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Lead generation

Dirty dan

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139
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Barry
Anyone used any lead generation companies like green pro? Thinking of using them but not sure how affective they’re gonna be. Anyone used them? 

 
The lead generation is essentially a paid advertisement on Facebook with the enquiries hopefully filtered then passed to you.

you might get a better return on your money by optimising your Facebook page and running paid ads on there. £3-5 a day can go a long way with right advert. Lots of information and YouTube guides to help set it up ?

 
Anyone used any lead generation companies like green pro? Thinking of using them but not sure how affective they’re gonna be. Anyone used them? 
I have used Greenpro and they were great. You can do it yourself but comes down to time and money. Advantage of these companies is they guarantee leads or money back.

 
You can get cards printed and all you add is the price to clean the home and post through letterbox. Cost me £60 and made it back on first week of posting some on street I do. ?

 
I'm currently using the lead generation of green pro from this site.

Due to the lack of canvassing these past few months, I needed to find a different way of getting new clients.  I have done Google Ads, FB ads, (and leaflets pre-covid) - but I am getting a higher rate of returns through lead generation.

Somehow, the way they do it is more effective than my simply paying for an ad!  Obviously some leads do not pay off - no rear access on some, difficulties in parking, and simply an awkward location are just some of the examples of the leads that do not pay off.  Some baulk at my prices as well.

I have picked up some good properties - and the return will pay for itself over a few months.  I haven't calculated the figures but I suspect I'm converting around 30-40% of the leads which is okay for me.

After the trial offer, I went big and paid for 150 leads!

 
I'm currently using the lead generation of green pro from this site.

Due to the lack of canvassing these past few months, I needed to find a different way of getting new clients.  I have done Google Ads, FB ads, (and leaflets pre-covid) - but I am getting a higher rate of returns through lead generation.

Somehow, the way they do it is more effective than my simply paying for an ad!  Obviously some leads do not pay off - no rear access on some, difficulties in parking, and simply an awkward location are just some of the examples of the leads that do not pay off.  Some baulk at my prices as well.

I have picked up some good properties - and the return will pay for itself over a few months.  I haven't calculated the figures but I suspect I'm converting around 30-40% of the leads which is okay for me.

After the trial offer, I went big and paid for 150 leads!
With that can you say you want a, lets say, 7 mile radius? Reason I ask is because where I live going on a post code isnt really suitable, as its part countryside and covers too far a distance

 
I don't understand why you would want to pay another window cleaner to generate your add for you via facebook.

Spend an hour or so and learn it yourself.I don't use facebook at all but I can't imagine it to be that hard 

Surely you set the add up yourself then select the criteria like radius, age group, time the add displayed etc.

 
I don't understand why you would want to pay another window cleaner to generate your add for you via facebook.

Spend an hour or so and learn it yourself.I don't use facebook at all but I can't imagine it to be that hard 

Surely you set the add up yourself then select the criteria like radius, age group, time the add displayed etc.
It depends on the person, mate. Some can figure it out, some can't. But lead gen, you know what your paying and you know what you'll get in return. You then calculate if its worth while for you. Business spend ridiculous money on advertising, and window cleaners are no different. My person view is do it all. Canvass, leaflet, advertise online. It's how I've built my round ?

 
I'm currently using the lead generation of green pro from this site.

Due to the lack of canvassing these past few months, I needed to find a different way of getting new clients.  I have done Google Ads, FB ads, (and leaflets pre-covid) - but I am getting a higher rate of returns through lead generation.

Somehow, the way they do it is more effective than my simply paying for an ad!  Obviously some leads do not pay off - no rear access on some, difficulties in parking, and simply an awkward location are just some of the examples of the leads that do not pay off.  Some baulk at my prices as well.

I have picked up some good properties - and the return will pay for itself over a few months.  I haven't calculated the figures but I suspect I'm converting around 30-40% of the leads which is okay for me.

After the trial offer, I went big and paid for 150 leads!
The obstacle I have found with FB ads is the quality of the leads over the investment made. If you aren't calculating the expenditure against the revenue then how do you know it is in the remotest way effective? That would really concern me. To ensure you aren't simply wasting advertising budget you need to know what each account is worth to you & its payment history to date (how long you hold them historically). Naturally, the longer you hold them the more valuable the account becomes; what you haven't really established (by your own admission) is, of the 40% you clinched, what percentage of those dropped/cancelled in 3 months. 6months & after a year?

