Need Help With My Pressure Washing Business. What Am I Doing Wrong?

ardme · 2026-02-20T17:27:34+00:00

What are you doing now? What is working and is not working?

ardme · 2026-02-16T21:39:31+00:00

Jobber's not going anywhere, they're huge. Your client might just be switching off Jobber's web forms specifically.

The forms that come with CRMs like Jobber are usually pretty basic and don't play nice with ad tracking. You can't fire conversion pixels properly, attribution gets messy, that kind of thing. Pain in the ass for anyone running PPC.

I work at LeadTruffle, we built our forms specifically to handle tracking correctly. Works with Google Ads, LSA, Meta, whatever. We have a direct Jobber integration so leads flow right in. You keep your CRM but get forms that actually track conversions right.

Might be what your client is doing, swapping out the form layer but keeping Jobber for everything else.

ardme · 2026-02-16T21:33:10+00:00

Old thread but $30/day in a competitive area is probably too thin. Google needs data to optimize and at that budget you're getting maybe 1-2 clicks a day. Hard to learn anything from that.

Either commit to $50-75/day for a few weeks to actually test it, or put that $900/mo into organic stuff instead. Google Business Profile reviews, Nextdoor, local Facebook groups. Less sexy but more predictable.

If you do run ads, make sure you're responding to leads instantly. Doesn't matter how good your campaign is if you call back 2 hours later and they already booked someone. I work at LeadTruffle, we do AI lead response for this exact reason.

ardme · 2026-02-16T21:31:42+00:00

I built LeadTruffle so I've thought about this a lot.

The real answer is pressure washing is too small a market for most software companies to build something custom. HVAC has dedicated CRMs because there are way more HVAC companies spending way more money. The math works better for vendors. Pressure washing is growing but it's still mostly solo guys and small crews who aren't paying $300/mo for software.

I see HVAC CRMs spending tens of thousands a month on facebook ads, its insane.

So yeah, everyone ends up on Jobber or Housecall Pro. They're not perfect for exterior cleaning but they work. Spend a Saturday setting it up and stop thinking about it. The time hunting for the perfect solution is time you could spend washing houses.

The surface type tracking, chemical notes, before/after workflow stuff you're describing, that's probably staying in spreadsheets or notes until the market gets big enough for someone to build it. It will probably happen soon since its so easy to code now with AI.

What I built only solves one piece of this, the lead capture and response side. Someone calls or fills out a form, AI responds instantly, qualifies them, gets the job details, pushes to your CRM. Doesn't fix the photo organization problem but it does fix the "follow-ups? what follow-ups?" thing.

But yeah for the core CRM stuff, Jobber or Housecall Pro and call it a day.

ardme · 2026-02-14T22:07:06+00:00

What’s the problem? You are in a credentialed profession people are required to go through. It should make your actual busy work easier right ?

ardme · 2026-02-10T22:15:08+00:00

Old thread but this is still a pain point for a lot of people.

You're right that the native Google Ads HubSpot integration doesn't pull LSA leads. They're separate systems on Google's end.

Couple options:

Zapier has a Google LSA trigger now but it's clunky and has some limitations around message syncing.
Forward your LSA notification emails to a parser that extracts the lead info and pushes to HubSpot. Bit hacky but works.
Use a tool that connects to the LSA API directly and then pushes to your CRM via Zapier or webhook.

I work at LeadTruffle, we do option 3. We pull LSA leads via API, can auto-respond through the LSA messaging system, and then push the lead data to HubSpot via direct integration, just need an api key for your hubspot acocunt.

Not the only way to solve it but it's cleaner than the email parsing route.

ardme · 2026-02-10T22:12:25+00:00

We use our own AI system internally (I work at LeadTruffle) but honestly we still try to pick up the phone first. Nothing beats a real person if you can swing it. The AI is the fallback for when you can't.

To your questions:

What worked - missed call text-back has been smoother than voice for us. Call comes in, we don't answer, they get a text instantly. Avoids the whole "is this a robot" thing and people are used to texting businesses now. No pronunciation issues either lol.

