Field Notes

What We Learn Running These Systems

Short, specific and occasionally uncomfortable. No gated PDFs, no newsletter wall, no ten-point listicles about the power of storytelling.

A thick clipped stack of blank estimate sheets with three sheets fanned out beside it
LatestSales·6 min

The Seventy Estimates You Never Followed Up

Most contractors close about three in ten quotes and then let the rest die quietly. Here is what a follow-up sequence recovers.

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Local SEO·5 min

What Your Google Photos Actually Do

Profile photos are not decoration — they move map pack ranking and close rate. Stock images cost you on both.

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Four identical phones in a row, three face-down and one face-up
Speed to Lead·4 min

Whoever Calls First Wins

A marketplace lead hits four contractors at once. The maths on response time is more brutal than most owners expect.

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A row of blank white cards with a single gold-edged card stepped forward out of the line
AI Search·9 min

Getting Named by ChatGPT

When a homeowner asks an AI for a contractor, something decides the answer. Here is what that something looks at.

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An open card index box packed with blank filing cards, a few raised above the rest
Retention·5 min

Your Database Beats Your Ad Budget

The cheapest replacement job you will sell this year is to someone who already bought from you. Nobody emails them.

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An electric vehicle charging connector with its cable coiled beside it
Electrical·7 min

The Electrician's Growth Wedge

EV chargers, panel upgrades and whole-home generators are being searched for far more than they are being marketed against.

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