What's Working In Home Service And Contractor Marketing
Release Date: 11/17/2025
Contractors Edge Takes on Vegas (World Of Concrete Insights + Industry Talk)
The Contractor's Edge
The World of Concrete wasn't just about "concrete". Mike and Anthony recap their time in Las Vegas, and break down what they saw across the halls, why networking after hours is where the real value lives, and what contractors can learn from how exhibitors position, differentiate, and pull people into their booth. If you’ve been thinking “I just need more leads,” this episode will be another reminder to find the leak in your funnel first. Better close rate, faster follow-up, tighter lead management, and a sharper offer will beat “more spend” every time. Important Timestamps and...
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The Math Behind A $3M Contractors 30% Growth Year
The Contractor's Edge
What does a real 30% growth plan look like for a $3M home service contractor? In this episode, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown walk through the math behind taking a $3,000,000 business to $3,900,000 in 1 year using real KPIs, funnel math, and budget allocations. You will learn how to reverse engineer your numbers from your revenue goal, and build a marketing plan based on where you are going, not what felt comfortable last year. We break down the core “engine” KPIs every contractor needs visibility on (set rate, run rate, bid rate, close rate, average ticket), then we work the funnel...
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The In Home Sales Cheat Code For Contractors + The FRS Difference With Scott Llewellyn
The Contractor's Edge
In Episode 15, we sit down with Scott Llewellyn, Director of Business Development at Foundation Rescue Supply (FRS), who's on a mission to change the foundation repair space, as well as help contractors improve their in-home close rates. Scott has spent more than 20 years inside the foundation repair and waterproofing industry, holding roles across sales, production, marketing, and operations. In this conversation, he breaks down why most companies have a massive gap between the number one rep and everyone else, and how a repeatable in home sales presentation becomes a cheat code for closing...
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From Chuck in a Truck to $20M: Your Marketing Budget by Revenue Stage
The Contractor's Edge
Most owners don’t set a marketing budget. They pick a number that “feels okay” and hope it’s enough to maximize their lead generation. In this episode, Mike explains a simple way to stop guessing and start using math to decide how much to invest in your marketing at every revenue stage. From chuck-in-a-truck under $1M to $20M+ operators, the strategy is different when you're entering the next level. He breaks your business into two gauges: Marketing RPM: the percentage of revenue you put back into marketing and advertising Revenue MPH: how fast you’re moving in...
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The Top Contractor Mistakes Of 2025 & How To Avoid Them: Pt 2
The Contractor's Edge
What if your revenue wasn't stalling due to bad marketing? What if it's about what happens after the phone rings. In Part 2 of this Contractors' Edge episode, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown dig into the real money leaks they often find in home service businesses: Missed calls and slow follow-up Business hours that don’t match how homeowners actually live Weak nurturing and almost zero rehash Sales reps with no system, no presentation, and no proof assets “Bid rate” as the silent killer in your sales funnel Awkward or non-existent financing conversations KPI...
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The Top Contractor Mistakes Of 2025 & How To Avoid Them: Pt 1
The Contractor's Edge
Most contractors aren’t struggling because they’re doing everything wrong. They’re struggling because they’re doing a few critical things wrong over and over, without realizing it. In this episode of The Contractors' Edge, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown discuss the top marketing and operations mistakes they hear repeatedly from contractors both in their everyday workflow, and in person. You’ll hear why some contractors are quietly winning in the same markets where others feel stuck, and how much of that comes down to: Brand identity and consistency (yes, your “2015 logo”...
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What's Working In Home Service And Contractor Marketing
The Contractor's Edge
If you’re a contractor heading into 2026 still “trying a little of everything” with your marketing, this episode is your wake-up call to create an intentional growth strategy. Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown share what’s actually working right now for home service and home improvement companies from real-time experience, and how the smartest contractors are turning that into predictable leads, booked inspections, and profitable growth. In this episode, you’ll hear: Why Google should still be your control channel (LSA, Search, PMax, YouTube): and how to keep Google’s...
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How to Build a Predictable 2026 Growth Plan for Your Home Service Business
The Contractor's Edge
If your 2026 marketing plan starts with a random budget number, you’re doing it backwards. In this episode, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown show contractors how to plan growth by working backward from your sales goal using your KPIs, then turning those numbers into a realistic marketing budget, operations targets, and weekly accountability. What you’ll learn The “lead to dollar” machine: the only numbers that matter (leads, set, run, close, revenue) How to use your 2025 actuals to set a real 2026 plan Marketing % guardrails: 7% maintain • 10% grow • 13%+ dominate Why cost...
