleshooting sessions than growth planning.
You can still point to good weeks, but there’s a nagging sense that you’re working harder for the same results.
That’s what happens when your lead generation machine starts to slip.
It’s rarely about one bad month or one failed ad. More often, it’s a series of small issues that add friction to your marketing system. A campaign you’ve relied on for years starts producing less. A new channel you were excited about never really gets traction. Budget gets spread too thin, and no single source has the strength to carry growth on its own.
We’ve been through this enough times to know the pattern. The companies that recover fastest don’t chase every shiny new platform. They take a hard look at where their leads actually come from, double down on what works, and replace what’s failing before it drags down the rest of the operation.
What follows isn’t theory. It’s the framework we’ve built from both our own experience and conversations with operators spending anywhere from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand dollars a month on marketing.
Lead Generation Strategy: Where We Begin
In the early days, the temptation is to act like a big company with a small budget. That’s a mistake. If you are spending $1–2K per month, an agency will eat most of it in fees before a single lead comes in. At that level, your money and time are better spent where the work is personal and high touch. We’ve watched small operators own their market on:
Nextdoor posts targeted to specific neighborhoods
Local Facebook groups where actual homeowners ask for help
TikTok organic videos showing real jobs and results
Hyper-local content that bigger players cannot replicate at scale
When you do buy leads, start small and test aggressively. We’ve seen companies find real ROI on Angi’s List or Thumbtack. Others try those and get nothing. The point is to keep switching until you find the partner that can produce consistently for your area and trade. Only once you have a budget big enough to move the needle should you even consider an agency.
Channel Selection and Budget Allocation
This is where the discipline matters. Too many companies hit $3K or $5K per month in marketing spend and then split it five ways. The result is five weak channels instead of one strong one. Our approach is to find a winner and push it to its limit. If Local Services Ads (LSA) are working, max them out before moving on. If PPC is converting profitably, keep raising budget until you stop seeing returns.
For smaller companies:
Focus on channels with direct, quick ROI
Buy leads
Use platforms you can personally dominate
For larger companies:
Diversify into brand spend, SEO, and longer-term media
Protect your main channels but don’t let all growth depend on them
The danger is thinking you are “diversifying” when you’re really diluting.
Marketing Budget Benchmarks That Hold Up
The healthy range for most operators we’ve spoken to is 8–10% of revenue. In high-growth phases, we’ve seen companies profitably push to 15%. The number itself isn’t the point. The structure is.
Split spend between direct lead generation and brand/media
Track which side is producing booked revenue, not just clicks or impressions
Invest in “owned” lead sources like membership programs. A well-run membership plan turns into a built-in pipeline that replaces thousands of dollars in ad spend each month
Members don’t care about your PPC bids. They call you directly. That’s leverage.
Paid Advertising Insights That Still Apply
PPC isn’t dead. LSA isn’t fading. But both demand active management.
For LSA:
Review volume and response times directly impact ranking
If you do not meet minimum review thresholds, you may not get traction
Even with few leads at first, start now so the account matures for when you need it
For PPC:
Prune low-converting keywords regularly
Keep landing pages sharp and consistent with the ad promise
If you don’t have the expertise in-house, outsource to a specialist
We’ve seen operators push LSA budgets to $90K a month because it was working, while others never get off the ground because they tried to manage it on the side and lost momentum.
Choosing and Working With Marketing Agencies
When you’re ready for an agency, protect yourself:
Own all accounts and data. No exceptions
Avoid “too cheap” fees. A $500 PPC retainer means your campaign is on autopilot.
Watch for inflated % of ad spend charges. Thirty percent of a large budget is more than some companies make in net profit.
Vetting matters. Look for:
Agencies with real experience in your trade and service area size
Clients you can talk to directly
A track record with businesses at your stage of growth
And remember: revenue size doesn’t make someone’s advice valuable. If their profit margins are weak, their strategy might be too.
Google My Business and Local SEO as a Growth Lever
Ranking in the top three of Google’s Map Pack is one of the highest-value positions you can hold. And with AI search shifts coming, it is about to matter even more. We’ve seen companies spend thousands per month on GMB optimization because:
Reviews are a trust engine and ranking factor
Frequent updates signal activity to Google
Visibility translates directly to calls and booked jobs
For some, GMB has become the highest-ROI marketing spend they have.
Transitioning to New Markets or Trades
When you enter a new market or add a new trade, the organic leads aren’t there yet.
Electrical service doesn’t have the same natural search demand as HVAC or plumbing. In those trades, you can get by with a stronger organic mix.
In electrical, you’re going to be buying a high percentage of your leads at the start.
The good news is that bought leads are a level playing field. With the right spend and processes, a startup can compete with a 30-year incumbent.
Website Redesign SEO Pitfalls
We’ve watched companies launch a beautiful new site and watch leads evaporate. The cause is usually technical, not creative.
Old URLs disappear or change
Google can’t find the pages it used to rank
No redirects are in place, so traffic hits dead ends
Before you go live:
Keep URLs the same wherever possible
If you must change them, map every old page to its new location with a 301 redirect
Verify indexing after launch
Skip this, and you’re rebuilding search authority from scratch.
Think about it this way…
Marketing rarely fails in one big moment. It erodes in small ways that are easy to miss until the damage is obvious.
Letting lead flow slip will take you down a bad path. Rectify any problems today (with the help of the guidance above).
Want to learn more? Check out this video with Sam Preston of Service Scalers.
THE AI CSR for Home Services
At first, I thought Avoca was just a call solution.
Then I discovered it was so much more. It’s an all-in-one operations platform that can quickly transform your business.
Avoca helps home service companies:
Book jobs automatically, with AI and a live agent as backup
Coach every CSR through call scoring, training insights, and accurate ServiceTitan tags
Drive more Google reviews and re-engage leads with outbound calls
Simplify scheduling so customers can book directly from our site—no back and forth
One platform. One source of truth. One less thing to duct tape together.
If you’re a $10M+ business owner or decision maker with a real need and budget for this kind of solution, Avoca is currently offering my readers a $150 Amazon gift card for booking a demo.
Gone are the days of patching together five different tools.
Today’s newsletter is all about sourcing quality leads. Implement just a fraction of this advice and your business will be in a much better place.
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👊 John
Disclosure: Some of the content and links in this newsletter are sponsored or affiliate links, which means we may receive payment or earn a commission if you click through or purchase. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
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