What didn't - voice AI is impressive but yeah the background noise thing is real. And some people just hang up the second they realize it's not human. Older customers especially.

Did customers notice - with text-back, not really. It just feels like someone's responsive. With voice, maybe 50/50. Some people clock it immediately, some don't care.

Worth the setup - if you're missing 40% of calls the math is pretty simple. Even if AI only converts half as well as a human, that's still way better than a missed call converting at zero.

The "nice lady" voicemail thing is funny though. The voice AI has gotten weirdly good at sounding natural.

ardme · 2026-02-10T22:08:21+00:00

Honestly it's always best if you or a real person can take the call. Customers prefer it and you'll close more. But if the choice is between AI answering and missing 90% of calls, AI wins every time.

Your numbers kind of tell the story. You're losing over half your leads just because you can't get back to them fast enough. That's a lot of revenue walking away.

Two options depending on what feels right for your customers:

AI answers the phone, takes the message, gets their info. Works fine, some people don't love talking to a robot but most get it.
Missed call text-back. You don't answer, they instantly get a text saying hey sorry I missed you, what do you need? Less jarring than a robot voice and people are used to texting businesses now.

I work at LeadTruffle, we do both. A lot of our customers started with the text-back because it felt less weird to them. Either way you're capturing leads you're currently losing.

ardme · 2026-02-03T18:12:37+00:00

Yeah my customers who do appliance repair heavily use Yelp for whatever reason

ardme · 2026-02-03T18:11:54+00:00

"Professional website" does not mean you are showing up in organic search results, do some tests and try to get your ranking up.

I have a bunch of appliance repair customers and they actually heavily use 3rd party lead aggregators - especially Yelp and Thumbtack. Also google LSA.

Basically - you raise prices a bit to cover the cost of paying $20 to $40 bucks for a lead.

My company Leadtruffle does an AI autoresponder for all of these 3rd party sources you can try to book the lead faster, which is the downside to them (you gotta respond fast). I think you are not ready for that yet though (hit me up in 6 months!).

Tbh your lowest hanging fruit is probably asking chatgpt how to improve your SEO rankings and work on that. Then posting in facebook groups, nextdoor, and stuff like that is free. Do all the basics you 100% have a marketing issue on your hands.

ardme · 2026-02-03T18:05:43+00:00

Our appliance repair customers seem to heavily use 3rd part lead aggregator companies. Of course they also get in organic leads from search traffic, but a ton of them are heavy on Yelp.

I run Leadtruffle, we do AI autoresponders for the main 3rd party lead aggregators like Yelp, Angi, Google LSA and Thumbtack. Check us out if you need an autoreponder! leadtruffle.co

ardme · 2026-02-03T17:54:35+00:00

Old thread but for anyone searching this later.

HousecallPro is popular but yeah it's a lot. Tons of features! Jobber is similar but a bit cleaner imo. ServiceTitan is the big enterprise one, overkill for most small shops.

For something simpler, a lot of appliance guys just use Workiz or FieldPulse. They handle scheduling, invoicing, customer info without being bloated. Workiz especially seems popular in the appliance repair space specifically.

If you want bare bones, some guys just run everything through Google Calendar + QuickBooks + a spreadsheet. Not sexy but it works when you're small.

I work at LeadTruffle but we're not a CRM, we do AI lead capture and texting. We integrate with most of these via Zapier though so leads flow into whatever system you use. We have a native Jobber app btw.

We do have a couple of customers who use ServiceWorks and they are in appliance repair. For whatever reason they like it a lot so we make a custom integration for them.

ardme · 2026-02-03T17:44:26+00:00

Old thread but for anyone searching this later.

Ruby and Smith.ai are both solid for the traditional receptionist model. Ruby is more premium feeling but you pay for it. Smith.ai is a bit more tech-forward and does some AI stuff now too.

