Contractors that are the most successful in the construction industry or home service business have a predictable lead flow. These companies don’t just wait for new business; they make it happen.
Lead generation for contractors is the process of attracting and capturing potential customers’ contact information who are interested in the services that you provide.
When it is all said and done, a lead generation company is nothing more than a digital marketing agency that sells leads to multiple companies for a profit.
They generate leads by actively targeting your potential clients for the services that you provide by using search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO).
Meaning, they are a direct competitor in your market and they are not even contractors.
Since these leads are not exclusive, they tend to be low quality, and the close-ratio is much lower than you can experience with self-generated leads.
A lead generation company does the same thing but rather than service the lead themselves, they act as a middleman or lead broker who sells the information to other companies wishing to purchase new leads.
They tend to run anywhere from $50 to $300 or more and normally sell them to multiple firms that then compete with other companies for the project.
In my own experience doing business with many of the lead brokers on this list is that the success rate on contacting and closing these leads is low. The main reasons why are because leads are not exclusive.
There is a lot of competition for jobs since the leads are sent out to multiple contractors.
The reason is that they sell these leads to multiple companies.
Like many other people who have used these services, many leads that I have got appear to be fake, and the people who fill out these forms often do not answer your calls, texts, or emails.
Also, all these lead platforms will list your competitors on their websites who are signed up with the service, which could cost you a potential customer.
When I’m asked, “Who are the nest lead generation companies for contractors?”, my response is always the same.
If you have the time, the best company and person is you. Self-generating your own leads will always get you the best results.
If you do not have time or the expertise, a specialized marketing agency like ours that helps advertise your business would be the second-best way to get exclusive leads.
The question is really whether it’s the best use of your time, energy, money, and effort.
If you need business fast and do not have the time, a word of caution, besides bad and potential fake leads is that these lead generation companies are only about as good as the effort you put into them.
Like all marketing, this is not a passive activity where business just falls into your lap once you pay a fee.
The more time you put into making a great profile, getting good reviews, and contacting people as fast as possible, the more likely you will close some leads and find success.
This list below is the most comprehensive that you will find anywhere. I will cover the following companies and services.
- Contractor Marketing Agencies
- Subcontractor & Joint Ventures
- HomeAdvisor
- Angie’s List
- Yelp
- Houzz
- Thumbtack
- Porch
- BuildZoom
- Craft Jack
- 33 Mile Radius
Now, let’s go over the various lead generation companies for contractors and home service businesses to see if any will be a good fit for you.
CONTRACTOR MARKETING AGENCIES
This is where a digital marketing agency can help you by employing the same strategies as lead brokers like paid ads, online, SEO, search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing (SMM), and content marketing to bring your business exclusive leads.
In running my own contracting business, I have found that exclusive leads that you market to obtain, cultivate and own are the BEST leads that you can get.
Many contractors use a marketing agency like ours because they want exclusive leads and do not have the time, expertise, or creativity to do it on their own.
They also understand the power of branding their company and that marketing is a long-term game they need to invest in for lasting success.
Doing business with a marketing agency is also often much cheaper and more cost-effective than buying leads or hiring an in-house employee.
When you are searching for an agency to handle your marketing, the cost should not be the only factor in your decision.
Often an agency that specializes in your industry will be the best company to deal with because they understand your business and clients so they can help market your company much better than other agencies.
Please contact us at The Contractor Brotherhood if you are looking for a digital marketing agency that specializes in working only with contractors and home service businesses.
SUBCONTRACTOR & JOINT VENTURES
Creating a business collaboration, joint venture, or subcontractor agreement with other successful contractors allows you to tap into each business’s contacts to generate more leads. This is one of the best methods and easiest ways to get new leads for jobs.
In most construction trades, these types of arrangements are usually done through a subcontractor agreement in which other tradesmen or companies are hired to handle various aspects of a project.
A subcontractor agrees to perform part or all of a service to the main contractor under a specified agreement.
An example would be a home remodeler hiring an outside plumber or electrician to assist in remodeling a kitchen. This can be done on a short-term basis or a long-term arrangement.
