Last week I watched a plumbing contractor lose three jobs to a competitor who literally just started the business six months ago. The guy doesn't even have a truck with his name on it yet. So I asked him what happened. He said, "Their Google comes up first." That was it. Not better service. Not cheaper prices. Google shows them first.
This keeps me up at night because it's totally fixable, and most business owners don't fix it.
You're Invisible When You Need to Be Visible
Here's the reality: When someone needs what you sell, they search for it on their phone. Right now. In the moment. If you're not in those top three results, you're not in the game.
I ran a HVAC business for eight years. One of my biggest mistakes was assuming customers already knew about me. Turns out, they don't remember your name until they need heat in January at 10 p.m., and by then it's too late to build a relationship. They type "emergency plumber near me" and whoever answers that search gets the job.
Your competitor probably figured this out. You probably didn't.
Your Google Business Profile Is Your Front Door
Most contractors I know treat their Google Business Profile like an afterthought. They fill it out once and forget about it. No photos. No updates. No responses to reviews.
Meanwhile, your competitor posts a picture of a finished job every week. Responds to reviews in two hours. Has 47 five-star reviews and a complete profile with service areas, hours, and photos of real work.
Guess who gets the call when someone's deciding between two companies.
You need actual photos of your actual work. Not stock images. Real before-and-afters. Real customer testimonials. Real response time to inquiries and reviews. That's not sexy stuff, but it works.
Your Website Doesn't Sell Anything
I've seen websites that look beautiful and do nothing. Lots of fancy colors. Long paragraphs nobody reads. No clear way to actually hire you.
Your website should answer three questions in 15 seconds: What do you do? Why should I trust you? How do I call you right now?
Most websites make you click five times to find a phone number. That's how you lose jobs. A guy with a bad website who answers his phone in three rings beats a guy with a beautiful website who takes four hours to respond.
You're Not Asking for Reviews
This one's almost comical. You do great work. Your customers are happy. But you've never asked a single person to leave a review online.
Your competitor asks every customer to leave a review. So they have 40 reviews at 4.8 stars. You have 3 reviews at 4.6 stars. Who looks more trustworthy?
The math is simple: more reviews, higher ratings, more calls. You can't argue with it.
Your Phone Rings, But You Don't Pick Up
This is the wildest one because it's completely within your control. Someone finally finds you online. They're ready to buy. They call. Nobody answers.
Or you call them back tomorrow.
Your competitor answers on the second ring. Takes the job. You call back the next day wondering what happened.
Voicemail is the worst invention in business history.
What Actually Works
Fix your Google Business Profile first. It takes a Saturday afternoon. Get real photos, update your hours, respond to everything. Fill out every field.
Then ask five customers this week to leave you a Google review. Make it easy for them. Send them a text with a direct link.
Then answer your phone. Seriously. That's it. Pick up or call back immediately.
Finally, track where your calls come from. Which marketing channels actually work for you. Most contractors I know have no idea. They're spending money on Facebook ads when Google Search would work better, or they're neglecting their online presence while their competitor owns it.
Tools like WerkOps let you track which leads come from where so you stop guessing. You see what's actually working and double down on it. You find out your competitor is getting calls because they're set up right, and you're not.
The scary part? This stuff is basic. It's not hard. Your competitor figured it out. You can too. Just do it before you lose another job.
Put this into practice with WerkOps
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Written by
Dina Good
Founder, WerkOps
Dina grew up in the trades. Her father was a contractor, then a building inspector, and the job site was her classroom long before any formal one was. She went on to own her own contracting company, which is where she first felt the pain of running a skilled trade business on bad software and worse spreadsheets. A love of data pulled her into programming, and the two worlds eventually collided into WerkOps - software built by someone who has actually been on the truck.