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Episode 10: Manager vs Coach - Fixing the Sales Leadership Trap With Ed Meyer
The Contractor's Edge
Are your “sales managers” actually coaching? Or just policing KPIs? In this episode, Mike sits down with long-time friend, and home-service veteran Ed Meyer (Executive Director, NFRA; 25+ yrs leading and coaching sales teams nationwide), to unpack the critical difference between sales managers and coaches, and why most companies burn out reps by forcing one person to do both. You’ll hear how to split responsibilities without blowing up payroll, where AI call-analysis tools like Rilla or Ciro help (and hurt), and a step-by-step exercise you can use to level up your team this week....
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Episode 9: Behind The Scenes Of The Foundation Repair Industry: BHA Insights + Interviews with Mike Stiers
The Contractor's Edge
In this episode of The Contractors’ Edge, hosts Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown take you behind the scenes at the Basement Health Association (BHA) National Conference in Chicago, IL, one of the larger events dedicated to foundation repair, waterproofing, and crawl space contractors. Get real, on-the-ground conversations with industry leaders and vendors shaping the future of the trade, from CRMs that streamline operations, to innovative mold remediation systems and connected smart-home products for moisture control. You’ll hear from: Contractor Accelerator on automation, open API...
info_outlineIf you’re a contractor heading into 2026 still “trying a little of everything” with your marketing, this episode is your wake-up call to create an intentional growth strategy.
Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown share what’s actually working right now for home service and home improvement companies from real-time experience, and how the smartest contractors are turning that into predictable leads, booked inspections, and profitable growth.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
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Why Google should still be your control channel (LSA, Search, PMax, YouTube): and how to keep Google’s “helpful” recommendations from wrecking your intent
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How to protect yourself from Meta spam leads while still using Facebook/Instagram as a low-cost volume and branding machine
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Why Microsoft Ads quietly produce some of the highest-intent leads from older homeowners, bank/government employees, and people your competitors aren’t reaching
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How TV + CTV/OTT still punch above their weight for contractors doing $3M+, and why your message matters more than your placement
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The simple KPI scoreboard (set rate, run rate, close rate, CPL, CPS, ROAS) that tells you if you have a marketing problem, a call center problem, or a sales problem.
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Why speed to lead and CSR quality will move your revenue more than most “optimizations” in your ad account
Then in the Edge of the Week, they dig into AI browsing and agentic search (Google AI mode, AI summaries, ChatGPT’s Atlas browser), and why PR, awards, and clean local signals suddenly matter more than ever.
If you’ve ever said, “All my leads are spam,” “TV doesn’t work anymore,” or “We just need more leads,” this episode is going to challenge how you’re looking at the entire funnel.
Learn more about our strategy at: www.yourcontractorsedge.com
Plug in your numbers using our KPI Calculator: https://www.greenbaumstiers.com/home-services-industry-kpi-calculator/
Connect with your hosts:
Mike Stiers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstiers/
Anthony Brown: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-brown-419009106/
Podcast Sponsored by Greenbaum Stiers Strategic Marketing Company:
Creative, Data-Driven Marketing and Business Solutions For Contractors Who Want to Dominate Their Market.
Timestamps
02:13 – Edge of the Week: AI browsing & AI summaries
04:28 – What AI actually pulls into summaries (sentiment, signals, authority)
06:49 – From keywords to conversations and voice: how search behavior is changing
09:15 – Agentic browsers (Atlas, Comet): AI as your “assistant” filling forms & scheduling
11:35 – One bad review in an AI summary & why authority signals (awards/PR) matter
13:52 – What’s working now: Google as the control channel for contractors
21:03 – Getting more from Local Services Ads (disputes, booked toggles, feedback loops)
23:21 – Channel #2: Meta - branding, reach, and the rise of spam leads
33:00 – Channel #3: TV & CTV/OTT, when contractors should get on screen
37:48 – When your message is right: appointment set rate, cancellations, and close rate improve
40:05 – Channel #4: Microsoft Ads, older demos, bank/gov employees, “hidden” market share
49:24 – First-party data & revenue feedback back into Google/Microsoft for better optimization
56:32 – Why CSRs are your sluice box for “gold” (and how bad phones bleed revenue)
01:01:05 – Diversifying your mix: Google, Meta, TV, Microsoft, email, offline, and tracking it all
01:03:28 – Building a weekly KPI scoreboard: CPL, CPS, set/run/close, ROAS
01:05:56 – Pro Tip of the Week: Plan 2026 now with clear targets and pass/fail signals