Most roofing companies we talk to have paid an agency somewhere between $2,500 and $5,000 a month. Ask what that bought and the answer is usually a number of "leads" and a report. Ask how many roofs it produced and the room goes quiet.
The problem isn't effort. It's that the fee was never connected to the thing you sell. A roof is a $12,000 decision, and that one fact should change how every marketing dollar is judged.
Start with what a booked inspection is worth
If one in three inspections turns into a signed job, and your average job is $12,000 with 30% margin, each inspection on the calendar is worth roughly $1,200 in profit before you spend a dollar acquiring it. That is the number your marketing should be measured against. Not clicks, not impressions, not "leads" that never pick up.
Why the retainer model breaks here
A flat fee pays the same whether you book 4 inspections or 40. The agency's incentive is to keep you, not to grow you. Under a pay-for-results model, the marketing partner's invoice goes up only when your calendar fills, which is the only arrangement where both sides want the same thing.
The Growth Engine runs on a low maintenance fee that covers the software, and a performance fee only on attributable leads or sales tracked in your CRM. If the phone doesn't ring, the performance fee is zero.
Three things to fix before you spend more on ads
- Speed to lead. An inspection request answered in five minutes books at several times the rate of one answered in an hour.
- One landing page per job type. Storm damage, replacement and repair are different buyers with different urgency.
- Attribution in your CRM. If you can't see where a signed job came from, you can't decide where the next dollar goes.