Most contractors who hire other tradesmen and subs like this take on a project that will require more manpower than they have on staff or the services of a qualified specialist to help them finish the job.
In today’s construction environment, it is hard to find good help, so there are many great companies that are actively looking for reliable people they can subcontract work to.
If your company needs leads today, start searching in your local area for successful general contractors and home remodeling companies that you can start contacting to see if they need your services.
Make sure they have a great reputation and ratings online because that usually shows they are making people happy and completing jobs
There is a great chance that they do and you could be getting new work immediately.
HOMEADVISOR
HomeAdvisor is one of the biggest and oldest lead providers for contractors.
They helped pioneer the lead-matching service that connects homeowners with contractors and other home service professionals who can help with either home improvement or other general home-related projects.
HomeAdvisor creates content and advertises to consumers who are actively searching for local available contractors in order to get 3-4 estimates. The person fills out a contact form based on job requirements and that lead is immediately sold to companies who have signed up to receive those specific leads.
To get listed on HomeAdvisor, you will pay an annual fee of approximately $350, plus the cost of the leads, which will vary widely depending on your trade.
For example, if you are a home remodeler or restoration contractor, the cost per lead is much higher than for handyman or plumbing jobs.
Let me warn you that there are a lot of online complaints against HomeAdvisor.
I have personal experience with the company and I can tell you that the leads are VERY low quality and some even seem to be fake. I signed up with them for about a year, but I eventually canceled my account because of the low-quality leads.
The HomeAdvisor Better Business Bureau (BBB) page currently has a 3.37 rating based on 4,923 customer reviews, with a total of 1,771 complaints closed in the last 3 years and 502 complaints closed in the past 12 months.
That is A LOT of complaints.
Most of the poor ratings from contractors are for fake or bad leads. If any of our companies were to have even 3-5% of these complaints, we would be out of business!
The facts are that bad or dead leads are continuing problems with HomeAdvisor, but there are contractors in certain areas of the US and Canada who have found success with the platform.
With that said, proceed with extreme caution if you decide to try HomeAdvisor or any of the other companies I list here.
ANGIE’S LIST
Angi (formerly Angie’s List) bought HomeAdvisor in 2017 and the sites are very similar in how they generate leads for contractors and home service providers.
Just like HomeAdvisor, Angie’s List is a marketing company that creates content and advertises to consumers in order to help them find, hire, and review service providers in their local area. They then entice the consumer to fill out a contact form in order to get competing estimates for their job.
Where they differ from HomeAdvisor is that Angi is a subscription service for both contractors and homeowners.
Only potential customers with memberships will be able to see your company profile, ads, and reviews. Companies can pay a monthly fee to be a featured professional or for ads in order to appear higher up in the search results.
Consumer Reports and The Consumers Federation of America do not recommend Angie’s List to consumers due to deceptive advertising tactics.
“[Angie’s List] makes a big point to say they’re consumer-driven, when in fact 70% of their revenue comes from advertising. It’s not advertising Coca Cola, it’s advertising from the companies they rate,” stated Jeff Blyskal, a senior editor for Consumer Reports.
The Consumers Federation of America listed these reasons for their rating:
* Gives a large majority of all service providers an A rating.
* Rates a significant number of service providers who have very few, sometimes only one customer review.
* Sometimes assigns overall grades that are not consistent with customer grades.
* Shows some evidence of containing fake customer reviews.
* Gives business advertisers access to personal information from customers, including phone numbers and email addresses, that advertisers use in their marketing.
* Prioritizes the promotion of these advertisers by selectively recommending them to individual consumers as “top-rated, certified pros for your projects,” even though there is good evidence that these businesses usually are not the best service providers.
Angie’s List offers plans ranging from free to $99 per year with exclusive ads available for members with Gold membership.
They also have a lot of bad reviews online. Angie’s List Better Business Bureau profile currently has a 1.98 rating with a total of 1,079 complaints closed in the past 3 years and 685 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
Again, if yours or my company had that many terrible reviews, we would simply be out of business.
YELP
Yelp has been a major player in search engines for several years. It is one of the world’s most popular review websites. There are approximately 142 million people using the platform monthly, with 92 million of them using the mobile app.
