...or will you? I've been following this whole find-a-contractor-online business for a short while and have come to two conclusions:
- Homeowners want to find a contractor online.
- Contractors want to find homeowners online.
And never shall the twain meet? Apparently not. It's not like there is a shortage of these sites out there. But none of them have the mojo to do the job. Just read my brilliant piece of journalism, Crash and Burn: an Abbreviated History of Find-a-C0ntractor Sites.
Want to know a secret? One reason for the problem is that a lot of money is at stake. Contractors pay big money for homeowner "leads." If you don't know the value of sales leads, then just watch my favorite heart-warming movie, Glengarry Glen Ross.
Now, there's another company, CalFinder. CalFinder is new (new in my consciousness; they've been around since 2005), and originally focused on the California area. As if you couldn't tell by the name? People not in the Golden State should not fear: CalFinder is expanding nationwide.
One good thing about CalFinder is that they specialize just in home remodeling. No dog groomers here.
Comments
I totally agree with your article. As a contractor in the kitchen design biz I have been contacted by several of these companies and have participated with a few. They all leave a lot to be desired on the end of the business owner. I will leave out the company that I’m referring to but the company name ends in something that rhythms with tragic. The problem that I have found has been poor lead qualification on the part of the person or company selling the leads.
I have gotten a couple of jobs from these lead sellers but the profit margins on the jobs were squeezed to death by the client. They all tended to want the moon or a Porsche type of design but on a Volkswagen budget and if you couldn’t give them what they wanted they would have wasted all of your time and energy and then move on tho the next company.
For the most part be prepared to chase and pay for leads that are under qualified and be prepared to deal with clients that are less than knowledgeable about what remolding and contstuction cost.
I recommend developing some type of system to lock them in early and get some type of retainer for the work that you will do whether you get the job or not.
I also left out that if you are a contractor Buying leads from one of these businesses that you should start with buying a few leads. One or two until you see what you are getting yourself into. What I have found is that the lead company will hype up their leads and the follow through rate of their clients because most of them are selling each individual lead. If you buy ten leads you may find that they cant supply ten leads in a month and then you leads will expire at the end of the months and you will have wasted money.
Also be prepared if you get a job for it to drag on forever. Most of the folks that I have dealt with are do it yourselfers and when they tell you that they will be ready for cabinets or whatever your trade is its more than likely going to be two months. My advice is to move slow and again figure out how to get paid for your consulting and hand holding along the way