Are these guys for real?

J

John T.

New member
Over the last year I've been receiving calls from Service Magic wanting to
give me leads. They said that you have to take at least $100 worth a month.
Is it worth it? Has anyone used them and gotten good results?
 
$100. thats about one third of a minimum sized job
 
I have been a SM contractor for over 4 years. Its a love/hate relationship. I love the leads, but I hate that they keep increasing the price. When I started, leads were $5 or $6, they are now $15 - but no minimums. (I usually don't accept anything other than Exact Matches.) I have found most leads to be genuine and worth the money, though $15 for MAYBE a shot at a job is too high - especially when you consider how many $150 jobs SM leads generate.

Can they promise you $100 worth (?) of leads/month? How many other pw contractors are in your area? Waiving the fee? No long-term commitment? As I hear from others, if you play hardball with them, they will do just about anything you want to get you signed.

Do a search on this, and other bbs.
 
Hello to BOTH Johns!
I was an 'early adaptor' to Service Magic.

My experience ?
Leads were old by the time I got em.
Often, I went to give estimates, and other companies had already done em, or were right in the process :eek:

Then, they still wanted money!

Told em to get Funked :D
 
I just signed on with them.12 bucks a lead and I limited my radius to 10 miles to try it out.They claim I'm the only member in my area and I'll probably only get 1 lead a month if that. 12 bucks won't buy many post cards so I'm happy to spend that money on a lead.Funny thing is they are always calling to chat and ask how I'm doing.I've yet to figure out their motive for that.
 
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We've closed over $10K this WEEK on $36.00 worth of leads. We love them.

That being said - you have to play the game just right. Don't advertise in an area too large or you'll lose out on the distance/gas when competing with someone closer. Don't advertise washing anything that won't run away. Be VERY NARROW in the scope of work you offer.

Celeste
 
sign up for it is worth it. ive closed 75-80% of house and exterior cleaning jobs so for. not so good on the deck restoration leads.... 0% sold.. i think it has something to do with my pricing?
some tips:
1) have the robot ,as i call her(automated phone call) ring your cell. it will dial the customer for you when prompted. if your the first one to call back and the first one to present estimate you will likely close.


2) have them send you the leads via email (i have it faxed as well). this is the bogas part to me.... if you get lets say 6 leads and half are not in your specific feild of expertize you still have to pay but you get a lead replacement....i created a folder(yahhoo mail) to keep up with it all.

3)use theyre customer communications emails. ask for reviews and such
 
I have talked to the rep in my area for SM. They wanted a $99 administration fee and then $8-$15 per lead. They said that the lead would go to 2 other contracters offereing power washing besides myself. The guy tried to tell me that they get 300 calls per month for pressure washing....I laughed and about fell off my chair...... uh huh and I just washed Donald Trumps Lambo.... I wasn't impressed with the guy I talked to and he made a bad impression. We have not signed up as of yet. I looked into bestcontractors.com, they are growing out here and are alot cheaper than SM. Another one to try is contractors.com. We are listed on their site and it is free of charge, they send me a lead and if I want it I pay the $8 and get the phone number. The thing is, you have to get them while their hot.
 
I just signed on with SM they waived the $99 fee and promised me 2 to 3 leads a week up to $100 a month and I can cut the service at anytime. So we'll see how it goes and I'll keep you guys posted on how it's going with them.
 
How easily did they waive that admin fee? I would probably sign up with them it I didnt have to pay that... I just think its ridiculous. We are paying for the leads which cost them about 5cents of phone time. I will definetly talk to a different person this time though:)
 
Apple Roof Cleaning said:
Hello to BOTH Johns!
I was an 'early adaptor' to Service Magic.

My experience ?
Leads were old by the time I got em.
Often, I went to give estimates, and other companies had already done em, or were right in the process :eek:

Then, they still wanted money!

Told em to get Funked :D
Click to expand...

I agree! at first it was ok, but lately most of the leads that I get from them I have already received for free from my own website!

If you don't have your own website, then use them, but you'd better do the estimate right away, and call first to make sure the job isn't already done. I have done an estimate, got the contract, set a date, and then had another service magic contractor come in the day before and do the job! The homeowner thought it was us at first. They did a lousy job on the windows, and left the gate open. The owners dog was then hit by a car. Service magic would not refund me for the lead. This is only one of many examples of being screwed by SM.

Be warned.
 
The dog didn't die. The worst part is, is that it was the guy who convinced me to join service magic who stole this job from me! Service magic is ok, but right now I have more leads than i deal with from my own website. If you need the leads, and you get there first, you'll probably close most of the work.
 
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