Month: November 2018

Running a landscaping business isn’t a walk in the park but partnering with a lead generation company you can trust can surely help.

Aside from providing excellent services to your clients, you also have to handle personnel, stay on top of regulations, and distinguish your service from your competition – all of which takes up a large chunk of your time and energy.

You also need to generate a steady stream of high-quality leads to stay viable in your market and to grow.

Unfortunately for many contractors, marketing and lead generation are not in their wheelhouse After all, landscaping is your expertise and nobody can fault you for not being a marketing guru!

Today, most people look for landscaping contractors via online searches. In order to get in front of more potential clients who are actively searching for a landscaper, you need an online presence that can help attract clients and generate leads.

The good news is, you can outsource lead generation so you don’t have to spend forever trying to learn the ins and outs of online marketing in order to attract high-quality prospects.

Some of these vendors work on a pay-per-lead or pay-per-call basis while others set up and manage the entire marketing funnel (e.g., SEO, website, etc.) for a flat monthly fee.

Now, you may wondering, “Where do I start? Which type of service will work best for my business?”.

We have done the legwork for you and put together a list of top lead generation services for landscaping contractors:

	Exclusive Leads	Lead Verification	Lead Source(s)
Craft​Jack​.com	No	Yes	Prospects submit requests on vendor’s website
Connexion​Solutions​.com	Yes	Yes	Prospects visit contractor’s website
Yard​Hookup​.com	N/A	Yes	Prospects visit the vendor’s website to search for contractors
TitanPPC​.com	Yes	N/A	Pay per click leads through contractor site
Marketing​360​.com	Yes	N/A	Prospects visit contractor’s website
Home​You​.com	Yes	Yes	Prospects submit requests on vendor’s website
Home​Advisor​.com	No	Yes	Prospects submit requests on vendor’s website
Disruptive​Advertising​.com	Yes	N/A	Pay per click advertising through contractor site
PBTP​Leads​.com	No	Yes	Prospects submit requests via vendor’s system
99calls.com	Yes	Yes	Prospects visit contractor’s website. Full service marketing

Figure 1: How each lead generation service handles lead generation, verification, and distribution

Selecting a Lead Generation Service For Your Landscaping Business

To get the most out of your marketing budget, it’s important to choose a lead generation service that suits your business model, budget, and market.

Here are some key differences among the various services:

Lead Distribution System

Some vendors provide “exclusive leads” while others send one lead to multiple contractors.

Shared leads are typically cheaper. However, since they’re distributed to several contractors, the chances of winning the job will be lower. In addition, the competition may lead to a price war that impacts your profit margin.

Lower-priced, shared leads can work well for some landscapers whose businesses are rapidly expanding and who have solid close rates.

On the other hand, when you get exclusive leads, you’re the only contractor receiving the prospects’ contact information from the vendor, or better yet, you’ll get live and exclusive calls directly from your prospects. The chances of winning the jobs are higher and you’re more likely to get paid at your desired rate.

Even with the higher cost, exclusive leads often generate a better ROI for landscapers who are relatively new to the business or don’t have the resources to spend on client acquisition.

Lead Verification

Lead verification means either your lead vendor or someone in your business will review the information submitted via a web form or call the prospects to make sure that the scope and budget meet certain criteria before you provide a quote.

Working with vendors that deliver verified leads can save you time and effort if you don’t have the resources to contact each prospect. However, if you already have the personnel in place, this may not be of high priority.

Purchasing verified shared leads take the verification process off your plate and saves you time but you’d be competing with multiple other landscapers for each job.

On the other hand, the competition is lower when you buy direct, exclusive leads but the quality of the leads varies depending on the traffic source and the lead capture mechanisms.

If you use a vendor that verifies a lead on your behalf (e.g., pay-per-lead or pay-per-call) inquire about its lead-screening process and make sure there’s a frictionless way for you to dispute bad leads.

Lead Sources

Most contractors utilize a variety of channels and frequently test and measure results. They get their leads from a variety of sources, such as online ads, organic search results, online directories, third-party review sites, referrals, and offline promotions.

Some of these sources may drive higher quality traffic than others. You should keep track of the conversion rates from each source so you can invest more in those that work for your business.

Vendors that implement marketing funnels for their clients often provide a dashboard or monthly analytics as part of the service. You can review the data and find out what tactics generate the best results.

Pay-per-lead vendors drive traffic to their platforms using online marketing techniques and their sources vary. You should experiment with a few vendors to see which one delivers the highest-converting leads so you can get the biggest bang for your marketing bucks. However, if using the vendor for SEO as well as pay-per-click leads, be sure to retain ownership of your Google Business Profile and other online listings. You can add the vendor as a manager to your accounts, but always reserve the right to remove them.

Pricing Structure

Using a service that suits your business model can help maximize your marketing dollars.

