Anyone Else Struggling with Expensive Leads but No Bookings?

SarzozaPhoto

I love Thumbtack. Just want to say that. In the last 45 days, I've have had 11 (EXPENSIVE) leads but ZERO and I mean ZERO bookings. All the leads have been people "just looking," hired someone else off Thumbtack, or weren't the decision maker. No refunds of course… So I'm hitting up the community to see if anyone else is struggling like this or with this same issue.

At first, I thought it was a fluke, but this is going far beyond what is statistically possible. I've been on Thumbtack for almost 2 years, and it has NEVER been this hard to book a client. Even when I had no reviews or hires. My prices haven't increased. I now have 58 jobs done and 34 reviews.

If others are struggling with this, what is the issue? My lead prices have exploded over the past 6 weeks, and every lead has 5 other pros contacted. So, competition is something that Thumbtack is pushing hard. But can that be it?

I don't want to hear "The Economy" because that's NOT it. Thumbtack is making money from all the leads they're selling.

Am I stuck in the 'odd pricing zone' of not charging enough, as my competition is willing to work in my price range for $10 an hour?

I'm baffled here. Do I just cut all Thumbtack spending as low as possible until this season passes?

Does anyone have insight?

SarzozaPhoto

A bit of an update. It seems that if Thumbtack is really pushing competition right now, it's best to let someone else bid high and let myself be one of Thumbtack's "Message This Pro Too" push at a lower price. I did that yesterday and still got a lead at a much more affordable price. I was one of the 4 other Pros they messaged. Good strategy? We'll see.

I know Thumbtack says the Top 5 Pros in the search book 85% of the work, but that just doesn't seem to be accurate.

I've also taken out ads on some social media platforms. Pretty affordable rates considering the current Thumbtack rates of $800 for zero bookings. So we'll see. Hope this is helpful for others.