Service Magic, Inc, a Lead Developer website

Status
Not open for further replies.
glene77is

glene77is

Senior Member
Location
Memphis, TN
Has anyone had dealings with Service Magic,
the website that develops and sells leads to various skilled-trade contractors, such as electrical contractors.

www.servicemagic.com is the portal.

Service Magic lists a half dozen Electrical Contractors (EC) in each major city.

We found many complaints listed at another website,
regarding billing to contractor bank account for 'dude' leads.
We found half a dozen local EC listed on the side, tagged as "unscreened".
I contacted the 'unscreened' EC and they denied any involvement.

I have an electrical acquaintance who keeps talking about great plans
for expanding his business,
and I am skeptical.

Thanks.
 
brantmacga

brantmacga

Señor Member
Location
Georgia
Occupation
Former Child
i would advise against them.

i tried it once when i first went in business. nothing but lies.

they still list us though as an unscreened contractor, i believe. they pull most of it from the yellow pages.



also, any leads you do get are usually not worthwhile. if people need something done right away, they'll pick up a phone and call someone. people who request info from service magic are just fishing.
 
jxofaltrds

jxofaltrds

Inspector Mike®
Location
Mike P. Columbus Ohio
Occupation
ESI, PI, RBO
glene77is said:
Has anyone had dealings with Service Magic,
the website that develops and sells leads to various skilled-trade contractors, such as electrical contractors.

www.servicemagic.com is the portal.

Service Magic lists a half dozen Electrical Contractors (EC) in each major city.

We found many complaints listed at another website,
regarding billing to contractor bank account for 'dude' leads.
We found half a dozen local EC listed on the side, tagged as "unscreened".
I contacted the 'unscreened' EC and they denied any involvement.

I have an electrical acquaintance who keeps talking about great plans
for expanding his business,
and I am skeptical.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Used them maybe 8 years ago. They were great. You could look at the lead (no customer info) and decide if you wanted the lead.

Then years later you had to pay for the lead before you could read it and most were BS leads.
 
D

difowler44

Member
service magic

service magic

I didn't see this one and posted a similar question. What is everyones favorite advertizer? (other than by word of mouth) I agree with above, the salesman that I spoke with was hostile and seemed to be dishonest.
 
S

sd4524

Senior Member
Location
Southern California
I bough one add that cost $80 per month and shows up on the first page of google search with a link to my website. It has been well worth the money. Most of the calls are quick little service calls. Its like paying to get new customers. A lot of people appreciate me answering the phone, showing up on time, and putting my best effort into a small job. After the initial job I do, the people remember that they had some projects in mind that needed to get done.
I have had the add since August and will continue to use it. Its month to month which seams better than buying phonebook and having to be committed for the whole year if the add isn't working. Check the first page of search engines for your town and "electrician"n and look for places to buy an add.
 
P

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
difowler44 said:
I didn't see this one and posted a similar question. What is everyones favorite advertizer? (other than by word of mouth) I agree with above, the salesman that I spoke with was hostile and seemed to be dishonest.
Click to expand...

I used them a while back to try and get a quote to do some insulation work for a club I belong to. None of the contractors I spoke with that responded ever actually showed up despite promising to come take a look.

I was unimpressed.
 
S

shepelec

Senior Member
Location
Palmer, MA
The problem with Service Magic is that you pay for the tire kickers. I signed on with them and have had 3 calls at $13 a pop. Two set up apponitments then later cancelled an the last never returned my call. So they made $39 off of me and I got zilch. It wouldnt be so bad if they charged when you got the job and not for the tire kickers.:mad:
 
D

difowler44

Member
service magic

service magic

thanks for the replys. I have built up a few good service work customers, but I need to build up a bit to keep from hitting bottom in the slow season.
 
R

Riograndeelectric

Senior Member
Location
Lakewood Colorado
I used to use service magic when I first started in Business for my self 4 years ago. the first year was OK after that they had brought on too many ECs and I was getting leads to install a ceiling Fan add replace receptacle . other were just tire kickers. you automatically paid for all leads whether or not you want them


the customers I was able to get a hold off said they wanted a quote on repairs, hanging a light or ceiling fan. But had to drive all over town to estimate jobs $100- $300.

granted I did pick up a few nice large jobs like service upgrades with install new laundry & dryer circuits. but I had to be the low bidder.



some customers told me they were looking for the cheapest price and that is who would get the job.
I manged to have a few customers from service magic that are now repeat customers.

I would avoid any type of lead service for which you pay a fee for each lead.


through my first 2 years being in Business I had subscribed to about 4 lead services. and was paying a fourtune with little return on the fees.

the Internet seems to be OK if you know how to to a search engine optimization. then you Can have your self listed for fee on search engines. granted you will not be at the top of the page but most times you can make the bottom of the first page.

to do this you need to come up with some good keywords to list on serach engines..



I have Go Daddy.com as my website host and I signed up with them for there search engine optimization was very small fee but I had to do all the work my self.



Good luck to you and hope you Can find advertising that will provide a good return on your money


Cameron
 
Chamuit

Chamuit

Grumpy Old Man
Location
Texas
Occupation
Electrician
I used them for three months. Got ZERO for the money I spent. Only one customer answered their phone out of all the leads I spent money for.

If the leads a dud, they only give you a credit not your money back.

I would NEVER recommend them to a customer or another contractor.
 
Sam Moore

Sam Moore

Member
Location
SC
glene77is said:
Has anyone had dealings with Service Magic,
the website that develops and sells leads to various skilled-trade contractors, such as electrical contractors.

www.servicemagic.com is the portal.

Service Magic lists a half dozen Electrical Contractors (EC) in each major city.

We found many complaints listed at another website,
regarding billing to contractor bank account for 'dude' leads.
We found half a dozen local EC listed on the side, tagged as "unscreened".
I contacted the 'unscreened' EC and they denied any involvement.

I have an electrical acquaintance who keeps talking about great plans
for expanding his business,
and I am skeptical.

Thanks.
Click to expand...


Never used them but did check into them and the salesman was very hostile because I didnt jump at the chance to save my business by using his service. I never said my business needed saving, this turned me against them along with the idea of paying because someone is curious about the cost of a repair. He still calls periodically despite I make it very clear that I will never sign on and he tells me when you deside you want to work call me. I find work and never used his kind of help.
 
B

blingbling4r

Member
Location
Seattle, WA
Service Magic is not worth the money or the time. In our area we get a lot of speculative people who have already shopped around and are just comparing numbers. In my experience these customers are heavily price driven.

If your low prices are your selling point this may work out for you. If you sell your company as a premium contractor it probably won't work.

I switched our company to Angie's List for service calls and I can tell the difference. Better clients who are more affluent fits into our business model much nicer.
 
R

rt66electric

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
would not give a free trial

would not give a free trial

They had my number for while. Out of boredom I would haggle w/pushy salesmen. It started out at $500 then finnaly came down to $100. They allways wanted $$$ up front for leads and your credit card#. I asked " If your product is so good then give me a free sample of three or five leads" and then I wiil decide whether to sign up or not. Needless to say I guess they are not proud of their product. They finnally quit calling any nobody in my service area has not heard of them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top