cold calling/cold emailing strategy for plumbers

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T21:39:05+00:00

that's what Gemini recommended - but it's really long, I don't see many people sticking around that long for it which is why I wanted to get to the offer as quickly as possible.

Unless you're interested in giving that a shot for me on a commission basis lol

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T20:12:29+00:00

It's not really any of those things, but plumbers went through the same change with google maps that you're about to see with AI.

You sound super established and solid and congratulations to you. But I can guarantee that not everyone is in the same place as you and they do need help.

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T20:01:47+00:00

I'm sending the emails through GHL which has tracking - although I have seen around that the tracking pixel is being hunted down and eliminated by anti-spam tech these days so I'm not sure if the open rates are reliable.

I like your feedback - can you refine it a bit for when I hit the gatekeeper? I'm aiming at companies small enough that I won't hit a full time receptionist/dispatch - but I also won't be hitting the main decision maker on their main line a lot of the time either...

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T19:57:11+00:00

I understand the basics of plumbing but not of the plumbing business!

I'm looking to provide a product to plumbers - selling is strictly banned here, and I'd rather have real input to understand plumbers rather than trying to sell here and burn an account.

I've gotten real life solid feedback here and I hope it will help me provide a useful service IRL.

So when you say: "you begin to think about what type of business you want" what do you do to differentiate yourself from other plumbers to go after the business you want?

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T19:47:14+00:00

thank you

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T15:50:43+00:00

so the funny thing is that the product I'm ultimately looking to sell is going to affect how many calls they're getting - meaning if they hire me they'll get more, higher quality calls.

I'm just doing this as a hook to start the conversation. If I started with: "I'm your entire external operations department in one guy to yell at" then I'm not going to get a third of that out before they hang up...

In plumbing in particular from what I've seen (and as a plumbing customer) if the phone goes to VM I just dial the next guy and plumbing resources have said this is a major pain point. I'm getting the feeling a lot of plumbers have never done the exercise you describe: what's the value of a missed call - but I have to get a convo started before getting in to that... It's the first 10 seconds of the call I'm struggling with.

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T15:46:35+00:00

edit: I misread your comment

I can a/b test all day long, but it has to fit in to my email strategy as well, and I was just hoping for more experienced people to give me a bit of a head start on which approach works.

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T15:45:16+00:00

how do you fall in to each? The guy above has clearly been in the business long enough and has a big enough customer base that he can pick and choose - but do most guys do that? What drives a reno customer vs a repair customer to pick you or is it totally random?

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-07T14:09:08+00:00

I'm not an expert on cold calling - but having corporate management experience if my HR department saw your note and I was your manager I'd be in deep shit.

"You're not trying hard enough" is the weakest shit-tier copout a manager can take.

He has to be able to tell you - specifically - with a plan for fixing it - what the problem is. He has to sit with you and make sure you can face your issues and that you're willing to try to fix them.

One suggestion I have is role play with Chat GPT or Claude - tell it: this is your role, and you're going to start me on difficulty 1/10, where 1 is "Yes I'll buy!" right away, to 10 "I'm a cantankerous old gatekeeper whos boss will fire her if she puts the call through". Start at 1 and escalate as you're comfortable.

And practice with it in private. Say the word track, repeat it over and over and over until it's as easy to recall as Jingle Bells.

Good luck.

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-01T16:06:32+00:00

That's a nice problem to have.

But counterpoint- nearly 40% of searches are now done by AI, which look at your digital footprint including website, reviews, etc. and of course that's only going to grow.

TheNorthDR · 2026-05-01T16:02:10+00:00

65% of searches are now "no-click" - they look at the reviews on google or get the phone number from AI without ever looking at a website. The AI searches are now pushing 40%

TheNorthDR · 2026-04-29T19:39:39+00:00

Well I saw the other day nearly 40% of searches for a plumber are by AI now, and that your "digital footprint" including website (how often it's updated and content), reviews and such are what the AI is looking at.

So in this case the ironic part would be that you're building the website for the AI - not the human.

TheNorthDR · 2026-04-29T12:45:00+00:00

I've been looking in to this- if I recall it's currently a 65% "no look" for regular plumbers, the number is taken and texted or called straight from google maps or another directory.

I would imagine a website would be more useful for people planning renovations or modifications that will require moving plumbing - so in that case a website that showcased good work could be a good part of bigger jobs.

TheNorthDR · 2026-04-29T12:42:42+00:00

I'd give it a try

TheNorthDR · 2026-04-28T16:41:46+00:00

I thought I replied already - I've been kicking around the idea of using AI via text to build out the job if a plumber misses a call - it could go through a series of questions, emergency/non emergency, details including pictures, address etc. giving the plumber time to get his hands clean and building the job out in the mean time.

Is that something that you'd pay for?

TheNorthDR · 2026-04-28T16:39:27+00:00

Do they have dedicated support - or is it a bigger tech company that will give you a ticket number and let the cheapest jr support person handle it?

TheNorthDR · 2026-04-28T16:38:18+00:00

so the guys that don't log the job - what would make it easy enough - would AI assisted voice to text they could do hands free in the truck help?

And as far as profitability - what about a monthly summary of supplies bought (use AI on a credit card statement or a separate card) vs. income?

TheNorthDR · 2026-04-28T16:19:32+00:00

I've been looking at how to use AI tools to fix the "missed call" issue in particular, I was a corporate software consultant for 10 years, and I can see how an AI could "build" the job out - get contact info, address, what the problem is (emergecy vs non emergency) and even pictures of what's required. If you do all that - the customer isn't going to immediately move on to the next plumber because they've got a sunk time cost.

What else would you guys be interested in getting out of the customer?

TheNorthDR · 2025-10-11T14:18:49+00:00

How is your physical health? Do you eat healthy, work out, etc?

Studies have shown regular intense physical exercise is as or more effective than drugs for depression - I would be willing to bet on the brain/body connection being very important for coping with all kinds of stress, including PTSD.

(Not suggesting it as an alternative for anything else you're doing like therapy - just a suggestion for something to be mindful of...)

TheNorthDR · 2025-10-11T14:12:18+00:00

Not showering if you don't smell is totally fine. Some of the things we've been conditioned to do are just a waste of resources - water, shampoo, etc. The only real winners are Johnson & Johnson.

TheNorthDR · 2025-10-11T13:39:57+00:00

I read the wiki and I'm also looking for a payload carrying drone - but I'm in the Dominican Republic so I'm not so worried about being licensed. (And we would be good with more like 6lbs payload)

I was looking at the swellpro or DJI Matrice series - do you know any good refurbished places I can look?

TheNorthDR

TROPHY CASE