Are you getting real quality or mass quantity of poor paying work?

Would that £2k be better spent buying a round & refining the margins?

Looking at his package advice: 50 leads @ £12.50 each is £625; so you are saying you spent £1,875 on a 150 lead package...

Your expectations @ 40% conversion is 60 accounts signed-up at best. Each new client has cost you £31.25 (or more if you hit 30% conversion) + your manpower & resources to clean (which means your 1st visit is negative profit - job profile dependent). But it is not unreasonable to use Green Pro own pricing system to extrapolate that the 2nd clean is also non profit & the 3 rd clean is potentially non profit (quote price dependent)- since you haven't recovered the manpower & resource costs of the 1st two cleans yet. Remember. many run 6, 9 & 12 week rotations - so your 3 clean could conceivably be 36 weeks away on the extreme end. Now you see the issue - you simply must track the retention ratio to know if this is good use of your advertising/marketing budget.

I remain unconvinced but am open to have my mind changed if someone has a robust argument against these points.

I would qualify this by saying I am not knocking Darren or his company, nor his business acumen - I would love to have a chat with him if I am honest. But the numbers don't jive unless you are flat out of work & desperate to fill your days. On the other hand you could just come & work for us we will pay you nothing for 3 months.......no? Thought not.

Just be careful that you do your homework, thats all. Which I am sure Darren Green would agree with, as he seems a reasonable fellow.

 
I've calculated that the first couple of cleans will be "free" (at a loss). But I'm new to the game - I have no bills to pay - I can't canvass at the moment. For me, its a long-term investment.  I am looking at the annual figures - so I have calculated on an annual basis.

I have a target to reach in 12 months of setting up - I was making steady progress but it was slow during lockdown.  I've made great strides using the lead generation.  For every lead I convert, I have made extras from recommendations and walk-ups. One lead was in a gated community - I picked up all 5 houses there from the one lead.

I'm looking at the bigger picture here.  

 
The obstacle I have found with FB ads is the quality of the leads over the investment made. If you aren't calculating the expenditure against the revenue then how do you know it is in the remotest way effective? That would really concern me. To ensure you aren't simply wasting advertising budget you need to know what each account is worth to you & its payment history to date (how long you hold them historically). Naturally, the longer you hold them the more valuable the account becomes; what you haven't really established (by your own admission) is, of the 40% you clinched, what percentage of those dropped/cancelled in 3 months. 6months & after a year?

Are you getting real quality or mass quantity of poor paying work?

Would that £2k be better spent buying a round & refining the margins?

Looking at his package advice: 50 leads @ £12.50 each is £625; so you are saying you spent £1,875 on a 150 lead package...

Your expectations @ 40% conversion is 60 accounts signed-up at best. Each new client has cost you £31.25 (or more if you hit 30% conversion) + your manpower & resources to clean (which means your 1st visit is negative profit - job profile dependent). But it is not unreasonable to use Green Pro own pricing system to extrapolate that the 2nd clean is also non profit & the 3 rd clean is potentially non profit (quote price dependent)- since you haven't recovered the manpower & resource costs of the 1st two cleans yet. Remember. many run 6, 9 & 12 week rotations - so your 3 clean could conceivably be 36 weeks away on the extreme end. Now you see the issue - you simply must track the retention ratio to know if this is good use of your advertising/marketing budget.

I remain unconvinced but am open to have my mind changed if someone has a robust argument against these points.

I would qualify this by saying I am not knocking Darren or his company, nor his business acumen - I would love to have a chat with him if I am honest. But the numbers don't jive unless you are flat out of work & desperate to fill your days. On the other hand you could just come & work for us we will pay you nothing for 3 months.......no? Thought not.

Just be careful that you do your homework, thats all. Which I am sure Darren Green would agree with, as he seems a reasonable fellow.
You’re forgetting to add the additional extras, fsg, conservatories, solar pv, also the ‘can you do my mothers too’ scenario.

Although this is unquantifiable, it certainly negates some of the drop offs etc.

 
I'm currently using the lead generation of green pro from this site.

Due to the lack of canvassing these past few months, I needed to find a different way of getting new clients.  I have done Google Ads, FB ads, (and leaflets pre-covid) - but I am getting a higher rate of returns through lead generation.