Some vendors charge per lead or per call while others offer their services for a flat monthly fee.

If you have a rather steady client base and only need new leads once in a while, a pay-per-lead or pay-per-call service is often more cost-effective. If you want to have a consistent flow of leads, using a vendor that charges a flat monthly fee can help you better control your budget.

To maximize your ROI, you need to take into account a vendor’s pricing structure, your conversion rate, and the number of new clients you want per month so you can get the right amount of leads at the optimal price.

Here is the pricing information for some of the vendors on our list:

	Cost Per Lead
Craft​Jack​.com	Ranges from $11 – $57 per lead
Connexion​Solutions​.com	$499/month for unlimited exclusive leads
Yard​Hookup​.com	$250 sign-up fee. $30 referral fee for jobs under $300. Tiered fee schedule for jobs over $300.
Titan​PPC​.com	Varies based on service package
Landscaper​marketing​360​.com	Varies based on service package
Home​You​.com	Depends on the type of service and location
Home​Advisor​.com	$45-$75 per shared lead plus $28.99 per month
Disruptive​Advertising​.com	Varies based on service package
PBTP​Leads​.com	Shared leads, depends on the type of service and market
99calls.com	$299 setup fee, then pay only $29.90 per exclusive leads for the first 20 per month, all over 20 are free.

Figure 2: Pricing structure comparison

Top 10 Lead Generation Services For Landscaping Contractors

How do you know if a lead generation service is right for you?

You should consider a vendor’s method, its fee structure, and the pros and cons of its offerings. In addition, look for customer reviews to see if the vendor has a good track record of generating results for businesses like yours.

To help you get started, here’s an overview of the vendors on our list:

1. CraftJack

Cost per landscaping lead: $11 – $57 per shared lead.

Lead distribution system: Leads are shared among up to four contractors.

Lead source: The vendor uses SEO techniques to drive traffic to its website, on which prospects fill out a web form to request a quote.

Lead Verification System: The vendor’s automated system calls prospects to verify their information.

Pros:

• The vendor offers a “speed-to-call” discount. When you call a prospect within 30 minutes of receiving it, you’ll get a 20% off that lead.

• The lead management tool allows you to ask past clients for reviews, which will be posted on your profile.

• You can easily request a credit for any bad lead via the lead management tool.

Cons:

• Getting shared leads means you’ll be competing with other landscaping contractors for the same jobs.

Reviews:

Source: Better Business Bureau

2. Connexion Solutions

Pricing structure: Inbound lead generation packages start at a flat monthly fee of $499.

Lead distribution system: Direct exclusive.

Lead source: The vendor uses SEO tactics to drive traffic to your website, which will be built for you as part of the service package.

Lead Verification System: Prospects fill out a web form on your website to request quotes.

Pros:

• Packages include a lead generation website that can benefit your business in the long-run.
• A comprehensive online marketing approach dials in all the pieces in your funnel.
• The vendor guarantees minimum lead calls and form-fills each month.

Cons:

• It’s more expensive than most pay-per-lead services.

Reviews:

Source

3. YardHookup

Pricing structure: $250 sign-up fee. $30 referral fee for jobs under $300. Tiered fee schedule for jobs over $300.

Lead distribution system: N/A.

Lead source: The vendor drives traffic to its website, on which prospects can search for contractors using a list of criteria.

Lead Verification System: Prospects can review your information and photos of your past projects before getting in touch with you.

Pros:

• There’s no lead fee. You only pay the referral fee after you get the job.
• You get a profile page with a photo gallery to showcase your projects.
• You only get contacted by prospects that are interested in your services and meet your budget requirement.

Cons:

• The vendor only services the Dallas Metroplex area.

Reviews:

No review available at the time of publication.

4. Titan PPC

Pricing structure: Varies based on service package.

Lead distribution system: Direct exclusive.

Lead source: The vendor develops your search engine strategy and drives prospects to a lead generation landing page, which will also be created for you.

Lead Verification System: Prospects will get in touch with you via the landing page.

Pros:

• The vendor is a Google Partner with expertise in Google Adwords and Google Remarketing.
• You also get custom call tracking so you can assess the ROI in your monthly report.
• Custom ads and landing pages will be set up on your behalf for precise targeting, e.g., types of services or geographic area.

Cons:

• The full-service approach can be more expensive than many other pay-per-lead services.

Reviews:

Source: Titan PPC Website

5. Marketing 360

Pricing structure: Varies based on service package.

Lead distribution system: Direct exclusive leads generated from your website, built using the vendor’s marketing software.

Lead source: The vendor uses online ads to drive traffic to your website.

Lead Verification System: Prospects fill out a web form on your website to request information.

