8. Struggling with Contractor Lead Generation? How to Get Consistent Leads from Google Business Profile

If you are struggling to get consistent leads and you feel like you are relying on

referrals and hoping the phone rings, today I am sharing with you the first step into

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changing that.

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Hey, I'm Shay Toya.

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I've spent more than 10 years in construction.

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working behind the scenes in marketing, hiring, and I've seen how overwhelming it can be

to grow a business.

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That's how we've learned to build a sustainable business using clear systems, strong

communication, and intentional recruiting.

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If you're ready for better hiring, smarter remarketing, and a business that doesn't fall

apart when you step away, welcome to building better contractor businesses.

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Before we get started, I want to invite you to our Facebook group.

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This is where we have real conversations, sharing exactly what's working and what's

helping other contractors build better businesses.

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Our link is in our show notes.

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So one thing that I see all the time, contractors who say, I need more leads, I need

better

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I need a marketing plan that actually works.

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But when I ask, do you have a Google business profile fully set up?

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A lot of times what I'm seeing is that they do not.

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They don't even know what I'm speaking upon.

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It's half done.

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And this is probably one of the biggest missed opportunities.

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I remember when we were trying to figure it out on how to get consistent work, we weren't

running any type of ads.

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be completely honest with you, we still aren't.

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But we weren't doing anything crazy.

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We were just trying to understand how do contractors find us?

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How do businesses find us?

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And the simple answer is that they go to Google.

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Even now with tools such as AI, ChatGBT, all these different tools, let's be honest,

they're pulling information from what already exists online.

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And if you're not showing up on ChatGBT, Jimmy and I, then the conversation of someone

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being interested in working with you, unless you're referred to them, can be very, very

difficult.

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But these are the things that I had to learn through years of watching YouTube videos, of

years of not getting consistent leads.

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I had to learn about how to build a profitable business online.

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And that is why today, when I pull up our dashboard,

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on monday.com, and that is our current CRM system, I am finding about 30 % of our leads

are coming from online.

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And right now, we are not running any type of ads, which may change in the near future.

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But for you to do this, and for you to grow your business online, step number one, set up

your business profile.

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It is actually very, very easy

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When you go to Google, you're just going to search Google Business Profile.

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It used to be called Google My Business, but for whatever reason, they have recently

changed it.

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I have been able to find it on Google when I do type Google My Business, but now it's just

called Google Business Profile.

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You will need a Google account.

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So if your email is currently not connected through Google, you will need to make a Google

account.

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which is very, very simple to do.

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Your business info will be needed.

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Be sure to make sure that your information that you're using for your website matches the

details that you're placing in as you're registering your business.

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Once you actually register your business, you will need to get verified.

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And this part can possibly take some time.

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And I would also say if you do not

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have a physical location, that's fine.

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I know in the past we've hired marketing companies and they were always like, oh, you

gotta have a Google location.

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But what I found is that if you do not have a physical location, I recommend for you not

to show your address.

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And this is just a hit of a button that you can do.

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I just say, do not show my address.

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Google has gotten very, very strict.

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on this, they do not allow any type of PO boxes.

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They used to in the past, years, years, years ago, you could have a PO box, but now

they're very strict.

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And Google also knows that when it is a PO box, I remember like maybe eight, nine years

ago, you could have a PO box, but now they're super strict.

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And so if you try to use a location, you will not be able to verify.

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because they've been very, very strict.

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What I have found, so now when you're verifying, they make you take a video, and the video

that you're taking is based off of location.

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And during the time that your profile is being verified, it is paused, so you are not able

to get any type of Google reviews, you're not being able to be found online.

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So it just slows everything down if you decide, I want to create a Google business profile

and I am trying to use my location because Google will deny you if you are not located of

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where you say you are.

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There is some type of GPS tracking of what I found when you're creating it.

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Step number two is be sure to get verified the right way.

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Google does ask for a Google verification.

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This will be a proof of your location and if you do not have an actual location, it's

going to slow down the process.

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So I do recommend if you are a service-based business, hide your address.

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That way it's not slowing you down.

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You still have to do a verification, but it's just doing a quick video just to show your

setup, show your logos that you have on your wall, however you're currently working.

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They are going to wanna see your setup.

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but if your service location is hidden, then you do not have to worry about being at a

certain location.

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So just make sure your address is hidden.

