Transparency for Clients about lead costs

Jeany · August 6

I am so frustrated. I am losing money to Thumbtack because customers won't follow through after I offer my time and services to set up the work connection. They stop communicating. I wonder if they are encouraged to reach out to more than one pro, and then go with someone else, or shy away from the commitment for whatever reason. I would like Thumbtack to be more transparent with their strategies so customers can be mindful of us pros. I stopped using Thumbtack for a while because of this, and just recently started up again.

When I tried to add this fact of Thumbtack charging pros for each lead we respond to into my profile, it was *****-ed out! Why are you hiding the truth? It is costing me EACH TIME, and the jobs are so few!

DustiO · August 7

Hi @Jeany and thanks for posting. I'm sorry that you have had this experience, as a former business owner and Thumbtack pro, I know how frustrating it can be when customers do not respond. We had a great discussion about this at a recent CommuniTEA session and the group of pros had some really amazing tips for how they have been able to get customers to respond. Here are all of the tips they shared:

Refresh your profile intro once a month using chatgpt (or other Ai), to mix it up and test what resonates more with customers (from @1_gold_hands, a handyman who has grown to 7 locations using Thumbtack)
Reach out via the Thumbtack messenger, and then text and call - different pros suggested different timing that works for them like text immediately, call after 1 hr or 2 hrs, etc (several pros suggested this one)
Leave the message on a positive note and follow up with "nurture campaigns" - reaching out to customers every 30 days/60 days/etc with a refresher message (both @ShaquealThomas and @SOUNIQUE007 use this tactic and have multiple customers hire them at later dates)
Try a contest/sweepstakes - tell them even if they have used another pro and don’t need your services they can gift it to someone else! But put a deadline on it to add some urgency
- Another pro mentioned in yesterday's session that he recently started doing this and it worked! He texted and said something along these lines, "I don't want to bother you with a phone call, but I'd like to offer you $25 off of my service if you get back to me within 48 hours." and the customer did!
Leave on a positive note and leave all of your contact info if they come back later (from @ShaquealThomas)
Message people during off time like evenings and weekends, when they will have time to respond to the message right when they see the notification, vs if they are at work (from @AR2i, who has had a lot of success using this tactic)
Send them a note with all of the services you offer, in case they have already figured out that job, they can return later to hire you for other things (also from @1_gold_hands)

You may have tried all of these things, but figured I would share just in case any of this might be helpful.

Jeany · August 7

Thanks for the tips.

You didn't address Thumbtack's lack of transparency and culpability in my losing money. After reaching out to 3 of the non-responding clients over the last two weeks, I finally heard back from one and said it came down to cost. Thumbtack does still put my rates on there right? So if they want to pay less than my rate, they should only reach out to pros in their budget.

Also, I read that Thumbtack was no longer doing direct lead autopayments. However, the other night, my husband got a payment notice on our credit card for a direct lead BEFORE I had even seen it or responded. Why is that happening?

DustiO · August 7

I don't know a ton about why things might be removed from a profile - I would recommend sending an email to support@thumbtack.com to see if they might be able to add some insight or check Thumbtack's Terms of Use.

You are always charged for direct leads the moment the customer reaches out to you - that hasn't changed. You can read more about when you are charged here!

Transparency for Clients about lead costs

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