Jeff Hogard

I have the experience, the confidence, and the knowledge to help you reach your goals. As your Consultant, I can find the best way to show your business.

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

How many pages does a contractor's website actually need?

A stranger lands with four questions and ten seconds of patience.

Do you do the thing I need. Do you work where I live. Are you real. How do I reach you.

One page answers all four. Fifteen mediocre ones often don't.

https://t.co/Uc2vih2OCp

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

"50% of searches will be voice by 2020."

That prediction is now being reissued for 2027.

Published voice stats contradict each other badly — 76% local, 22% local, 27% local, depending who you ask.

One thing is actually useful: Siri pulls from Apple Maps, and almost nobody has claimed their Apple Business Connect listing.

https://t.co/4HwD4V1QZl

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Two contractors both convert 10% of enquiries into jobs.

One speaks to 90% of enquiries and closes 19% of quotes.
The other speaks to 45% and closes 25%.

Identical headline number. Completely unrelated problems.

One needs a better estimate. The other just needs to answer the phone.

https://t.co/RYP9AWAmuZ

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

"Review gating is illegal" is not quite right.

It unambiguously violates Google's Maps policy — they can remove your reviews and suspend the profile.

Whether it breaks federal law depends on conduct. The FTC's Consumer Review Rule doesn't use the phrase.

The platform risk is the one that'll actually reach you.

https://t.co/QpADmUSfdj

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Your maintenance plan shouldn't make money on the maintenance.

Tune-up margin is $20-$60 against a $100 visit cost. Barely break-even by design.

The return is that members produce 2-4x the revenue over three years and sit at the front of the replacement list.

You're selling the queue, not the tune-up.

https://t.co/TGKJ2UNlNX

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

ServiceTitan doesn't publish pricing.

Contractor reports: $245-$500 per technician per month, plus $5,000-$50,000 implementation.

At five techs that's $14,700-$18,000/year.

Jobber, same core job: $1,308.

Ten to twenty times, for equivalent base functionality.

https://t.co/2TJvwVizlP

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Don't ask "what are my competitors doing that I should do too."

Ask "what are ALL of them failing to do."

None publish pricing. None have photos of real work. All take two days to return a call.

Every gap is a position available to you, precisely because nobody's copying it.

https://t.co/mPWj2VHm07

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Manufacturer "Find a Pro" locators aren't alphabetical.

They're tiered — authorized, premium, certified — and the tier is the ranking.

Most contractors have never asked their rep what moves them up one.

Or where they currently sit.

https://t.co/dskMWA0ZKw

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Four things a new contractor should not buy in the first 90 days:

Leads — you have no close rate to judge them by
Ads — under $1k/month gathers no usable data
A wrap — $2,500-$6,500 before you know what you look like
Fifteen pages of website

All of it amplifies. There's nothing to amplify yet.

https://t.co/8zSwqI4bne

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Home warranty companies pay contractors $60-$120 for service calls that normally bill $300-$600.

Then they pay you in 45-90 days.

One plumber ran the numbers on 230 calls over a year: $39,100 against roughly $103,000 at retail.

38 cents on the dollar.

https://t.co/gJCZEhfNhV

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

The 90-day scorecard isn't revenue. How many reviews. How many photos. How many enquiries recorded with a source. Whether you know your close rate. Full breakdown: https://t.co/sRLANoQSNJ

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

All of it amplifies. With nothing to amplify, you're paying to broadcast an empty signal.

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Now the part that matters as much. What NOT to buy in 90 days: ❌ Leads — no close rate means flying blind ❌ Ads — under $1k/mo gathers no usable data ❌ A wrap — $2,500-$6,500 before you know what you look like ❌ Fifteen pages

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Days 45-90. Pages for the towns your INVOICES show, not every town on your map. Your real minimum job size. Your actually-profitable radius. An itemized estimate template.

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Also start a five-column record now: date | source | did you speak to them | did you quote | did you win Worth nothing in month one. Worth a lot by month six. No way to shortcut the wait.

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Days 15-45. You have no evidence you're any good. Fix that. Photograph every job, before and after. Ask every single customer for a review. Ten reviews in your first quarter puts you ahead of a lot of established competitors.

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Claim your Google Business Profile. Get the primary category right first — it's roughly a third of the relevance weight for service-specific searches, and you only get one. Fill the services section. Ranking changes show up in 24-72 hours. Free. Both of them.

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

Every piece of marketing advice for new contractors assumes you already have something. Reviews to leverage. Past customers to email. Jobs to photograph. A close rate to improve. Day one you have none of it.

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

A plumber posted a full year of home warranty work. 230 service calls. $39,100 total revenue. Same jobs at retail: ~$103,000. 38 cents on the dollar.

Warranty companies pay contractors $60-$120 for calls that normally bill $300-$600. The homeowner separately pays a $75-$125 service fee to you. That's your total.

But the rate isn't what kills you. Warranty companies pay on 45-90 day cycles. Direct customers pay in 0-7 days. You buy the parts now. Pay the labor now. Collect in three months.

Contractors who make this profitable aren't making it on the covered repair. Average warranty customer needs ~1.5 additional non-covered services per visit. Worth 3-5x the original call. The covered repair is the entry fee.

And you'll be blamed for their denials. Even at 85% approval, one call in seven ends in a no. You're the one standing in the kitchen when it happens. The warranty company is a phone number nobody can get through to.

Where it actually works: - Filling genuinely idle capacity - Off-season volume in a trade that swings 250-600% - A brand new business with no pipeline All three are "short-term supply," not "growth strategy."

Ask four questions before signing. In writing. - Flat rate per trade call, and parts markup - Payment terms in days - What happens when your diagnosis and their coverage decision disagree - Can you quote uncovered work directly If the last answer is no, the profitable part is gone.

Full breakdown: https://t.co/hCYU7TASgA

[Jeff Hogard @JesterzUSMC]

https://t.co/76l405HdmC