Another On-line Lead Service Calfinder

SC sawdaddy

Just out of curiosity, what's you guys take on Angie's List?
I've searched other threads on AL, just wanted some more input.

lifezgood2

We tried this service, most of the leads are late and they charge, charge, charge.

CalFinder

Hi Galvin Painting,

Just wanted to be clear about how 'new' our leads are. Each lead is qualified personally by us as soon as possible. When a homeowner sends a request for estimates we call them within the next 15 mins. Of course requests during later hours can't be fulfilled that quick but for the majority each lead is followed up immediately.

In some instances we follow-up with homeowners who are already in the receiving quote process to make sure that they have enough estimates to choose from. In those cases if the homeowner needs another estimate, we'll distribute it to another contractor. So sometimes the lead might be a little further along in the process or 'older' however it is still a qualififed lead albeit not as fresh. We do this as a service to the homeowner to provide them with the best service for remodeling their home, replacing windows, or installing solar energy. If you think about these later leads, it really means the homeowner is serious about the work!

If you have any questions whatsoever, please let us know.

CalFinder

Mylocalcontract

looks like a decent site. No I have never used them

lifezgood2

Not only was it expensive, after trying to save the account they promised us two weeks of leads that were on time, not over the limit. etc...

now they don't even return a phone call and we have cancelled our credit card due to un authorized charges.... never again

CalFinder

Hi lifezgood2,

We have left messages with both Karen and Cindy in regards to your concerns, but have gotten no response. We can not address your concerns until we hear from whomever is responsible for your internet leads. Please have them call us.

CalFinder

So Cal GC & LC

I joined CalFinder about two weeks ago... The sales guy, Kyce Poya stated that their leads were "pre-screened and pre-qualified"... The "same old song and dance".... They have sent me six leads of which five of them were useless... They have a system where the leads are texted to you immediately and emailed. The first lead (home owner) was so overwhelmed by callers that he did not want to answer the phone nor take any more phone calls... I called for three days, and at different times during the day. I also sent several emails to this gentleman with no return responce. I did my due diligence and I was able to finally get him on the phone. I questioned him about CalFinders screening process, and thats when he mentioned he was bombarded by calls within minutes of getting off the phone with CalFinder and that this was a several days earlier... This lead was not a "fresh" lead, it was a few days old... He also stated that he had already hired someone... When the second lead was sent to me via text, I called immediately. This persons voicemailbox was full and stayed that way for a week... I was not able to ever make contact with her... I also sent out several emails with no responce... The third lead was sent the same way... I was able to speak to her but she stated that she was not serious about having anyone come out for a quote... The fourth and sixth leads went much the say way as the first lead... I left a few messages on their answering machines and sent several emails with no responce... On the fifth lead I was able to make contact with the home owner and at first he did not want me coming out to his home because he was so inundated with phone calls... He stated, "he did not want to speak with another salesman" and he asked me if I was the contractor... I said yes... I was then able to at least meet with him... This lead was worth paying for... The sales person Kyce Poya at CalFinder was a good sales person... He obviously got me to try the service... The lead support staff on the other hand was terrible... I explained to her that a lead should only be worth paying for if you can at least talk to the potential customer/client... I have spoken to two support people and have submitted a request for lead refunds... Their policy is to send replacement leads and not refund your money. I have yet to receive any replacement leads... The last lead support person was rude and not very understanding... So far they have about $1165.00 of my hard earned money... I will be dropping their service immediately.

handyhands

Let's be real. You call the homeowner to see if they've had enough estimates?

You're simply doing that in hopes of recycling the lead to sell it. Again,..and again,...and again.

And the bs continues.......

CalFinder

SoCal GC and LC,

Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry that you had a negative experience with your first leads. Its especially concerning that the customers that you received were "overwhelmed" with phone calls. Unfortunately, by no fault of our own this can happen as a result of the consumer filling out forms on multiple sites. We can appreciate that this would be frustrating for you. In cases such as this we are more than happy to issue replacement leads to maintain a positive relationship with you, our client. We find that its much easier for both the contractor and our company to simply issue a credit rather than sending a check for a small dollar amount. We encourage you to continue working with us as you have seen a rather small sample size. We would like to actively resolve this situation with you and move forward in a positive direction.

CalFinder

Handyhands,

thanks for your contributions to this forum. We always welcome feedback from the members of the contracting community. As you may know the owners of Calfinder and many of the employees came from the industry and respect the challenges of running a small business. Regarding the questions that you posed in the forum we call back every lead to ensure that they receive estimates from our member contractors. I know its hard to believe (especially in these challenging economic times) but the single biggest complaint that we get from homeowners is that they didn't receive estimates from contractors. We hope that this answers your question above. Thank you again for your contributions.

The Calfinder Team.

tin man

I have found all these lead companies more a like than different .Some leads good some ng

__________________________________________________ __________________
Replacement Windows Ma

MyLar1040

Holy $h!t...

These guys are charging a fortune.

80 a lead.. $450 set up??

And WTF is $150 a month maintenance about?

I guess its hit as hard as they can to try and afford the advertising.

Then when it all blows up sell the whole thing off to SM.

LOL

Kenny K

That can never work at those costs

__________________
Replacement Windows and Vinyl Siding by Illinois Remodeling Company

Unhappy User

Calfinder also has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau. If that doesn't warn people. If we knew that, we wouldn't gone with them and got ripped off for over $ 1400.00.

Buyer Beware!!!!!!

THEHANDYMAN

You have to work at it to get a bad rating on BB. They give them out freely

provideus

Band of Brothers,

There are ways to counter these bogus services.

CalFinder

RE: Kenny

Thanks for your feedback. It goes without saying that there isn't any single marketing campaign out there that works for everyone that trys it. We find that our service works for about 70% of the companies that try the service. There seem to be three primary reasons for this. First, the successful companies with us have established processes for following up with leads and track each and every lead through their sales process religiously. Second, these companies already spend money on marketing and understand how to turn a raw lead (not a direct referral) into revenue. We've had particular success with home improvement companies (windows, siding and roofing) as well as larger remodelers. Our target marketing percentage for home improvement companies is between 7-12% which can be 20-60% below what they are currently spending. Our targets for remodelers are roughly 3% of gross which far outways marketing percentages from traditional marketing such as print and radio. Thank you again for your feedback and comments.

The CalFinder Team.

CalFinder

Re: Unhappy user

Thank you for your comments and posting. Its unfortunate but we did receive a bad rating for the last 3 days as there was an issue that was awaiting resolution and passed the time deadline. We have spoken to the client and resolved their complaint. We take all customers feedback very seriously do our best to always come to an amicable resolution. You will see that as of this morning the rating has changed and in the next week it will be back up to the A RATING that we have maintained for the past 3 years.

Thank you again for your feedback. We hope that our comments have shed some more light on the situation.

The CalFinder Team.

festerized

What is calfinders policy on providing leads to contractors?
Are contractors paying for each lead?
If so, how are they distributed?
How many leads do you provide to each contractor?
Does your company buy leads from other lead providers?
Does your company sell its leads to other lead providers?
Does your company confirm each lead?
I have noticed most lead generating companies do not put a limit to how many contractors there company will have as clients. The end results; not enough leads to go around

CalFinder

Our average contractor right now is getting over 5 leads per week because we focus on specific project scopes in specific areas where we know we can provide significant volume.

The Calfinder Team.