Pros:

• The vendor offers on-demand marketing services, such as website design and development, content creation, online advertising, and video production.
• You have access to the vendor’s online lead management tool, which is part of its marketing software.
• The vendor’s software allows you to manage ads on various platforms (e.g., Google, YouTube, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) all in one place.

Cons:

• The full-service packages can be more costly than pay-per-lead models.

Reviews:

Source

6. HomeYou

Cost per landscaping lead: Depends on the type of service and your market.

Lead distribution system: Both shared and exclusive leads, varies by package.

Lead source: The vendor drives traffic to its website using online marketing techniques (e.g., SEO.) Prospects then submit their requests for quotes.

Lead Verification System: The vendor verifies the prospects’ information before distributing the leads to contractors.

Pros:

• Many contractors are satisfied with the quality of the leads from this vendor.
• You get a profile page on the vendor’s website to showcase your services.
• The vendor offers a rather frictionless refund process for bad leads.

Cons:

• Price per lead may be higher than some other pay-per-lead websites.

Reviews:

Source: Better Business Bureau

7. HomeAdvisor

Cost per landscaping lead: $45-$75 per lead, plus $28.99/month.

Lead distribution system: Leads shared among several contractors.

Lead source: The vendor drives traffic to its website, on which prospects fill out a web form to request a quote. The vendor also uses third-party data sources.

Pros:

• HomeAdvisor is one of the largest contractor-matching services and popular among homeowners.
• The vendor has a strong online presence so building a good profile on its website can help you rank high on search engine results.
• Some contractors indicated that they have purchased good leads from this vendor.

Cons:

• Shared leads are distributed to multiple contractors so competition is high.
• Since it’s free and easy for visitors to submit requests for quotes, some leads may not be ready to start a project.
• The vendor’s customer service hasn’t always been satisfactory. Some users encountered problems when trying to cancel a subscription or request a refund.

Reviews:

Source: Better Business Bureau

8. Disruptive Advertising

Pricing structure: Varies based on service package.

Lead distribution system: Direct exclusive.

Lead source: The vendor uses online marketing techniques, such as PPC ads, SEO, and social media marketing, to attract prospects to your website.

Lead Verification System: You’ll capture and verify leads using your current system.

Pros:

• The vendor is a Google Partner and an accredited professional for Bing ads.
• You have access to its software to monitor your campaigns and receive a weekly report on their performance.
• An account manager will help you improve the campaign results.

Cons:

• Agency model tends to be more expensive than many other pay-per-lead services.
• You need to have a website with an effective lead capture mechanism. Otherwise, you can’t take full advantage of the increased traffic.

Reviews:

Source

9. PBTP Leads

Cost per landscaping lead: Shared lead starting at $10.

Lead distribution system: Leads are shared by up to 3 contractors.

Lead source: Clients submit requests to the vendor’s system.

Lead Verification System: Leads are phone-verified.

Pros:

• It’s an affordable pay-per-lead service with no contract or additional fees.
• You can easily control your budget by adding funds to your account.
• The mobile app allows you to purchase leads on-the-go.
• The vendor offers leads for both commercial and residential jobs.

Cons:

• Buying shared leads means you’d likely be competing against other landscapers.

Reviews:

Source: PBTP Leads Website

10. 99 Calls

Pricing structure: $299 setup fee. $29.90 per exclusive lead for the first 20 in a give month. All leads over 20 are complimentary. Free reputation management assistance and listings management. PPC, SEO, Remarketing and Database reactivation services are available.

Lead distribution system: Direct exclusive.

Lead source: The vendor builds an SEO optimized website for your business so it shows up at the top of relevant search engine results. You’ll get found by prospects looking for landscaping service in your area and they’ll call you directly using a tracking number.

Pros:

• You’ll receive exclusive leads from prospects who are ready to hire a landscaping contractor in your area.

• You get an optimized website that will rank high in organic searches, boosting your SEO and generating long-term results.

• Free setup and management of Google Business Profile, Facebook business page and other listings. 

• Pay for performance service. Pay only for the qualified, exclusive leads you receive. 

• Free monthly reporting helps you track results and maximize ROI.

Reviews:

Source: Better Business Bureau

Also see:
Google reviews for 99 Calls
Facebook reviews for 99 Calls

Conclusion

Most homeowners have ongoing landscaping needs and for most contractors, jobs from recurring clients represent a majority of their income.

Not to mention, the cost of retaining a client is much lower than that of acquiring a new one.

It’s therefore worthwhile to invest in a good lead generation service, which can help you find high-quality leads that will turn into long-term clients.

In addition, many landscapers face the challenge of having to compete with “fly-by-night” landscaping services (aka a man with a van and a lawnmower) that lowball their fees just so they can get a job.

To distinguish yourself from these competitors, project a professional image and provide outstanding customer service when you respond to prospects’ inquiries so you can build trust and turn those leads into happy clients.