1. Lead Quality Complaint
Contractor says: "The leads you are sending are garbage. Nobody is picking up or they are not serious."
Root cause analysis (1 hour):
- Pull the last 20 leads: check phone numbers, names, form completeness
- Call 5 of the leads (pose as contractor): are they real? Do they remember the request?
- Ask contractor: "Of the last 20 leads, how many did you actually call?" (Maybe they did not follow up)
- Ask contractor: "What does a good lead look like to you?" (Maybe expectations are misaligned)
Fix options:
- If leads are bad: Adjust form questions to be more specific. Add lead qualification step (auto-validate phone before sending).
- If contractor is not calling: Coach them. "A good lead takes follow-up. You need to call within 1 hour."
- If mismatch on expectations: Clarify in writing. "A lead is someone who filled out your form. A customer is someone who hired you. Our job is lead delivery, not guarantee of sales."
Follow-up: Re-send refined leads for next week, check back in 3 days.
2. Underperformance (Fewer Leads Than Promised)
Contractor says: "We contracted for 40 leads a month. We have only gotten 25. This is not acceptable."
Root cause analysis (2 hours):
- Review ads: are they running? Check Google Ads spend. Is it hitting the daily budget? Check keyword bids (are they competitive?).
- Review Google Business Profile: is it fully optimized? (Photos, reviews, updated information?)
- Check seasonality: "March is historically slow in striping. April usually picks up 30%."
- Check competition: have new competitors appeared with better ads?
Fix options:
- If ads are not running: Increase bids, expand keywords, or allocate more budget
- If GBP is weak: Add photos and refresh listing information
- If seasonal: Set correct expectations for the month. "We expect 30-35 this month, back to 40+ in April."
- If new competition: Test new ad copy, try new keywords, increase budget to stay competitive
Follow-up: Implement changes immediately. Check daily for first week, weekly after that.
3. Technical Issue (Website Down, Ads Not Showing, AI Broken)
Contractor says: "Our website is down," "Ads stopped running," or "Nobody is calling the AI line."
Response (immediate):
- Website down: Check if site is actually down. Confirm hosting is running. Restart if needed. If hosting account is inactive, reactivate immediately.
- Ads not showing: Log into Google Ads. Check account health (policy violations? Payment issue?). Check bid strategy and budget. Confirm keywords are active.
- AI line down: Check if the phone number is properly configured. Test it yourself. If broken, switch to backup number immediately and give contractor a ETA for fix.
Communication: Call contractor (do not email). "I found the issue. Here is what I am fixing right now. I will confirm it is working in 30 minutes."
Post-fix: Test it yourself, then have contractor test it. "Try calling now and confirm you get the greeting." Document the cause in a tech log (for your own knowledge).
4. Payment / Contract Issue
Contractor says: "I did not agree to this charge," "Can we reduce the monthly fee?" or "I want to cancel."
Response:
- Review the signed contract. What do they owe? What services are included?
- If they dispute a charge: check if service was actually delivered. If yes, stand firm but empathetic. "I understand frustration. Let me show you the leads we delivered." If no, credit the month.
- If they want to reduce fees: offer a lower tier. "We can move you from rank-and-rent + full service to rank-and-rent only and reduce your fee by 40%."
- If they want to cancel: ask why. "I want to understand what went wrong so I can fix it." If it is a lead quality issue, offer 2 free weeks to improve performance before they decide. If it is budget, offer a 3-month pause instead of cancellation.
Documentation: Log the conversation. If you agreed to anything, send a follow-up email confirming the change.