Just lost a whole day's pay on a bad lead from a new chat service

Signed up for a contractor chat app that promised 'hot leads' in my area for $50 a month. The first lead they sent was for a deck rebuild in Phoenix, but the client's budget was only $500... for a full teardown and rebuild. I drove 30 minutes each way for the meet, and the guy just wanted free advice. Wasted 3 hours and about $20 in gas. Has anyone found a chat or lead service that actually screens people first?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_richard25d ago

Gotta be honest, that sounds like a normal Tuesday in this line of work. Those cheap lead services are just feeding off our hope. You paid $50 for a list of phone numbers, not for real customers. A budget that small is a huge red flag you can spot before you even get in the truck. Maybe try a quick phone screen next time to save the drive. It's a tough lesson but you only have to learn it once.

butler.mark24d ago

Yeah, that's the real takeaway. I learned the hard way too, like @the_richard said. A quick call first to ask a couple basic questions about their budget and timeline filters out almost all of these. It feels like you're wasting time not driving, but you're actually saving the whole afternoon. Those lists are just people who clicked an ad, not people ready to buy.

alice_harris3524d ago

Ugh, I used to hate making that call first. Felt like I was being lazy. But you're totally right, it saves so much wasted time. Changed my whole process.