HVAC in Raleigh, NC
Enough spring bookings to hire a fourth technician.
Word of mouth had carried this small shop for six years, then stopped growing. Regular posts in the local groups, under the owner’s own name, put it in front of people who had never heard of them.
Owner-operated HVAC company, 3 technicians. Told by Keisha, office manager.
- Leads from the groups
- 103
- over 8 months
- Leads a month, once running
- 16.8
- Cost per lead
- $77
- was $61 from ads
- Close rate
- 48%
- 49 jobs closed
- Closed revenue
- $83k
- $7,976 spent
- Return on spend
- 10x
- revenue ÷ fees
The business
Three technicians including the owner. Keisha runs the office, the schedule and the phones. Mostly repairs, heat pump service and a few replacements a month.
- In business
- 6 years
- Average ticket
- $1,650
- Tracked
- Sep 2025 to Apr 2026
- Service area
- Brier Creek, Wake Forest, Cary, Apex and Garner
Before
Referrals had leveled off at around 25 calls a month. Thumbtack leads were cheap but half of them never answered a callback.
- Where leads came from
- Referrals
- Nextdoor
- Thumbtack
- Thumbtack
- $900 a month
- Typical cost per lead
- $61
What we did
We got the owner into 156 local groups and posted about 12 times a week across them: tips, offers and finished jobs, with every comment and message answered the same day. A few of the groups:
- Brier Creek Community
- Wake Forest Moms & Dads
- Cary Neighbors Connect
- Apex Peak Neighbors
What worked for HVAC
- An intro post from the owner about six years of fixing heat pumps around Wake Forest, with a photo of the whole team. People still reply to it.
- Heat pump posts ahead of the first freeze: why the outdoor unit steams in defrost mode, and when it’s a problem.
- A spring coil-and-filter check offer in March, timed to pollen season, with a booking link that dropped appointments straight onto Keisha’s schedule.
Results
Leads per month from group threads, Sep 2025 to Apr 2026
| Month | Leads |
|---|---|
| Sep | 3 |
| Oct | 6 |
| Nov | 10 |
| Dec | 14 |
| Jan | 17 |
| Feb | 16 |
| Mar | 19 |
| Apr | 18 |
The January cold snap pushed month five to 17, most of it Messenger questions under the defrost-mode post. February held steady, and March picked up with the pollen offer.
| Measure | Before | With the groups |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly spend | $900 | $997 |
| Cost per lead | $61 | $77 |
| Leads that became jobs | 22% | 48% |
| Cost per closed job | $277 | $163 |
Along the way
- Week 6
First lead: a Messenger question about a heat pump blowing cold air, sent after the defrost-mode post.
- Month 3
Stopped paying for Thumbtack.
- Month 7
Hired a fourth technician to keep up with spring bookings.
“I answer the phone, so I notice. People used to say they found us on Google. Now it’s ‘I saw your post about the heat pump steaming,’ and a lot of them have already booked through the link before I ever talk to them.”
More from hvac
HVAC · San Antonio, TX
The best November this company has had in five years.HVAC · Indianapolis, IN
Fewer $89 diagnostics. More full system replacements.Plumbing · Mesa, AZ
One truck with open days every week. Now booked four days out.
One company per trade per city
Is your trade still open where you work?
We take one HVAC company per city, with a 25-mile territory. $997 a month flat, no ad spend, and 15 leads a month by month four, or we work free until you get there.