Thread: Is Service Magic helpful marketing?

Has anyone become listed with Service Magic in an attempt to gain home inspection business? Is it cost effective marketing?

Thank you,

Darrel Hood
DILIGENT PROPERTY SERVICES
(936)827-7664

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I was with them for several years when they first came to light. At first it was that they were onlyt taking a few folks in each zip code that they would spread referrals to. Little did they tell you that over time they wound up rotating referrals to 3 inspectors out of 24 to 26 inspectors or as many as they got in each area to refer. In the beginning I use to be able to get about 2/3 of the calls that came in for inspections. Sometimes the other folks did ot reply immediately so the 2 out of 3 was not bad. Even thought the amount of inspectors went up and they rotated the referrals the calls did not drop off right away but it seemed that it was just a 12 dollar referral fee to be price shopped by the callers.

Eventually the calls slowed considerably and the percentage of inspection I got was down to a third to none. If you are willing to barter and negotiate price I suppose it may still pay off but when it is 12.00, 12.00, 12.00, per referral and it builds to a third of your money going out the door to get three inspection then the marketing sense is no longer there.

I used to still use them for the sake of filling holes but like i said, being price shopped at the tune of 12.00 per referral just did not do it anymore for me.

Some may have better stories but mine disappeared over time.

I just pulled Service Magic up and typed in my zip code. This is how many inspectors in this area are with Service Magic. MAybe it works for them or they are just trying it out. When I quit a couple years ago there were only 24 in the area servicing it.


Inspection - General Home (Home Inspector)
( 91 Pros )
Typically used before purchase of new home.



Inspection - General (Building Inspector) - For Business
( 37 Pro

I did not have good luck with it. Many leads had phonen numbers that were wrong, disconnected, or nobody called you back when you left a message.

It was a good way to waste some money.

A waste of money. They have done little to nothing for me.

I have to say it is a waste of money and time.

I have a better deal! I will send you 12 names and phone numbers a week if you agree to send me only $5 per name! What a deal!

Looked into it years ago and see it as paying to fish for low baller clients that are the ones most likely to complain.
It is a service I would only use if desperate to stay afloat.
Too many stories of guys being charged for "nothing".

IMO it is just another vendor with hands in your pockets.

I would love to have my competition use them but it actually hurts myself and the Inspectors that use them because it slowly is pushing their (Service Magic) SEO up towards the first page which will hurt all of us by driving down prices as newbies and those part timers using the service drive down our fees to where it hurts the industry.

Since most using them are less experienced, the clients see us as offering poor services as more and more clients go through them.

This type vermin should be eliminated.

Thanks for the replies. This is the most consistent opinion I have seen on any thread of this forum. Based on your replies, I will not be signing up with them.

Thanks again,

Darrel Hood
DILIGENT PROPERTY SERVICES
(936)827-7664

Scott, WHAT'S THE DEAL???? You've been charging me $6 a name.

It's helpful for Service Magic to maintain service providers like inspectors who don't mind paying $12.00 per lead.

Originally Posted by Jack Feldmann

Scott, WHAT'S THE DEAL???? You've been charging me $6 a name.

Ahh man, I forgot.. Tell ya what the next 12 names will be free and them we will drop to $5. What a deal!

Soap Box.....
It just amazes me that folks will pay for leads like what is offered by Service Magic. Spend the money on your website and your own marketing materials.

A few weeks ago I decided that I need to do some marketing. So I had some 16oz. stadium cups printed with my company name/logo and contact information. Now at every inspection (that the home is occupied) I leave a cup with mints and a couple of cards on the kitchen counter. I also have dropped a dozen or so cups with business cards off at local open houses that are being held. I'm sure I will find some additional uses for my cups and candy!

My cost for 300 cups was right at $100, the mints cost $6 for 350 at Costco. And the response so far has been well worth the cost. Yesterday I booked three jobs. Two were from homes I inspected last week and one was from an agent who I dropped off some mints at his open house two weeks ago.

Spend the money on your own marketing and do not pay for leads that you only have a 50% or less chance of getting the job.

Off Soap Box....

You may now continue with you regularly scheduled program.....

Have you guys looked into YadZooks?

I went to Inspection World last January and shared a room with a guy who's working on entering into the profession (home inspections). As he walked around the exhibition hall he was like a kid in a candy store willing to dump his money into half the stuff he saw. Reeling him in was an effort.

I think that after a while you begin to realize it is more about these companies getting their hands on your wallet than their desire to actually help you with your business. Most of the time the prudent advice is: Save you money.

That's right. It's important to realize that lead-generating websites are owned by for-profit businesses and that we are their customers. One does well to consider return on investment prior to purchase.

There are a couple other companies out there that I started with when they first came out such as what is called Inspectopia. I was one of the first on there. Three counties where maybe 39 a piece and then slowly crept up to 70 some hint apiece and this year they wanted about 250 a half year per county

Sorry Inspectopia. Not downing you but I simply did not get near enough leads at all for the lesser money. Over the many years with them the add was viewed (viewed) 280 times. Calls were maybe a couple or three a year.

There are so many companies out there that boast the importance of exposure and the amount of hits you are going to get but the real call are slim to none. They base their pricing on their success rate, of talking inspectors based on hit rates to join in the fun. Unless you are going to automatically low ball the inspection cost you just are not going to get the inspections with those sites.

My price hike this year about choked me to death. Shocked was not the word at all.

So what about sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook? Some of that stuff is getting pretty functional. Look at this one for instance:
SafeHome Inspections CorporateBio | Facebook

I did an inspection for a client who was an attorney for the MN Attorney General's office. We started talking about marketing an he told me I should start paying $25 to every agent who referred me.

Originally Posted by Ken Rowe

I did an inspection for a client who was an attorney for the MN Attorney General's office. We started talking about marketing an he told me I should start paying $25 to every agent who referred me.

I like to consider myself as one who walks a pretty straight and narrow line when it comes to following ethical guidelines. I'll also be the first to admit that it's quite a lonely hike and in Illinois it's a bit of an oddity.

I got an email from a trusted RE agent I know who got a promotional email from an inspector I don't know. He boasts quite a story about his company. When I checked out some info on him I found that he's not all that he says he is. But since most people don't look into an inspector's background and claims, such inspectors can do quite well through (bogus) marketing - often to the expense of the client.

Thanks for making me feel better. I almost signed with them a while back but figured out that my advertising dollars would be used better elsewhere.

Yah, I used Service Magic on and off for several years and have dropped them again recently as the leads just don't seem to pan out like ones from my other sources.

Tim

performing Mold Inspection San Diego, Home Inspections San Diego, and Los Angeles Home Inspection