Most local businesses do not have a lead problem. They have a leak problem. People are already searching, calling, and filling out forms. Some of them never turn into jobs, and the owner never hears about it.
You can find most of the leaks yourself in about ten minutes. All you need is your phone. Do each test the way a stranger would, and write down what happens.
The short answer
Search for yourself, call yourself, and fill out your own form. Then look at your reviews. Whichever step went worst is the one to fix first. You do not need to fix all seven at once.
The seven tests
1. Search for what you do, not your name
Open Google on your phone and type your service and your city, like "water heater repair Sugar Land". Do not type your business name.
- Pass: you show up in the map results or on the first page.
- Leak: you are not there, or a competitor with fewer years in business is above you.
2. Look at your Google listing like a customer
Tap your Google Business Profile. Check the hours, the phone number, the service list, and the photos.
- Pass: everything is right, and the newest photo is from this year.
- Leak: wrong hours, an old phone number, or photos from years ago.
3. Call your own number after hours
Call your business line from another phone at a time when nobody will pick up.
- Pass: a clear greeting says who you are and when you will call back.
- Leak: a full mailbox, a generic robot voice, or ringing that never ends.
4. Time your own callback
Look at your last five missed calls. How long did it take a person to call each one back?
- Pass: every one got a call back the same day.
- Leak: some never got a call back, or you cannot tell.
We wrote more about this step in missed call follow-up without spamming the caller.
5. Fill out your own contact form
Go to your website on your phone and send yourself a request. Use a real question a customer would ask.
- Pass: the form is easy to find, it works, and the message reaches someone within minutes.
- Leak: the form is hard to find, it breaks, or the message lands in an inbox nobody checks.
6. Load your site on cell data
Turn off Wi-Fi and open your website. Count the seconds until you can read it and tap the phone number.
- Pass: you can tap to call within about three seconds.
- Leak: you are still waiting, or the phone number is not a button.
7. Read your last ten reviews
Look at the dates and the replies.
- Pass: you have a review from the last month, and each one has a reply.
- Leak: the newest review is months old, or a bad review is sitting with no answer.
If this is your weak spot, see how to ask for Google reviews.
What to do with your results
Count your leaks and pick one.
- If people cannot find you (tests 1 and 2), start there. Nothing else matters until you show up.
- If people find you but cannot reach you (tests 3 to 6), fix the phone and the form before you spend a dollar on ads. Ads only send more people into the same leak.
- If people reach you but do not choose you (test 7), work on reviews.
Run the check again in a month. It takes ten minutes, and the answers change.
Want a second set of eyes? In a free 30-minute review we run these same tests with you and write down the one fix worth doing first. Request a systems review.