Hi,
Business has slowed down here in ga for me .
I have been trying new approaches lately .
Maintenance companies have done OK if you don't count the time you spend on the phone trying to get paid , after waiting 60 days .
My question is , has anyone tried any of the sites or companies that sell leads ?
I am assuming we don't mention company names , is that correct ?

You should have no problem finding feedback, just by 'googling' the firm by name.

Many other forums have discussed them in depth, and the general pattern seems to be: don't waste yout money. While I'm always happy to hear good news, most of the names that come to mind are thouroughly hated by those who have tried them.

The real question is where do these leads come from? Are they really finding people who want to buy something or are they just sweeping the internet looking for people who have a phone?

Rent "Glen Garry, Glen Ross" for a little perspective on leads.

I use a service that sends me leads, pretty happy so far. But as we all know that could change

The Internet lead selling industry was great in the first 6 months, then it devolved into a scandalous, shady industry that exists only to bilk contractors.

I've tried several of them and they're all unscrupulous.

Thanks for the replies , I am giving one a try - SM.
turns out I get a couple free leads because they initially messed up the name on my account .
I will post my results in a month or so if anyone is interested

We eagerly await word that SOMEONE has a good experience with them.

i see no reason to shelter any of these sorts among us here, in fact i recieved a lot of very good feedback on Service Magic (which i've declined)

i did , however, sign up for Facility Maintenance a month ago, which is a different deal, and at no cost to me

methinks they are quite different in their approach/ mode of operation

that said, is there a reason we as tradesmen can't vet them?

that's their game back at 'em, if you catch my drift...

~S~

cds- i had to reply to you on this subject-DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY-
i have used service magic for some time and let me tell you the truth about it- since it is a free service homeowners be ready to price check their electricians that have allready done the work, be ready to get leads with bogus phone numbers, be ready to hear that they had no intention of doing any construction and that they were just playing with the website, be ready to have homeowners make appointments and not show up or call and tell you that they will not make it to the appointment, be ready to price work for people that do not even own the homes you are meeting them at- they just want a price to take to their purchase and sales to beat up the person selling the home, be ready for people who can not afford to do the work to waste your time for an estimate, be ready for realtors looking for free estimates for their clients who do not even know who you are, then try to chase SM to get a credit for a crap lead- good luck- they say that they screen the homowners that use the service, my last leed from them was from- JOHN DOE SMITH- how much screening do you think they are doing?? - they are in the business of robbing contractors- they may not have started this way, but now they are in the money colection business only

yeah, i heard service majic wasn't so majic , even checked the BBB pwregan

but you vcan't blame a guy for trying

anyone here dealt with NATIONWIDE ELECTRICAL AND LIGHTING MANAGEMENT SERVICES INC.....~S~

Update on service magic :
This is just my experience , so don't take it as authoritative .
We have had 4 calls so far
1 "I can't afford an electrician , can you tell me how to fix my ceiling fan ?" would have cost me $11
2 drove to residence , gave price on couple small service call type items
I guess someone was lower , would have cost me $11
These two were free actually
3 gutted house rewire , I might get this one . talked to owner , bids were $13000 , $8500 , me at $6900 ,and $6800
This cost me $50.00
4 Commercial circuit , low voltage. I don't have a low voltage license so turn this one down . Funny thing is , it was listed as service changeout so it cost me $22 . I'm working on getting this refunded


I think the deal breaker for me is that in my area there are more electricians than calls . I feel like I am in a bid war over a service call . Also they suck these fees off your credit card , instead of invoicing you .
This makes me think asking for refunds is futile .
Conclusion : I think for certain areas and certain business models , this could be used successfully .
For me , I don't do bid wars . The customers I have , trust my work , and know that I give fair prices . Yes they could probably find someone a couple of bucks cheaper , but would it be worth the hassle of vetting another contractor ?
With service magic calls it feels as though price is everything . If the next guy is cheaper , he gets the work .
After all the customer is told by service magic that we are all reputable businesses , so price seems to be the only variable .Maybe I am just not the best salesman .I think I will probably cancel this , good luck to anyone else that gives it a shot