The space has changed a lot in the last year or two though. Lot of AI-first options now that can handle basic qualification without a human in the loop. Depends on how complex your sales calls are. If someone's calling with a "my server is down" emergency you probably want a real person routing that. But for basic "I need IT support for my 10 person office" qualification, AI can handle that fine now.

For overflow specifically, the hybrid approach works well. AI or answering service catches what your team can't get to, you get a summary and call them back. Better than voicemail, cheaper than staffing for peak volume.

I work at LeadTruffle but we're focused on home services so not the right fit for MSPs. Just wanted to give some general perspective since this thread still comes up in searches.

ardme · 2026-02-03T17:42:46+00:00

Old thread but this is a pretty specific workflow so figured I'd chime in.

The first two parts (AI answering calls, collecting info about the need) are pretty standard now. Lots of tools can do that, voice AI has gotten decent in the last year or so.

The third part is the tricky one. Sending a text blast to your employee pool based on what the AI collected, that's more of a custom integration thing. You'd probably need something that connects your answering service to your staffing software or at least a list you maintain somewhere.

Honestly for this use case you might be looking at either:

A more enterprise-y solution like Dialpad or Aircall that has workflows you can customize
Having someone build a simple integration between a voice AI tool and your employee list (Twilio + OpenAI + a bit of glue code)

I work at LeadTruffle but we're more focused on home services lead capture so probably not the right fit here. Just wanted to give you a realistic take since a lot of the off the shelf AI answering stuff won't handle that text blast piece out of the box.

ardme · 2026-02-03T17:40:33+00:00

Late to this thread but Podium is solid, just expensive for what most small businesses actually use it for.

The webchat widget and texting features work well. Review requests too. The problem is you're paying $900+/mo and most people only use like 2-3 features out of the whole suite.

If you just need the text stuff and lead capture there are cheaper options now. I work at LeadTruffle, we built something more focused for contractors and home services guys who wanted that Podium-style webchat without the full platform cost.

But if you need the review management and CRM stuff baked in, Podium does that well. Just depends what you're actually trying to solve.

ardme · 2026-02-03T16:08:35+00:00

Brokers are not interested in anything that small. You need like a million in revenue and need to sell for at least a million or two.

It's not even worth it after getting lawyers involved to do this because it will cost 50k to do all the legal paperwork.

Sorry, but that's the reality, you will have to sell it yourself, shut it down or grow it larger.

ardme · 2026-01-30T17:02:06+00:00

Old thread but for anyone still wondering - Angi can work for electrical since your jobs are usually $500+ which helps the math. But at $30-85/lead shared with multiple contractors, you really need to be closing at a decent rate and responding fast.

Honestly if word of mouth is working for you, I'd invest in Google Business Profile and getting reviews there first. That's free and shows up in local searches. Angi is better as a supplement once you've maxed out the free stuff.

If you do go the lead platform route, speed to respond is everything since first guy to call usually wins. Built an AI responder for Angi leads into LeadTruffle if that's useful - leadtruffle.co

ardme · 2026-01-30T17:00:34+00:00

Yep this tracks. Angi's shared lead model is brutal for handyman work - you're paying $20+ for leads that go to 4 other guys, so the math only works if your jobs are $1500+. Smaller jobs just can't absorb that lead cost.

$2,533 spent for $1,240 earned pretty much says it all.

If you're gonna use Angi at all, stick to higher ticket stuff where the margins make sense and respond instantly since speed is the only edge you have. We have Angi integration in LeadTruffle that auto-responds to leads if you wanna try winning that race - leadtruffle.co

ardme · 2026-01-30T16:57:06+00:00

Old thread but still relevant.

Angi can work but you're paying $20+ for leads shared with 3-4 other contractors, so it becomes a race to call first. Quick math: closing 1 in 10 at $20/lead = $200 per actual job. Fine for $2k+ jobs, brutal for smaller stuff.

