The number one thing I tell contractors who want more leads is to get more reviews. Not run more ads. Not build a fancier website. Reviews. Because when someone searches for you and sees 4.8 stars with 87 reviews versus your competitor's 3.9 with 12, they've already made their decision before they even click anything.
When to Ask
Timing is almost everything. Ask for a review the moment after a job goes well, not three weeks later in an email the customer doesn't remember signing up for. The best moment is right when the tech wraps up and the customer says "great job." That's when they'd give you five stars without even thinking about it.
Have your tech say: "We really appreciate the business. Would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It means a lot to a small business like ours." Then pull out a card or text them a direct link right there.
Make It One Tap
Google gives you a short review link you can find in your Business Profile dashboard. Shorten it with bit.ly or a QR code. Put it on a small card your techs carry. Text it from your business number as they're leaving the job. The fewer steps between the ask and the review, the more reviews you get.
People intend to leave reviews. They forget. A direct link sent while they're still in the good-feeling moment of a finished job removes the friction.
What to Do With Bad Reviews
Respond to every review, good and bad. On good ones, thank them by name and mention something specific from the job. On bad ones, respond calmly, acknowledge the issue, and offer to resolve it offline. Never argue. Never get defensive. Future customers are reading your response as much as the review itself.
A business with 50 reviews and one bad one looks human. A business with three reviews and one bad one looks risky. Volume is your protection against the occasional unhappy customer.
The Automation Piece
Manual asking works. Automated follow-up is better. A system that texts every closed job 30 minutes after the tech leaves, with a direct Google review link, runs while you're on the next job. You set it up once and it works every time.
WerkOps can trigger that follow-up automatically based on job completion so your review request goes out at exactly the right moment without anyone having to remember to do it.
Put this into practice with WerkOps
Run accurate load calculations, build estimates, and send invoices - all in one tool.
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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.