First call
What HVAC contractors should tell me on the first call
If you get on a call with someone who sells HVAC marketing and they don’t ask how work shows up today, hang up. Here’s what I actually need so I don’t waste your time — and so we don’t buy ads into a broken phone.
I grew an electric and HVAC shop with my own marketing spend. Real tests, not theory. How Lead Junkie got built.
Bring the messy version
What you’re spending now — ads, Angi, whatever — even if it’s ugly. Close rate if you have it. Who answers the phone after 5. Which zips you really run. Whether estimates sit. Whether you want service calls, changeouts, or both.
I’m Joey Donohue. I ran my own HVAC and electric shop ($2.1M → $7M) and spent $750k of my own money learning marketing. I don’t need a polished deck. I need the truth about your board.
- Current monthly spend by channel (even rough)
- Who owns the phone / after-hours path
- Service area you actually staff (not the wishlist map)
- Average ticket mix: repair vs replace vs membership
- Where last month’s booked jobs actually came from
Questions I will ask (so you’re not surprised)
How fast do you answer Meta, LSA, and Google calls? Do estimates get a follow-up sequence or die in a folder? Are you buying cold leads while trucks sit in the shoulder? Those answers decide whether we talk Meta, Google, SEO, a site, or “fix follow-up first.”
First-call topics → why they matter
| You tell me | I use it to decide |
|---|---|
| After-hours answer path | Whether paid intent is safe to scale |
| Estimate follow-up | Whether you need more leads or better close |
| Season / empty trucks | Shoulder membership vs July no-cool plan |
| Review / Map Pack honesty | LSA vs Search vs SEO order |
What I will not do
Guarantee a lead count. Sell you a shared lead. Lock you into a contract — plans are month to month (pricing: Google Ads, SEO, and Meta + TikTok Ads are $1,500/month each). The call is to see if Meta, TikTok, Google, SEO, or a site even makes sense. Sometimes the answer is fix follow-up first — speed-to-lead, missed-call text-back, follow-up after the estimate.
How to prep in ten minutes
Open last month’s calendar or CRM. Note three jobs you’re proud of and three that wasted a truck. Screenshot nothing private — just know the story. If you have a Meta or Google Ads view with spend and results, bring that (blur customer PII). Then book the call. 786-910-6062 · joeyleadjunkie@gmail.com · TikTok @joeymarketing_homesvs.
FAQ
- What if my numbers are messy?
- Bring the messy version. Rough spend and honest phone process beats a fake dashboard.
- Do I need to be ready to buy ads this week?
- No. Sometimes the first move is follow-up, memberships, or a page — not more spend.
- Will you pitch a long contract?
- No. Lead Junkie plans are month to month. See pricing.
- What should I send before the call?
- Optional: a short note on service area, who answers after 5, and what you want more of. No need for a deck.