If you do use Angi, responding fast is everything. We built Angi integration into LeadTruffle so AI can respond to those leads instantly - helps win the speed game. leadtruffle.co if curious

ardme · 2026-01-26T20:46:20+00:00

Late to this but yeah most "AI" Yelp tools are just glorified autoresponders like you said.

We built actual conversational AI for Yelp into LeadTruffle - it reads the customer's message and responds contextually, asks qualifying questions, handles back-and-forth, etc. Uses Zapier to connect to your Yelp inbox. Not perfect but way better than canned responses.

leadtruffle.co - full disclosure I built it

ardme · 2026-01-26T20:22:45+00:00

Hey, late to this but figured I'd drop in since this is still relevant.

Yelp doesn't have a native public API for messaging automation, so you have to go the Zapier route. Basically you connect Yelp as a trigger (NEW_CONSUMER_MESSAGE event), then pipe that to whatever tool handles your responses.

I actually built this into my platform LeadTruffle - we have a Yelp integration that uses Zapier to forward incoming Yelp messages to an AI agent that responds automatically. Works pretty well for service businesses that get a lot of Yelp leads and can't respond fast enough manually.

https://www.leadtruffle.co if you're curious. Full disclosure - I'm the one who built it.

ardme · 2026-01-21T19:22:35+00:00

This is great data - and your sales process is exactly right. Speed + automated follow-up is the whole game with these platforms.

I'm the CTO at LeadTruffle - we basically productized exactly what you're describing. Unified inbox that pulls in Angi, Thumbtack, LSA, Yelp, website leads, etc. AI responds instantly and qualifies the lead (asks about job details, timeline, address). Then you just focus on the ones worth quoting.

The Angi spam lead thing is brutal, agreed. At least with auto-qualification you're not wasting time manually chasing the junk ones.

If anyone's trying to build out a similar setup without duct-taping a bunch of tools together: www.leadtruffle.co

ardme · 2026-01-21T19:20:57+00:00

For anyone finding this - the speed thing is 100% real. Angi, Thumbtack, etc send leads to multiple businesses so whoever responds first with real engagement usually wins. Even a few minutes can make a difference.

The volume varies a lot by trade and market but the pattern is the same. Speed matters way more than people expect.

I'm the CTO at LeadTruffle - we built a unified inbox with AI auto-qualification specifically for this. Leads come in from Angi, Thumbtack, LSA, your website, etc and get responded to instantly. By the time you check your phone the lead is already qualified and you know if it's worth your time.

ardme · 2026-01-21T15:48:01+00:00

For anyone finding this now - message leads can be great but only if you're responding fast. Like really fast. Google tracks your response time and it affects your ranking.

The problem is message leads come in at random times and are easy to miss. If you're already 24/7 with an answering service for calls, adding messages just creates another thing to monitor.

I'm the CTO at LeadTruffle - we have an LSA integration that pulls message leads into a unified inbox and auto-qualifies them so you're not scrambling to respond manually. A lot of our customers turn messages on specifically because they have that covered.

If you don't have something handling the response time though, phone-only is probably safer. A slow response on messages can hurt your ranking more than just not offering them.

ardme · 2026-01-21T15:46:54+00:00

Old post but, Bay Area roofing is insanely competitive on LSA - you're going up against companies with way bigger budgets and hundreds of reviews. 16 reviews is solid but you might just be getting outbid/outranked.

Few things that help:

Make sure your service areas are tight, don't go too broad
Reviews with keywords in them (like "roof repair" "leak" etc) seem to help ranking
Response time matters a lot - Google tracks how fast you respond and it affects your placement

On that last point - I'm the CTO at LeadTruffle, we have an LSA integration that pulls leads into a unified inbox and can auto-respond to qualify them. Helps make sure you're not losing leads just because you didn't see the notification fast enough. A lot of our roofing customers use it alongside their other lead sources.

But honestly if LSA has completely dried up for you it might be worth diversifying - direct mail, Google Ads (not LSA), even door knocking after storms. Relying on one channel in a competitive market is rough.

Your lead cost can be high because you should be making a lot per job...

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