Remodeling in Des Moines, IA

Eight years of feast or famine, then a steady three-month backlog.

Feast or famine for eight years: a five-month backlog, then nothing. Nine months of steady posts in the local groups evened it out.

Basement and bathroom remodeler, 5 staff. Told by Jake, owner-operator.

Leads from the groups: 82; over 9 months
Leads a month, once running: 11.5
Cost per lead: $109; was $64 from ads
Close rate: 11%; 9 jobs closed
Closed revenue: $262k; $8,973 spent
Return on spend: 29x; revenue ÷ fees

The business

Jake runs a small crew that finishes basements and remodels bathrooms. He still does the estimates and the finish carpentry himself.

In business: 8 years
Average ticket: $31,000
Tracked: Sep 2025 to May 2026
Service area: Ankeny, West Des Moines, Waukee, Johnston and Urbandale

Before

He would finish a five-month backlog and have nothing lined up behind it. Facebook ads brought leads, but almost none of them were ready to spend $30,000.

Where leads came from: Referrals; A BNI chapter; Facebook ads
Facebook ads: $1,500 a month
Typical cost per lead: $64

What we did

We got Jake into 139 local groups and posted about 9 times a week across them: tips, offers and finished jobs, with every comment and message answered the same day. A few of the groups:

Ankeny Area Neighbors
Waukee Moms
West Des Moines Community
Johnston Iowa Families

What worked for remodeling

Posts about water in window wells and basement moisture, before anyone talks about finishing.
Photos of finished basements with egress windows, explaining the permit side of adding a bedroom.
Winter posts about planning a spring basement project, with a link to get on the estimate calendar before the thaw.

Results

Leads per month from group threads, Sep 2025 to May 2026

Leads per month, remodeling in Des Moines, IA
Month	Leads
Sep	2
Oct	4
Nov	7
Dec	9
Jan	11
Feb	10
Mar	13
Apr	12
May	14

Slow for the first two months, as remodeling usually is. From month five it held between 10 and 14, which keeps Jake’s crew booked about three months ahead.

Facebook ads compared with the groups
Measure	Before	With the groups
Monthly spend	$1,500	$997
Cost per lead	$64	$109
Leads that became jobs	3%	11%
Cost per closed job	$2,133	$997

Along the way

Month 3
A $34,000 basement in Ankeny from a window-well post.
Month 6
Backlog reached three months and stayed there.
Month 9
Left the BNI chapter to get his Thursday mornings back.

“First two months I thought this was a waste. Month three, a lady in Ankeny messaged about the window well post because her carpet was wet. We ended up finishing the whole basement, and that one job paid for the year.”

JakeOwner-operator, remodeling in Des Moines, IA

Is your trade still open where you work?

We take one remodeling 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.

Check if your city is open