SHOW / EPISODE

How to Stay Profitable When Leads Dry Up

29m | Aug 7, 2026

New 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/ 

📱 Connect with us on social media:

Facebook: / builderprime  

LinkedIn: / builderprime   

Jonathan’s LinkedIn: / jonathanweinberg   

John’s LinkedIn: / john-kolbaska-a271a757   

Instagram: / builderprimecrm   

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