How to Stay Profitable When Leads Dry Up
29m | Aug 7, 2026New leads are harder to come by, and the ones you do get cost more. Close rates are down five to six points from where they were. If business has felt tougher these past few months, you are not imagining it.
In this episode of Build to Win, Jonathan and John talk through the summer slowdown hitting home improvement right now and what it means for specialty contractors doing $10M and up. Material costs jumped close to 10% this year. John's own close rate slid from around 32% to 27%. The market is cooling, and nobody knows yet if a real recession is coming.
Here is the good news. The contractors who know their numbers and work the database they already have will come out the other side stronger, with less competition. John lays out the exact moves his company is making right now, from mining old leads that never bought to launching a repair division that feeds future replacements.
If your leads have slowed and you want to stay profitable while the market sorts itself out, this one is for you.
Key Takeaways:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Summer Slowdown: What They're Seeing
01:10 COVID Boom Is Over
02:04 This Year vs. Last Year
03:26 Closing Rates Down and Costs Up
05:52 The Market Needs a Cleanse
07:30 How to Recession-Proof Your Business
09:00 Rehash: Mine Your Database
11:38 Adding a Repair Division
14:22 Repair Leads That Turn Into Replacements
17:50 Getting Back in the House
21:16 Market, Media, Message
24:16 Know Your Numbers
26:26 What If the Internet Went Away Tomorrow
28:34 Final Thoughts
Additional Resources:
🔥 Watch our FREE on-demand webinar: HERE
⚡ Learn more about us: https://www.builderprime.com/
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Jonathan’s LinkedIn: / jonathanweinberg
John’s LinkedIn: / john-kolbaska-a271a757
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