Emergency work and planned work
A burst pipe is settled in minutes. The customer searches on a phone, calls the first plumber with good reviews who answers, and rarely asks the price first. Being found and picking up the phone is the whole contest.
A bathroom, a new boiler or the plumbing of a building is settled over weeks. The customer asks for quotes, or is a business that already has a plumber it trusts. This work is won by being known before the job exists.
LeadsByCity sells lists of businesses and no homeowner or consumer data. It has nothing to offer for the first kind of work, and it is useful for the second where the customer is a business.
The ways plumbers get leads
| Source | Best for | You pay | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews and local search | Emergencies | Time, or an agency | You must answer the phone when it rings |
| Paid search ads | Emergencies | Per click | Costly words; calls outside your area |
| Pay-per-lead services | Both | Per lead | Shared leads, and jobs too small to cover the fee |
| Past customers | Planned work | Nothing | Needs a reason to stay in touch |
| Builders and general contractors | Planned work | A list and your time | Tight prices; payment terms |
| Businesses with heavy water use | Both | A list and your time | They want fast response written into the deal |
| Agents and property firms | Planned work | A list and your time | Small jobs, but many of them |
Winning emergency calls
- Reviews decide it. Ask every satisfied customer for one, on the day, while the relief is fresh.
- Answer the phone. A missed call in an emergency is a job for the next plumber on the list.
- Say what areas and hours you cover on your profile and your site, so the calls you get are ones you can take.
- If you buy leads or ads for emergencies, measure them by jobs won and what those jobs paid, not by the number of calls.
None of this needs a list. It needs a good public profile and someone on the phone.
Winning planned work from businesses
Some businesses need a plumber many times a year, and some decide which plumber a whole building uses. One such relationship is worth a great many single calls, and nobody else is paying for the same lead.
| Who | Why they need a plumber | The lists |
|---|---|---|
| General contractors | They subcontract plumbing on builds, extensions and refits | General contractor leads |
| Restaurants | Kitchens, drains and grease are a constant source of work | Restaurant leads |
| Hotels | Hundreds of bathrooms, and a problem in one is urgent | Hotel leads |
| HVAC contractors | Heating jobs often need plumbing they do not do themselves | HVAC contractor leads |
| Real estate agents | Inspections turn up leaks and failed heaters before a sale | Real estate agent leads |
| Insurance agents | Their customers ask who to call after water damage | Insurance agent leads |
Take one kind of business in your area, contact every one with a specific offer, and follow up. For a restaurant that might be a response time you will hold to; for a builder, a quote turned round in a day. The steps are in local lead generation.
If you sell to plumbing companies
Suppliers, software companies and agencies who search for plumbing leads mean plumbers to sell to. For that, the list is the plumbers themselves: plumber leads by country and city, with the count and sample rows for each place.
Questions and answers
- How do plumbers get more leads?
- For emergency work, through reviews, local search and answering the phone. For planned work, through past customers and through businesses that need plumbing often or pass it on: builders, restaurants, hotels, HVAC contractors and real estate agents.
- Should a plumber buy leads?
- Only while the numbers hold. Bought leads are often shared with other plumbers and can be for small jobs. Track what you spend against the jobs you win and what they pay, and stop a service when a won job costs more than it earns.
- How do plumbers get commercial contracts?
- By contacting the businesses that need plumbing regularly before they have a problem. List the restaurants, hotels and contractors in your area, offer something specific such as a guaranteed response time, and follow up. Commercial customers choose a plumber they already know.
- Does LeadsByCity sell homeowner plumbing leads?
- No. It sells lists of businesses only, and no consumer data. For a plumber that means lists of commercial customers and of the businesses that pass plumbing work on. For a company that sells to plumbers, it means lists of plumbing companies.