I should have listened to you guys.

[tonyou812]

I just wasted a bunch of money with service magic. And i really should have listened to all the warnings from this site. Theres nothing like spending 75 dollars for a lead and not even get a chance to talk to the person, even after 5-6 calls and emails, and not have any details on the job. Talk about feeling like I got robbed.
It might work for some guys, I guess it depends on your area. Where I am there are tons of Electricians and I mean tons. IMO service magic is really set up for the customer and themselves. They charged me 50 bucks for one lead that was listed as a remodle of a laundry room and all the guy wanted was an outlet for an iron. Whatever little profit there would be service magic gets 50 BUCKS. please...... what a joke.

 

[Lxnxjxhx]

You might want to collect the experiences of several disgruntled contractors and write a letter about Service Magic to the State's Attorney for your state, and CC Service Magic.
Send it registered mail.

 

[Rewire]

You might want to collect the experiences of several disgruntled contractors and write a letter about Service Magic to the State's Attorney for your state, and CC Service Magic.
Send it registered mail.

They are up front about what they provide and what they charge,if you are in an area with many contractors doing small jobs then this would not be a good fit as this seems to be what their leads tend to be.

 

[bikeindy]

You can also ask for a refund on that lead due to the inaccuracy of the description. I would try that they will likely refund it to you. I use service magic right now the key is to make sure you are only getting leads from upper-scale zip codes you can make this happen and then when you get a lead you are more likely to make money on it. Do a great job and now you have their friends and neighbors to do work for as well.

 

[tonyou812]

You can also ask for a refund on that lead due to the inaccuracy of the description. I would try that they will likely refund it to you. I use service magic right now the key is to make sure you are only getting leads from upper-scale zip codes you can make this happen and then when you get a lead you are more likely to make money on it. Do a great job and now you have their friends and neighbors to do work for as well.

what really bothered me is some leads you dont even get a chance to talk to anyone. On some of them I would call 6-7 times send emails and still nothing.. makes me wonder if there is anyone even on the other end. How do I really know? And they charged me 50 bucks for a new outlet, and it was listed as a renovation. I mean what are they kidding me.. if I have to start arguing with them on every other lead whats the point? Im a one man band and I dont have time for that nonsense. I have a lot better results from Bid Clerk and thats only 50 bucks a month.

 

[bikeindy]

what really bothered me is some leads you dont even get a chance to talk to anyone. On some of them I would call 6-7 times send emails and still nothing.. makes me wonder if there is anyone even on the other end. How do I really know? And they charged me 50 bucks for a new outlet, and it was listed as a renovation. I mean what are they kidding me.. if I have to start arguing with them on every other lead whats the point? Im a one man band and I dont have time for that nonsense. I have a lot better results from Bid Clerk and thats only 50 bucks a month.

I hear you and had some of the same experiences. I only get leads from 6 zip codes now and they orriginally had me down for 108. so I hear ya.

 

[Lxnxjxhx]

How many of these 9 things did SM do?

How many of these 9 things did SM do?

For item #2 below, an item is material if its inclusion in the financial statements would influence or change the judgment of a reasonable person. If the information would have no impact on the decision-maker, it is not deemed material.

An excerpt from http://www.fraudlaw.org/Definitions and concepts/DEFINITIONS fraud defined.htm

"To sustain a finding of common law fraud, the trial court in most cases must make findings of fact as to each of the nine elements of fraud. . . Those elements generally are: (1) a representation of an existing fact, (2) its materiality, (3) its falsity, (4) the speaker's knowledge of its falsity or ignorance of its truth, (5) his intent that it should be acted on by the person to whom it is made, (6) ignorance of its falsity on the part of the person to whom it is made, (7) the latter's reliance on the truth of the representation, (8) his right to rely upon it, and (9) his consequent damage."

 

[Lxnxjxhx]

correction

correction

delete ". . .in the financial statements. . ." from my post.

 

[ceb58]

what really bothered me is some leads you dont even get a chance to talk to anyone. On some of them I would call 6-7 times send emails and still nothing..

Send me $50.00 and I will pm you my number and e-mail. I might even answer the phone.... only after i receive the money:grin: :grin: :grin:

 

[romexking]

I'm sorry to hear that it's not working for you, but how may leads did you try to close? If you only spent $75, you haven't even given it a chance. Marketing takes some practice to get good at, and this is marketing. I'm sure that you were not particulary fast at installing outlets when you first started, but then you got better and faster. You will need to hone your phone skills in addition to your sales skills to make this work for you.

As for the credit...absolutely ask for one! I have never been denied a credit, and I ask for one almost every week for one reason or another.

Now about the high class zip codes. That might work if you offer a high class service, but if you don't, you are now back to being at the same level as everyone else that called that lead. I often get to do service changes on homes that are only worth $50,000 or less. The chance of closing one of these calls is offering the customer options that no one else is. Do you offer financing of some sort? If not, look into it. Credit cards? They are a must in a service business.

Also, remember that you didn't lose the job until you are certain that the work has been completed by someone else...keep calling, maybe they are out of town this week.

Perhaps I am in a good area for SM. I just returned from a quote, that I closed, for 8 recessed lights with a new circuit and two dimmers in a basement. Total cost of $1974. The exciting thing about this call is that the woman told me she had 7 other contractors price this job at some recent time. 2 she didn't trust, 2 didn't call back with pricing, 1 was WAY to low, and she didn't elaborate on the other two, but I guarantee I am not the lowest cost. So it's really about the image you present to the customer that will really make the difference in you closing percentages.

I recommend trying it a little longer, and work on your sales skills in the mean time.

Good luck

 

[tmbrk]

I would take bikeindy's advice and put in a lead replacement claim. I currently use them and they are pretty good at giving you credit. Just explain that this lead should not have been put in through "install electric for remodel or addition" and should have been " install switches, outlets and fixtures". The difference is $15 instead of $75.
That being said Service Magic is a marketing tool and you should try to fine tune your zip codes and the jobs you will take on.

I personally will stop using them this month as I have moved on to different marketing and advertising techniques. They were OK for me in my area for a time filling in dead time slots but it does seem to be alot of tire kickers. Plus they expect free estimates.

But even if you go with other ways of marketing you will not get every job. I am in the yellowbook and alot of calls go the same way. 20 to 30% closing is pretty much what I find with SM.

Good luck.