Ran into an interesting problem while talking to a contractor friend last week. His shop has been around for years—steady work from builders, solid word of mouth. But builder referrals have dried up and their old channels aren't keeping the pipeline full anymore.
They tried Thumbtack, found it chaotic. Search ads run $15-25 per click in their area, and the conversion rate is "historically preserved" (his words, meaning the website hasn't been touched since 2009). Paying for leads they can't trace back to actual jobs is eating into margins in a way that doesn't feel sustainable.
What struck me was his willingness to pay—he just wants accountability. He'd rather spend $50 on a lead that converts than $15 on one that vanishes. For a 15-person crew with overhead to cover, that math makes sense.
Made me wonder if there's something worth building here for the trades. Most lead gen platforms feel like they're optimized for volume, not quality. Anyone seen tools that actually help contractors track spend to jobs without requiring a full marketing team? Or is this just the nature of local service businesses?
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