frank_n
Senior Member
- Location
- Central NJ
Has anyone ever used web sites like Service Magic? What was your experience with them?
Frank
Frank
Service Magic
- Thread starter frank_n
- Start date
- Status
frank_n
Senior Member
- Location
- Central NJ
Just did. Thanks, Frank
ElectricianJeff
Senior Member
- Location
- Southern Illinois
I have been with ServiceMagic for right at a year now. I get 2-3 leads a month from them. I figure I close work from about 20% of them. Most are looking for an "internet deal" which makes them a tough sell. I work mainly by personal referral and probably close 95% of those customers so it has been an adjustment for me.
I do think that ServiceMagic does a real nice job of trying to keep their contractors satisfied witht he service. Also, don't be shy about asking for credits for leads that aren't really leads. I do it all the time and they havn't turned down a request yet.
Hope this helps.
Jeff
I do think that ServiceMagic does a real nice job of trying to keep their contractors satisfied witht he service. Also, don't be shy about asking for credits for leads that aren't really leads. I do it all the time and they havn't turned down a request yet.
Hope this helps.
Jeff
puckman
Senior Member
- Location
- ridgewood, n.j.
servicemagic
servicemagic
i tried them for awhile and it was a losing situation for me. the leads they send you they also send to other contractors too. i found you have to call the lead as soon as you get the call, but sometimes the job was gone 30 seconds after i got the call. i guess someone was faster then me.
i guess it's worth a shot. good luck.
remember you pay for the lead even if you don't get the job. so if you get 10 leads and get 2 jobs you still pay for 10 leads.
servicemagic
i tried them for awhile and it was a losing situation for me. the leads they send you they also send to other contractors too. i found you have to call the lead as soon as you get the call, but sometimes the job was gone 30 seconds after i got the call. i guess someone was faster then me.
i guess it's worth a shot. good luck.
remember you pay for the lead even if you don't get the job. so if you get 10 leads and get 2 jobs you still pay for 10 leads.
Last edited:
celtic said:
never used them...all my info is 2nd hand...but from what I've been told, they are in the same boat as home warranty companies...they'll get you work, but usually not money. If you are just starting out, and really just are tired of looking at the walls waiting for the phone to ring, it might help pay the electric bill...but probably won't add anything to the profit till...
frank_n
Senior Member
- Location
- Central NJ
It sounds like I would be better off setting up a web site and figuring out how to have it come up on Google.
Frank
Frank
romexking
Senior Member
- Location
- Marriottsville, Maryland
It seems that I may be the exception when dealing with SM, but the leads I get from them work very well for me. From Jan '06 to July '07 our SM revenue was over $82000, with a cost of $7600. This is a very good return on our marketing $. We received over 600 leads during that time and closed 112. That doesn't seem like such a good percentage, but we didn't respond to every call. Sometimes we were too busy to perform the work, other times too busy to call. Some leads were people just wanting estimates for future work or wanting estimates over the phone (we don't do that).
You do have to contact the lead IMMEDIATELY or risk losing your chance and wasting your money. Set up your SM profile page well, and direct your leads to it when you contact them. Tell them about your ratings (if you have a good rating), and be prepared to respond to their needs today or tomorrow!
Good luck with it!
You do have to contact the lead IMMEDIATELY or risk losing your chance and wasting your money. Set up your SM profile page well, and direct your leads to it when you contact them. Tell them about your ratings (if you have a good rating), and be prepared to respond to their needs today or tomorrow!
Good luck with it!
Rewire
Senior Member
- Location
- Lake of the Ozarks
Are you still using them?romexking said:
romexking
Senior Member
- Location
- Marriottsville, Maryland
I am still using them. We get about 8-12 leads a week. Of the leads we respond to, we book about 40% and then we close about 80-90% once we get to the home. An interesting point is that we always charge a fee to go to the home and give our pricing.
Now that I think about it, it's probably only 30% or so
Now that I think about it, it's probably only 30% or so
They changed the way they operate from a few years ago.
Before you would get a lead, decide if you wanted it, & purchase the customers info. I got good a weeding out the waist of time or over priced leads like:
-We're selling our house and need a free estomate on repairs (no intention of doing the work).
-We need our cieling fan rebuilt
-I must have several prices to layout my lighting right away with the lowest price winner working on Sunday.
-We need a light fixture replaced in the closet (but it's listed under rewire a house for the highest lead fee charged.
-We are building out our basement and need a free quote on electric (no blueprint, so you need to spend an hour laying it out before you can price it).
Of the above I learned I don't do free layouts or quotes for repairs on house sales. It may not be as bad if I charged for each estomate like said above.
Anyway the cool thing was I did not have to take those leads a few years ago. If I was busy I did not take the leads. If I was in the office I could spend the time to take em and call right away. Like others said the key is calling the customer right after you get their number. There was a time when it was working but I believe too many EC started signing up for it. I think they told me on the old system they would sell the job leads to up too 6 EC. It got to be too much of like a TV comercial "when banks compete you win".
Now the new system they want you to pre buy the leads before you know the details. That way they sell more leads. They wanted me to comit to a certain amount per mounth of maybe $300-400. I think they said it was an 80% chance of a lead using a Service Majic contactor. Also that they would sell the leads to 3 EC. All things equil that would give you about 26% close rate. With some leads costing $50-75 if I remember corectly. So if a lead costs $50 and you close 1 in 4 then I see it as costing you $200 for that job. But things are not all equil. It seemed a while ago that Service Majic was more for the door slammers / new start-ups and many of the customers wanted the lowest amount. On top of that sometimes I'm too busy some days to chase leads. I said no thanks.
SM told me "what about all the money you'll make on a sale like a generator. What do you make $5,000 on a small residential unit?" WTF. Do they think I put all that money in my packet. Just as bad as some customers.
Before you would get a lead, decide if you wanted it, & purchase the customers info. I got good a weeding out the waist of time or over priced leads like:
-We're selling our house and need a free estomate on repairs (no intention of doing the work).
-We need our cieling fan rebuilt
-I must have several prices to layout my lighting right away with the lowest price winner working on Sunday.
-We need a light fixture replaced in the closet (but it's listed under rewire a house for the highest lead fee charged.
-We are building out our basement and need a free quote on electric (no blueprint, so you need to spend an hour laying it out before you can price it).
Of the above I learned I don't do free layouts or quotes for repairs on house sales. It may not be as bad if I charged for each estomate like said above.
Anyway the cool thing was I did not have to take those leads a few years ago. If I was busy I did not take the leads. If I was in the office I could spend the time to take em and call right away. Like others said the key is calling the customer right after you get their number. There was a time when it was working but I believe too many EC started signing up for it. I think they told me on the old system they would sell the job leads to up too 6 EC. It got to be too much of like a TV comercial "when banks compete you win".
Now the new system they want you to pre buy the leads before you know the details. That way they sell more leads. They wanted me to comit to a certain amount per mounth of maybe $300-400. I think they said it was an 80% chance of a lead using a Service Majic contactor. Also that they would sell the leads to 3 EC. All things equil that would give you about 26% close rate. With some leads costing $50-75 if I remember corectly. So if a lead costs $50 and you close 1 in 4 then I see it as costing you $200 for that job. But things are not all equil. It seemed a while ago that Service Majic was more for the door slammers / new start-ups and many of the customers wanted the lowest amount. On top of that sometimes I'm too busy some days to chase leads. I said no thanks.
SM told me "what about all the money you'll make on a sale like a generator. What do you make $5,000 on a small residential unit?" WTF. Do they think I put all that money in my packet. Just as bad as some customers.
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