Somehow, the way they do it is more effective than my simply paying for an ad!  Obviously some leads do not pay off - no rear access on some, difficulties in parking, and simply an awkward location are just some of the examples of the leads that do not pay off.  Some baulk at my prices as well.

I have picked up some good properties - and the return will pay for itself over a few months.  I haven't calculated the figures but I suspect I'm converting around 30-40% of the leads which is okay for me.

After the trial offer, I went big and paid for 150 leads!
Converting at just 30-40% is pretty low I'd say, but I guess it depends on the quality of the leads, unless you're quoting sky-high prices and turning potential customers away?

With relevant, high-quality leads you should be looking at conversion rates of 80-90%, which is a completely different ball-game, but then again, those would probably cost slightly more, although it would eliminate a lot of timewasters and tyre kickers.

 
You’re forgetting to add the additional extras, fsg, conservatories, solar pv, also the ‘can you do my mothers too’ scenario.

Although this is unquantifiable, it certainly negates some of the drop offs etc.
Well...if you believe that the upsell is attributable to the lead or attributable to you - I would say it's you. In fact under that rationale SEO companies would make a power play for ongoing revenue on the basis that you would not have ever had the initial introduction without their input. Which of course is ridiculous - I wouldn't be inclined to include an unquantifiable service add-on as the means of validating an investment...& if you had to do that in order to justify it, perhaps it isn't a good investment?

 
With that can you say you want a, lets say, 7 mile radius? Reason I ask is because where I live going on a post code isnt really suitable, as its part countryside and covers too far a distance
Exactly that mate, well almost 10+ miles radius otherwise it ain't viable maybe great even on a 5 mile radius if you live in very densely populated area like a city or very large towns or counties side by side within easy reach and the willingness to travel, straight off I was out as I hate travelling and see no point in driving around for single jobs miles apart from each other, 

I was approached maybe 1-2 years ago and I was out in an instant based on target radius and my unwillingness to travel but no point after 18-19 years in the trade at that point. 

 
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I’m not so sure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as sceptical as anyone. And as you stated, it’s time that matters. How many good jobs will there be in a years time? 
If a lead directly produces an add on, that surely increases the return of the lead?

I had a Facebook lead yesterday, £30 windows bi monthly and £200 fsg Connie roof. All include vat. I may make £50 profit after costs on the fsg, to say that the original lead didn’t generate that £50 profit would be a fallacy, thus when evaluating the effectiveness of lead generation, that would help the outcome.

I’m still open minded but at the moment I’ll probably just keep it running, it’s certainly paying for itself, however, ALOT of potentially good customers, don’t use Facebook.

 
I’m not so sure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as sceptical as anyone. And as you stated, it’s time that matters. How many good jobs will there be in a years time? 
If a lead directly produces an add on, that surely increases the return of the lead?

I had a Facebook lead yesterday, £30 windows bi monthly and £200 fsg Connie roof. All include vat. I may make £50 profit after costs on the fsg, to say that the original lead didn’t generate that £50 profit would be a fallacy, thus when evaluating the effectiveness of lead generation, that would help the outcome.

I’m still open minded but at the moment I’ll probably just keep it running, it’s certainly paying for itself, however, ALOT of potentially good customers, don’t use Facebook.
No, I think you are quite right about that 1 - the lead is attributable. Marketing budget evaluation is a hard 1; & I am not saying we have it cracked, because we haven't just yet or we'd be a national. What I would recommend, if you don't already do it, is use your business software to track its lifecycle expenditure with you & log it's cost to acquire. It very quickly dawns on you if it stands up to scrutiny or not - you didn't mention what your FB campaign is costing to land that client?

 
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No, I think you are quite right about that 1 - the lead is attributable. Marketing budget evaluation is a hard 1; & I am not saying we have it cracked, because we haven't just yet or we'd be a national. What I would recommend, if you don't already do it, is use your business software to track its lifecycle expenditure with you & log it's cost to acquire. It very quickly dawns on you if it stands up to scrutiny or not - you didn't mention what your FB campaign is costing to land that client?
Well it’s not just cost of the lead, I’m going out and meeting the custards and quoting. That costs more than the lead. But if you have some GOOD reliable customers I guess it adds value to the business.

It works for me at the moment as our other work has slowed right down this spring and I need work to do, to keep everyone busy.

If we can get through this year without redundancies, have made a small profit and increased the value of the business, that’s be a good result. I guess things are different if you mostly do residential window cleaning. This recession will affect us all differently, I suppose.

 
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