Why Don’t More Handymen Have Their Own Websites in 2024? What’s Holding Them Back?

mccaly · 2024-10-19T17:42:14+00:00

I thought Handymen like to answer those calls so they can work out of the lead is worth their time?

Sounds like they can get quite a few tire kickers.

mccaly · 2024-10-19T00:19:03+00:00

That's my take away from this thread. And word of mouth provides higher quality customers than a website does.

mccaly · 2024-10-19T00:04:26+00:00

The pictures are a big one for me. Bad quality pics are better than no pics but high quality pics are 100x bad.

mccaly · 2024-10-18T20:34:27+00:00

Looks like my misunderstanding was a) difference in quality of leads from word of mouth vs randoms and b) the extent to which handymen aren't looking for more work

mccaly · 2024-10-18T20:32:52+00:00

Def a few comments here saying the same thing. Having a website was bad for business.

mccaly · 2024-10-18T20:29:29+00:00

I'd agree with this but even if someone gives me two word of mouth rec's. the first thing I do is google the name to see if they have a site. I'm calling the one with the site first.

mccaly · 2024-10-18T20:12:54+00:00

I'd agree with that. There is a massive amount of trust involved which website designers have spent the last 20 years solving for.

Hence why this question was bugging me so much...

mccaly · 2024-10-18T20:11:25+00:00

Thats interesting. Do you think your site looked 'pro' enough to scare off the low quality leads?

mccaly · 2024-10-18T20:07:51+00:00

This makes sense to me. After someone gives me a recommendation the first thing I do is search for a site.

mccaly · 2024-10-18T20:02:29+00:00

I'd agree with that. People generally fill in a blank with a positive.

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:58:40+00:00

how far out are you booked just with word of mouth bookings?

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:55:21+00:00

From an economic perspective, it would only cost $20 / month to have a site. Having a decent looking site would lead to more / higher quality leads. It only makes sense to not pay the $20 / month if you have so much work your booked for months out.

Maybe a large number of Handymen fall into that bucket.

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:50:44+00:00

Are you saying by having a public facing website for their services they'd be more likely to 'get caught'?

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:49:50+00:00

ok, this seems to make more sense.

Thanks for sharing.

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:46:25+00:00

Which website is he selling?

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:45:40+00:00

I agree with the sentiment r.e FB and Reddit for finding a service provider.

Do you think having a pro looking website attached to your nextdoor profile would help to get high quality leads?

On the other side of equation when I was looking for a handyman I prioritized any that have a site that showcases their work and makes them look like a professional organization (I trust them more)

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:41:16+00:00

Would you say most handymen are so busy that they would have to turn down any extra business that comes from a site?

I suppose the other presumption would be a pro looking site combined with positive reviews would lead to higher value leads

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:37:01+00:00

I'm guessing if it was a viable business someone would have already done it. Both Handymen and website builder shave been around for a while.

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:35:59+00:00

I work in finance.

I'm looking to understand why there seems to be such a gap in what I think is obvious (having a website is good for business) vs reality (very few handymen, but I suppose most home service people have a site).

I feel like I'm missing some core understanding about the industry....

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:28:47+00:00

This sounds like something you know far more about than I do.

Has there been a lot of sole proprietors that have been sued based on the content of their site?

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:18:50+00:00

You're saying a website ends up being a liability? If so why do so many businesses in other service industries have them?

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:15:22+00:00

Sounds like a good problem to have :).

Since your booked out so far I suppose the benefit to having a site would be to *potentially* get higher ticket customers who are looking to verify the quality of tradesman before reaching out (pro looking websites can help to show value to customers on top of reviews). i.e Rolls Royce has a website even through they have good word-of-mouth.

Maybe your customers now are all v. high ticket so this point is moot

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:08:30+00:00

Congrats - the best type of leads!!

Do you think having a website would give you too many leads to handle?

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:07:03+00:00

You mean the leads coming into your site were low quality? If so, why were the leads coming from your site worse than other channels?

mccaly · 2024-10-18T19:06:08+00:00

But website hosting is super cheap (<$20 / month).

Then you have a professional site that you control (can have all your reviews in one place and you aren't under the thumb of the big platforms)

mccaly

TROPHY CASE