Is thumbtack still in business? I stopped getting any leads at all a couple months ago.

After consistently having a very high closing rate on the project leads I met with, along with a good rating, I suddenly stopped getting any leads at all almost 3 months ago. I spoke with customer service twice a while back and their explanation is that customers just chose to not look at my profile. Doesn’t make any sense at all, and furthermore, the fact that they did nothing to find a solution when they are just leaving money on the table, makes me think they may be or have gone out of business. I’ve read many other similar posts, but I don’t see many in very recent time. Anyone know?

Comments

  • If anyone can recommend other lead providers that can actually provide leads, it would be appreciated!

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,582

    Hi @Idesigner74 I commented in the other thread, but wanted to comment here too! I have reached out to some teams to see if they can spot anything and will follow up with you! Obviously we want to keep you on Thumbtack, but I do know there are other lead generation platforms out there, and would always advise to not have all of your eggs in one basket! I don't know any specific to suggest, though. And my hope is that we can get this figured out and help you start getting leads again! Hopefully I will have some good advice to offer after they help me take a look at your profile.

  • Did you search for yourself as a customer? I and many others stopped getting leads, they looked at my profile and said “looks fine…generic scripted response” but I searched as a customer and realized I was not and am still not showing up In the search (despite being too pro, platinum awards, more reviews etc…)


    Cant get leads if people can’t find you. They have a bug that’s hiding pros from search results even though profiles look good and are completely ignorant to the fact.

  • WDodson
    WDodson Posts: 27

    although it might be a case of increased competition in your local area AND your job type, the whole thumbtack play seems to me to be based on a foundation of two things:

    1 paid Google advertising

    2 excellent SEO so that thumbtack is on page 1 of Google search results for our SPECIFIC job types AND location

    Both, presumably, funded by our lead fees and and both of these are critical to lead success. And also cost a lot of money to do nationwide for all job types

    I suspect it has less to do with your profile strength than it does with paid Google advertising and humongous TT SEO — would love some TT marketing experts to weigh in here

  • No, I mean the search within thumbtack not appearing on google.

    Check this out:


    https://youtu.be/lWWQiMCMdxg

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,582

    @Mattacus This pro is showing up in search results, not having the same issue as your profile, just as an FYI.

  • Ok just figured if leads dropped for them suddenly, it’s worth people looking into. Thanks

  • WDodson
    WDodson Posts: 27

    i see you mean search within TT but I’m always wondering how many new customers are doing that? Don’t most new (potential) customers start w Google and then click TT from there and then TT moves them into “tell us about your project” mode but I’m not entirely sure of that

    when leads go down I always suspect that the front end of the funnel is compromised (google Search) but I may be wrong

  • MFA12_
    MFA12_ Posts: 1

    Amazing same thing happened to me for 3 weeks. I complaint four times everytime they came back that the engineer said everything was working correctly but some how I had all the matrix points covered but not being shown. You even said that if I message again you will remove me. Then amazing a week later this week by some magic I am getting leads and shown. I was getting charged $200 a week with no sign ups then nothing for weeks till now. Now $280 since Monday January 21st 2023. Must have found the bug I was say was in the program.

    Also why is it the a potential client contacts four businesses and every business gets charged $40 to $80 or more, then the potential client chooses one or none and all the businesses still get charged. Meaning TT gets $120 to $320 and we all get charged and only one gets the business or no one gets the business. Should all of the businesses that don't get the business get credited?

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,582

    @MFA12_ I'm happy to hear that whatever bug there was seems to be fixed!

  • I have been getting leads but none of them contact me. It’s weird!! For two months, I’ve spent over $700 and not one person answers me. I’ve never had this problem before. For six years with thumbtack, I have work consistently. Perhaps a couple people don’t get back to me but all of them???

    I’ve called a few of the leads. They were shocked and confused by my call. None of them responded with an interest in talking to me. My god, I paid $65 and they wouldn’t even talk.

    i don’t know what’s going on with thumbtack. It does seem really strange.

  • I also find that I don’t get any contacts for a couple weeks and then all of a sudden I get a few few contacts that brings in funds for thumbtack but none of these leads contact me.

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,582

    @1Gerbault__ this is a topic that often comes up in our CommuniTEA sessions and pros always have a lot of great suggestions to get more engagement from those non-responsive customers. Would love to have you join us - you can see the info here.

    It looks like you're still getting a ton of profile views, I wonder if people are just in the exploration stage for their weddings (I used to have a wedding cake business, and it seems like there would be a couple of months where this happened to me) - so I would keep working those leads as well. Like maybe reach back out after a couple of weeks and see if they have found anyone? @Lemargriffinfilms @ShaquealThomas @Js_Garage_Door1 always have great insight into working those non-responsive leads!

    I also noticed that one of your categories has targeting turned off, so just wanted to make sure you were not talking about that category? I don't know if any of this helps, but hopefully these pros will have some suggestions for you!

  • I turned off my wedding leads because of the cost. I found that I just wasn't getting the larger jobs. I decided to mainly check out incoming requests.

    I'm aware that people are looking for cheaper prices at this point. Recently, I did a direct call for a potential client on Bark. First she said that she was busy.....like all of us do with calls. Then I started asking her what kind of food she loved. At that point, she started opening up.

    I didn't talk about price, instead, I asked her, how much were you thinking about spending? Instead of sending a flat rate to someone, I found it better to work with them.

    Long story short, I was able to get the job. Why? Because I was able to find a way to get what they dreamed of serving for a price they could afford.

    The most difficult thing about calling is, a lot of people refuse to talk or they just don't answer.

  • @1Gerbault__

    Good job securing your lead. At the end of the day it's all about sales and you got to figure out how to get the customer to open up and want to work with you. Figuring out their needs quickly without actually asking for him is one of those talents that is acquired over time in the industry.

    For us and it could just be our industry we always message back on thumbtack ASAP and tell them that we're going to call right now, if they do not answer we send them a text message from our cell phone telling them just tried reaching out would love to help you with your project. That way if they ignore the call because it's an unknown number they'll read the text immediately and realize you're not a telemarketer or whatever. For me personally getting the customer on the phone is what works best. Since I'm fielding most calls while I'm in the field working it saves a lot of time and it's less to have to try to get back to. Also reading a person's cadence and tone is way easier to do over voice versus messaging. We also always try to be very responsive on multiple levels right away because they're obviously thinking about this project right now and it's one of the best times to talk to them about it and start building that relationship.


    Keep up the good work and keep building your profile and trying different things :)

  • Thanks!!! Good luck to you as well.

  • having the same problem. summer 2023! looking for some help on the forums here. I really wish thumbtack had better support around this. TT was a big part of my business and now zero. please help, thanks

  • I'm experiencing the same as others reporting in this community. All of a sudden, I am getting several direct leads, and that they only picked me. When I reply to the client and thank them for reaching out and ask for a date and time that works for them to discuss their business request, I don't even get the opportunity to talk to see if I am a good fit. I keep spending but not even getting up to bat. I wouldn't mind getting charged for the lead if I at least had an opportunity to talk to the client.

    Thumbtack - any comments?

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,582

    @Marlene_Dawdy Are you reaching out via phone/text as well? Lots of pros have suggested that they always reply in the Thumbtack messenger, but also send a text and a phone call. We've talked about this a lot at our bi-weekly CommuniTEA networking hour if you can ever make it to those - it's a great place to chat with other pros (and us!).