Where trade work actually comes from (ranked by return)

The honest ranking

Trade work comes from five places. They are not equal, and the most expensive one is usually the one people start with.

1. Past clients and referrals — cheapest, highest conversion. A referred client barely negotiates and rarely compares quotes. The cost is zero; the effort is remembering to stay in contact. This is where the return is, and it's the one nobody systematises.

2. Google Business Profile — free, high intent. Someone searching "electrician near me" needs an electrician today. Nothing else has that intent. Setting it up properly is an hour's work.

3. Reviews — the multiplier. Reviews don't generate leads by themselves; they decide who gets chosen among the businesses already visible. How to get them consistently.

4. Your van and your job sites. A clearly marked van parked on a job for three days is local advertising to the exact neighbourhood you want. A tidy site and a clean van sell more than any flyer.

5. Paid lead platforms — last, and with a calculator. They work, but you buy a lead shared with three competitors, so you compete on price and speed. Only viable if you know your numbers: if a lead costs $30, you close 1 in 5, and your average job margin is $400, you're paying $150 per win for $400 — fine. Track it for real, and stop if it doesn't hold.

The source you already own and never work

Every tradesperson has a list of people who already paid them and were happy. That list generates almost nothing because nobody touches it. Two habits fix that:

• Maintenance recalls. Every install has a service due. It's revenue you already earned — see recurring revenue from maintenance.
• The unaccepted-estimate list. "Not right now" from six months ago is often "yes" today. One call, no cost.

Fastest response usually wins

Across home services, the contractor who answers first wins a disproportionate share — often before the second quote even arrives. That's why quoting on site matters more than any channel: with Pro Speak Artisan you dictate the estimate before leaving the driveway and the client has it while you're still fresh in their mind.