Yelp is technically not a lead provider. Clients can search for contractors and research their ratings on Yelp and choose the one they think is best for their project.
A lot of local businesses and contractors have found success with Yelp ads, while many others have wasted money and claimed it is a scam.
Yelp has a 1.25-star rating on the Better Business Bureau website, with 2,172 complaints closed in the last 3 years and 474 complaints closed in the past 12 months. Again, if our companies had such terrible reviews, we would be out of business fast.
If you would like to be listed on Yelp, you can claim and set up your profile for free, which allows you to upload photos, add external links to your website and add other information about your company such as your phone number, menu, hours and specials.
A free profile will show your competitors’ ads on your profile page. But if you advertise, your company will show up when people search for other local businesses who offer the same services, while your competitors will be restricted from advertising on your page.
To be featured, Yelp charges somewhere between $1.00 and $60 or more for every click depending on the service that you are advertising.
An enhanced profile costs $90 per month if you want.
In order to get you to get leads on Yelp or just about any platform, you will need to have some reviews and they better be great.
People are most likely to contact you when they read favorable reviews about your company.
Also, the Yelp algorithm will rank businesses higher who have more positive reviews.
To get reviews, the best thing you can do is speak with your previous customers who are satisfied with your service and ask that they leave a 5-star review on your Yelp page.
More positive reviews mean more credibility and trust, which will equate to more leads that will come your way.
But when it comes to people and companies reviewing Yelp, the Better Business Bureau profile currently has a very poor 1.23 rating, with a total of 2,159 complaints closed in the past 3 years and 470 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
It seems Yelp is NOT drinking thier own review coolaid as they force it down millions of businesses throats across the globe. I guess when you own the rating systems, the same rules do not apply to you.
HOUZZ
Houzz uses great content to be a lead generation platform for contractors who specialize in residential home services. They provide content and millions of images to homeowners for design ideas and inspiration that generates clicks to their website.
With a monthly audience of 12M unique users, Houzz provides its contractors with qualified leads and business opportunities. They are a great example of using content to build a lead generation machine.
The site uses information from the homeowner who is planning the renovation and from service professionals who have completed similar jobs. Home improvement project cost estimates are generated by averaging the information provided by homeowners and professionals.
Houzz reviews and ratings also include an estimate of the total project cost as well as hours, photos, existing and proposed plans, and renovation guides.
Like Pinterest, users can browse their photo database with millions of images of home interiors and exteriors. Homeowners browse photos by room, style, and location, and bookmark photos in personal collections the site calls ideabooks.
Users can click on an image to learn more about the designer, ask a question, and learn about products tagged in the photos.
While Houzz focuses on home interior design and remodeling, they also have a section dedicated to outdoor design. With the right content and images, Houzz can target homeowners and contractors with the right content.
Houzz has a directory of home improvement professionals who use and pay the site to connect with consumers who are searching for professionals for hire.
The website has various online tools for consumers and professionals to help them along the home improvement process like the Real Cost Finder, an interactive tool that helps users plan home renovations and total costs based on data collected from the Houzz community.
In 2021, Houzz created Visual Match, a tool that “uses deep learning technology to analyze more than 11 million home photos on Houzz.
The Houzz TV video series shows homeowners’ projects being implemented with the help of design professionals.
Contractors can create a free profile or pay for a Houzz Pro+ subscription to help contractors run their businesses. Houzz has approximately 2.7 million professionals in its professional services database.
While Houzz offers free listings for home improvement professionals, it also offers paid upgrades to businesses. It also encourages people to take a free class on home improvement to learn more about the industry.
Houzz received a top rating from Consumer Reports for the website’s accuracy of home improvement project costs.
The Better Business Bureau website gives the company a poor 1.04 star rating out of 5 with 553 complaints from their customers over the last 3 years and 151 complaints closed just in the past 12 months. However, Houzz maintains an A+ rating and they also happen to be BBB members.
THUMBTACK
Thumbtack is an online platform that allows consumers to find professionals and services in their area. Similar to sites like HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack also helps clients find services they need – such as a kitchen remodel, roof repairs, or a local plumber.