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If you do not have an actual location, it is of course easier to be found if you have a

location because then when someone is looking for a GPS or a contractor and their

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location, you do bring up, but when you create a actual location for your local provider,

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they're gonna say where are you based at?

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And you could put all the main areas, like I am currently located in Las Vegas, and I

could put locations such as Las Vegas, Boulder, Henderson, Summerlin, and these are all

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the main areas here in Las Vegas that people may search.

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And so another step number three is just to make sure that everything matches.

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Once you are verified, you need to make sure that everywhere matches, your website,

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your social media, your business name.

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So if you have a different name on your website than you have on your Google business

page, that's going to hurt you in building trust through Google.

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Making sure all of your phone numbers are the same.

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I know recently I just had to pay for a Simrush and Simrush actually allowed us to make

sure that all of the information in different locations are all the same.

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Kevin's

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phone number when we first got started, we were using his cell phone number and I was

really struggling to find locations of where his phone number was.

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So me signing up for SINrush allowed me to make sure that we are consistent everywhere.

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So they'll change it, they'll change it on Facebook, they'll change it on Google, they'll

change it on Yelp and all the other different locations that you could put your website.

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at or your information at and then they'll add it to places as well.

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You know, one of the things that Google does look for is consistency.

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So being consistent is very, very important.

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And know, that is how they're going to decide if this is a business that they can trust.

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Step number four, start adding photos.

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Start posting.

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This is where people stop, but this is actually where Google starts working out for you.

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Start posting job photos.

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you know, share updates that are going around on at your company.

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You know, a couple of weeks ago, I shared with, I post in Google posts, you know, I'm at

this event.

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I'm at the Women in Construction networking event.

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I'm at, you know, Kevin attends an event.

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You know, we need to post photos of that.

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our team attends photos or attend events, we need to post photos of that.

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When Kevin and I had for this year, or last year for Christmas, LM Construction had hosted

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a pretty much they were a toy drive and we went out and went to Target and filled the

cart.

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Those were great photos that we could use.

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And be sure when you're posting on Google, you're using your city or your neighborhood

names.

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Here in Las Vegas, posting with names such as Henderson, Las Vegas, Summerlin.

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This will help you show up locally.

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And maybe people won't actually look at these posts.

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But when they are searching for a certain contractor, you're going to be found easier.

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Step number five is to be sure to ask for reviews, but also make sure you're staying

consistent.

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So it's just not like, oh, this week I'm going to get 10 reviews.

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No, you gotta be consistently asking for Google reviews.

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Reviews are very, very important.

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You know, right now we're at 169 Google reviews with our construction business.

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That speaks value.

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I would say right now,

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out of other low voltage companies, we most likely have the most reviews.

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And so that will grow as we ask for more Google reviews, but we have to do that on a

consistent basis.

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It's not just about doing it once or doing it twice and getting 10 reviews at once, but if

you can get two Google reviews a week, it's gonna help you more than just getting it all

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at once.

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You just be sure to make this as your process after every job, ask.

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and just stay super consistent and make it a culture.

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And then when it comes to photos, be sure you're consistently posting photos, you're

consistently doing post updates.

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This is a long game.

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This isn't going to blow up overnight, unfortunately.

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But if you stay consistent, the truth is you are going to beat most of the contractors out

there because this is not what most contractors are doing.

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This is what builds steady, predictable work.

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Most people set this up one time and never touch it again.

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And that's where a lot of people get hurt at.

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And that's why a lot of people think this doesn't work.

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So if you are trying to get more consistent leads and actually build a system in your

business, be sure to join our Facebook group.

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That is where we go deeper on this.

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We answer questions.

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We help you actually apply it to your business.

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The link is in the description.

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At the end of the day, most contractors aren't struggling because they do not work hard.

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As I've found, they work very, very hard, but they are struggling because the right

systems aren't in place.

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And this is one of the simplest ones you can start with.

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As always,

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Let's build a better contractor business.

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If you believe that this episode brought you real clarity, be sure to share it with

another contractor who also needs it.

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And if you want to keep this conversation going, be sure to join our community of

contractors inside Building Better Contractor Businesses Facebook group.

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This is a community where we talk through the real problems.

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that you are having in your business.

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The link will be found in our show notes.

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And remember, we are not just completing projects.

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We are building better contractor businesses.

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I will see you next time.