This post was contributed by David Tello, who runs his cleaning business on Thumbtack.
As a small business owner, there are few things harder than paying for a quote and then waiting, wondering “Will they ever get back to me?”
Even after 168 hires on Thumbtack, I’m not immune to sending quotes and never hearing back. Some weeks I had to stop sending quotes altogether because my budget was up, and all I could do was keep following up on the quotes I’d already paid for. And that’s not easy when you have houses to clean.
Then I started using Thumbtack’s new feature, Instant Match.
Hearing From the Customer is No Longer a Guessing Game
Since I signed up for Instant Match, Thumbtack quotes automatically for me based on where and when I want to work, and the kinds of jobs I do.
The first notification I get is from the customer, which means I spend less time checking my phone, while only paying for the customers who are interested in my service.
I’m winning a lot more business and saving a whole lot of time in the process.
Learning More Every Day
Instant Match quotes on more jobs than I could on my own, and it’s affordable because you only pay when the customer reaches out. It’s helped me realize that my target market is much bigger than I thought it was.
I used to focus only on move-in and move-out cleanings. The middle of the month was slow but I knew I wasn’t wasting quotes on jobs I wouldn’t win. I had no clue how much I was actually limiting my business. Instant Match has connected me with a whole new kind of customer — property management groups and corporate offices all across Grand Prairie — and even my slowest weeks are filling up fast.
Now, I can expect to be busy, so I’m building a team big enough to serve my customers. And because I’m using Instant Match, I’m only expecting that customer base to grow.