The site is currently only available in the United States, but they do have plans to expand internationally.
Thumbtack has a strong presence in Los Angeles as well as Austin, Dallas, Denver, and San Diego. It launched in San Francisco in 2014 and has enjoyed a quick rate of growth.
Like many of the other lead generation services, Thumbtack allows customers to navigate through various contractors to find the one that’s right for them. Customers can then book a service at any time from their personal computer, phone, or tablet.
Thumbtack customers can engage with a network of over 80,000 service providers in 1,800 professional categories. The site has a rating system for both businesses and customers that allows users to verify the credentials of businesses and the reviews they receive.
Thumbtack was originally conceived as a consumer-to-contractor marketplace, but after receiving feedback, the company decided to launch the Thumbtack for Professionals platform in September 2013. The new platform allows contractors to build, manage and grow their businesses.
The company does a background check on its contractors, who must provide their licenses and proof of insurance, along with other information. The platform’s new product, Solve, is a contractor management console.
Thumbtack says it has more than two million registered service providers, more than 10 million customers, and more than 100,000 service requests each month. The age bracket that contributes to the largest volume of Thumbtack users is women ages 35-55 with a bachelor’s degree.
You can easily create your own profile and showcase any experience, portfolio, or other offerings. You can post pictures and videos to further your chances of getting clients.
You can fill your business’s booking calendar using Thumbtack’s online scheduling tool, and customers can be notified when you’re available for an appointment. If one customer books you for an appointment you don’t want, you can decline their future requests.
The fee per lead varies, based on the potential job cost and where you live. There are also advertising options available for contractors with Pro status.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) website shows that Thumbtack has 0 reviews and 429 complaints closed within the last 3 years and 193 closed within the past 12 months. The BBB gave them an A+ rating and they are also a member.
Meaning they pay the BBB so this might explain why they have such a great rating but with hundreds of unhappy customers.
PORCH
Porch is an online website that connects homeowners with local contractors and provides advice, guides, and bookings for common projects.
It has a network of vendors that will do all types of odd jobs around the house, from contractors across the country to someone to take care of your pet. They partner with the Better Business Bureau to provide ratings for the companies you’re considering hiring.
Porch is a good resource for contractors who are in need of clients. You can highlight your credentials, skills, and work history on your profile, and it also allows you to decide how far you’re willing to travel and what sort of project you’re able to take on.
Porch lets you target both residential and commercial clients. Residential clients are more popular so it allows you to attract a mix of clients like real estate agents, property managers, and homeowners.
Unlike most sites, Porch will refer contractors to clients based on the clients’ job requirements instead of letting clients scroll through a list of available matches.
Porch is free for homeowners and professionals alike. For professionals, Porch offers a professional profile and subscription that provides increased visibility and enhanced profile capabilities — not to mention project support. For example, if a customer wants to hire a contractor and they find one they like on Porch, they can securely book a time for an in-person visit or an estimate.
The Better Business Bureau website gives the platform a 1.89 star rating out of 5, with an average of 124 Customer Reviews and 137 complaints closed in the last 3 years and 35 complaints closed in the past 12 months.
TASK RABBIT
TaskRabbit is a website for contractors who are looking for smaller jobs, i.e. tasks, volume, and value flexibility. You get to choose your work hours and areas, as well as what services to offer. There are more than fifty categories to offer services in.
TaskRabbit is a popular marketplace that connects people with quick tasks to complete, such as assembling furniture or hanging a portrait. Once a suitable provider is found, a task can be created within the TaskRabbit app.
Then, the two parties communicate directly through the app to agree on a pickup time and location, as well as other details.
The site is easy to use. After a client chooses their date and time for service, a Tasker is notified and can decide whether or not to accept the job.
Taskers can accept or decline jobs for a variety of reasons. They can decline a job if the job is not a good fit for their expertise, if it falls outside of their area, or if they don’t have time to do it.
If accepted, the client pays TaskRabbit for the job and the Tasker reports to the job site to complete the job, you are paid and the client’s account is debited.
To ensure a positive experience for both clients and Taskers, the Tasker and client must rate each other after the job is completed. Once the ratings are submitted, TaskRabbit finalizes payment.
