A business grows in order.
Most owners pay to fix layer two or three while layer one is cracked. Here's the order I check them in.
The four layers
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What it looks like broken
- You quote by the hour or by the day.
- You win when you're the cheapest bid and lose when you're not.
- You flinch when someone says they're getting three bids.
What I do about it
Price on the result the customer is buying. First we put the real cost of a job on paper, so the number holds up when someone pushes on it.
The number that tells you
Close rate at full price
-
What it looks like broken
- Shared leads from Angi or HomeAdvisor that three other companies also got.
- Feast or famine, month to month.
- "We get most of our work from referrals." Great until a slow month shows up.
What I do about it
Google Search first, for the people typing your trade and your town right now. Meta once the tracking is clean, for the before-and-after work that sells itself. Warm before cold.
The number that tells you
Cost per lead
-
What it looks like broken
- The phone goes to voicemail at 4pm because you're on a job.
- Quotes go out and nobody calls back.
- You're the only one who can close.
- The price talk falls apart the moment a third bid shows up.
What I do about it
Speed to lead, follow-up that runs without you, and quotes built to get a yes. For some clients I take the sales calls myself. For the rest I coach the owner through them.
The number that tells you
Close rate and cost per booked job
-
What it looks like broken
- A great spring and a tight January.
- No idea what last month's jobs cost after labor, materials and fuel.
What I do about it
The four numbers on one page, looked at every week. A slow-season plan that starts before spring ends. And a close rate you can predict before anybody talks about spending more.
The number that tells you
Revenue per crew per week
Four numbers run the business.
Cost per lead
What you spend on marketing divided by the leads it brings in. Count calls, forms and texts. It tells you whether a channel is worth feeding.
Good for a two-crew trade: [Garrison: range]
Find yoursClose rate
Booked jobs divided by leads. It's the cleanest read on your sales system, and it's the one to get predictable before you spend more.
Good for a two-crew trade: [Garrison: range]
See what follow-up does to itCost per booked job
Spend divided by booked jobs. Hold it up against your average job. When it eats a big slice of the ticket, something upstream needs work.
Good for a two-crew trade: [Garrison: range]
Find yoursRevenue per crew per week
Monthly revenue divided by crews, divided by 4.33 weeks. It tells you whether your crews are busy enough to pay for the next one, and how deep the winter dip really goes.
Good for a two-crew trade: [Garrison: range]
Find the layer that's holding it downRules I work by.
- Warm before cold.
- Google Search first for intent and lead quality. Meta once the tracking is clean.
- A new campaign stays paused until the pixel, the call tracking and the follow-up are wired and checked.
- Find a predictable close rate before scaling spend.
- You pay ad spend directly and see every dollar.
- Record the sales calls and listen back.
- Follow up the same day.
What I won't do.
- Advertise work that isn't there yet.
- Send you a report about impressions.
- Put a price on a website.
- Promise a number before I've seen the business.