If the ratings are not favorable from both parties, the client is able to ask the Tasker to re-perform the job at no additional cost, or ask for a refund. Taskers are also encouraged to offer their own “takeaways” (i.e., tips for a job well done) for jobs well done.
Like all the other lead generation platforms listed here, you have the ability to display information about your company, the service you offer, and to list your reviews, which will help you find more clients. Advertising rates vary depending on the task and provider, but they are generally reasonable.
TaskRabbit currently operates in the following cities: New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Diego, San Jose, San Antonio, and Miami.
The Better Business Bureau website gives the platform a 1.17-star rating out of 5, with an average of 83 Customer Reviews and 191 complaints closed in the last 3 years and 19 complaints closed in the past 12 months.
BUILD ZOOM
BuildZoom is a contractor listing platform that connects homeowners with local contractors in their area.
Customers submit their requirements for a project to BuildZoom. BuildZoom then screens these projects and sends the inquiry to contractors that meet the criteria of the project. BuildZoom charges only a small referral fee if a client purchases your services.
The BuildZoom score is a measure of how well a contractor runs their business. If a company does well, its score will go up. If they don’t do so well, their score will go down.
As a BuildZoom user, you will not incur any fees until you land a project. Once you have a contract, you will have to pay a referral fee of 2.5%. In addition, their upgraded package includes advertising on their platform for $99/month.
Unlike all the other lead providers, BuildZoom has a great rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website.
The company has a 4.48-star rating out of 5, with an average of 281 Customer Reviews and 98 complaints closed in the last 3 years and 40 complaints closed in the past 12 months.
Even though BuildZoom has quite a few complaints, they seem to be resolving them quickly and working to make unhappy customers happy again.
CRAFT JACK
CraftJack generates leads when homeowners need a contractor or home service provider. Homeowners search the web for a specific home improvement service when they are looking for help, and CraftJack helps them find the right pro for their job.
Thieir business model is pretty much the same as the other companies on this list, and it should be no surprise that CraftJack is owned by HomeAdvisor.
With CraftJack, you only have to pay for leads, not signups, cancellations, or monthly fees.
Lead prices depend on the task and area of expertise. But like most of these companies, they will sell the lead to a maximum of four contractors.
Like many of the companies listed here, they have some bad reviews and complaints online for allegedly selling bad leads and still charging contractors for those leads.
The Better Business Bureau website gives CraftJack a 1.17-star rating out of 5, with an average of 83 Customer Reviews and 191 complaints closed in the last 3 years and 19 complaints closed in the past 12 months.
Here is an example of a contractor customer who gave them a bad review:
33 MILE RADIUS
Unlike most of the companies listed here, 33 Mile Radius generates exclusive leads for contractors and home service businesses.
These leads are delivered via live phone calls and you only have to pay for valid leads.
They have no set-up or monthly fees and no long term contracts.
I previously used 33 mile radius for my business and I was NOT happy with the leads that came through.
I would see their online ads in my local market and even on Craigslist.
They use simple websites that they build with fake company names to entice people to call and then transfer the call to you, which you have to answer because if you don’t, your charged for the lead regardless.
33 Mile Radius claims that their partners have a 90% success rate with their leads and in my personal experience and even with my own self generated leads, this is complete BS.
I do not think that any marketing campaign or salesperson in the world can realistically claim a 90% success rate.
THE CONTRACTOR MARKET BROTHERHOOD CONCLUSION
As I mentioned previously and the many reviews online, the success rate on contacting and closing these leads from most of these companies is low because the leads may be bad or fake.
They are also not exclusive, and there is a lot of competition since the leads are sent out to multiple contractors in your local market.
When we pay these lead companies, we are actually creating more competition for our services and this negatively affects our own marketing efforts and chances for success.
If you have the time, the best company and person is you. Self-generating your own leads will always get you the best results.
If you do not have time or the expertise, a specialized marketing agency like ours that helps advertise your business would be the second-best way to get exclusive leads.
Please contact us at The Contractor Brotherhood if you are looking for a digital marketing agency that specializes in working only with contractors and home service businesses.