Arrive on time, protect landscaping, and leave the job site spotless. Send a hand‑written thank‑you card and a coupon for future gutter cleaning. Include a free downspout extension or splash block as a nice bonus.

Clearly explain the benefits (e.g., wind and fire resistance, energy savings) and provide before‑and‑after photos. Offer a complimentary inspection one year later to ensure fasteners and sealants are secure.

Move plants and cover gardens, use magnets to pick up nails, and sweep driveways when finished. Small gestures—like clearing gutters and patios—show respect for the homeowner’s property.

Respect clients’ time and space. Wear boot covers, use drop cloths, and explain pricing upfront. Test all fixtures before leaving and share preventive tips (e.g., don’t pour grease down drains).

Use plain language when explaining repairs or upgrades. Show customers how to change filters and set thermostats. Suggest energy‑saving options like smart thermostats or zoning systems.

Be compassionate and transparent. Outline the process, coordinate with insurance adjusters, and provide frequent updates. In crises, empathy builds trust and future referrals.

Keep projects on schedule and budget. Share weekly progress reports with photos. If delays arise, communicate honestly and adjust timelines transparently.

Deliver neat edges and thriving plants. Choose species that suit the climate, and provide aftercare instructions. Schedule a follow‑up visit a month later to check on plant health.

Offer $25 off a future cleaning for each new client referred. Include the coupon on your final invoice or thank‑you email.

Give clients referral cards with a personal note. Send a coffee gift card or offer a free roof inspection when a card leads to a new job.

Check in after the first rain. If they’re thrilled, ask if they know anyone whose roof leaks. This follow‑up shows you care and prompts referrals.

Leave a branded magnet or notepad on the fridge so your contact details are always handy. Follow up a few weeks later to ask if everything is working smoothly and remind them of your referral offer.

Offer $50 off the next tune‑up for every friend who signs a maintenance plan. This ties referrals to recurring revenue.

At the final walkthrough, ask if they know neighbors dealing with damage. Offer a free moisture scan for anyone they refer.

Provide cash or discount bonuses (e.g., $250 off a future remodel) for referrals that turn into signed contracts.

Run a “Yard of the Month” contest. Each referral earns the client an entry to win free fertilization, aeration, or snow removal.

Offer tiered discounts: 10 % off the next cleaning for one referral, 20 % for two, and a free cleaning after three.

Reward referrers with upgrades, like free snow guards or extended warranties on existing roofs.

Donate $100 to a charity of your client’s choice for each referral. Many homeowners appreciate a philanthropic gesture more than a personal incentive.

Give a $75 credit toward future work or an annual inspection for every new client referred.

Provide a free box of air filters when a friend purchases a new system. Filters are inexpensive but valuable to homeowners.

Send gourmet gift baskets or house‑cleaning vouchers when a referral converts to a job. This personal touch is memorable.

Offer upgrade credits toward premium materials (e.g., countertops, flooring) on future projects for each successful referral.

Give a free seasonal service—like aeration, fall cleanup, or snow removal—for each referral that becomes a client.

Look for roofers, metal roofers, painters, and landscapers. They see the water damage, the problems with gutters, and you can get not only gutter installation jobs but gutter guard jobs as well. 

Partner with solar installers. Offer a “roof + solar” package, and refer clients to each other. Or consdier gutter companies and other roofing companies that don't offer metal roofing. Painters are always very astute at noticing problems with the exterior of homes.

Build referrals with gutter companies, window companies, exterior painters and landscapers. These companies see the problems from bad roofing that lead to the jobs they were called for in the first place.

Partner up with HVAC companies, cabinet makers, flooring specialists, house cleaners, restoration companies, and handymen. All of these companies work inside the home. 

Partner up with plumbing companies, cabinet makers, flooring specialists, house cleaners, restoration companies, and handymen. All of these companies work inside the home. 

Since you work on both the inside and outside of homes, partner up with companies that you can subcontract work out. This makes you a general contractor, your payorll remains low and you have an expert for cabinets, flooring, plumbing, construction, roofs, gutters, and more.

Since you work on both the inside and outside of homes, partner up with companies that you can subcontract work out for large home builds and remodels. This will keep your margins safe and also makes you a general contractor, your payorll remains low and you have an expert for cabinets, flooring, plumbing, construction, roofs, gutters, and more.

The beauty of being a landscaper is that all contractors want to work with you. So literally choose two from every exterior type of construction and partner up. This will make you even more valuable and help you not only make referral money, get leads, but retain your customers longer.

A good CRM gives you a single dashboard where every client interaction is logged. Instead of flipping through spreadsheets or old texts, you can see at a glance who referred the client, when they came in, and what stage of the project they’re at. Having a “Referral Source” field means you’ll never again have to guess whether that lead came from a buddy in roofing or a customer’s cousin who shared your name at a BBQ. Over time, patterns emerge — you’ll see which referral partners bring you steady, high-value work, and which ones just send the occasional tire-kicker.

This isn’t just about attribution; it’s about action. When your CRM tracks the source of every deal, you can sort and filter by referral type. That lets you run campaigns like “send thank-you gifts to my top 10 referral partners” or “call every past client who gave me a referral last year.” Without a system, these opportunities slip through the cracks. With one, you’re methodical — which is why companies that use CRMs boost referral conversions by as much as 35% compared to those running blind.

Referrals often mean money changes hands — whether it’s a cash bonus, a discount, or a gift card. Tracking those promises manually is a recipe for disputes or forgotten rewards. A CRM lets you tie the actual invoice amount to the referral record and then apply formulas for payouts. For example, you can set a rule: “Give 5% of project revenue back as a referral reward.” When the invoice closes, the CRM calculates it automatically. No guessing, no napkin math, no awkward conversations about underpayment.

This transparency matters because it builds trust. If your referral partners know they’ll get paid on time and accurately, they’ll keep sending you leads. On the flip side, if you “forget” or miscalculate, referrals dry up fast. By automating payouts through CRM fields and formulas, you turn goodwill into a reliable program. It also makes tax time simpler, because you’ll have a clear log of referral payouts — something your accountant (and the IRS) will appreciate.

Not every contractor needs a $500/month CRM subscription. The truth is, you can build a lean but powerful referral tracking system inside Google Sheets. With dropdowns for referral source, project status, invoice total, and payout percentage, you’re basically running a CRM-lite that’s familiar to your team. Add conditional formatting (like red highlights for overdue payouts) and you have a live referral dashboard accessible from any device.

The beauty here is cost and simplicity. Google Sheets is included in Workspace (around $6–12/user per month), which most contractors already use for email and files. That means no new software to learn, no vendor lock-in, and no recurring CRM bill. Plus, you can link Sheets to Google Forms so clients and partners can submit referrals online, which auto-populates your tracking sheet. It’s DIY, but for many small to mid-size teams, it’s more than enough to keep referral programs organized and effective.

A great CRM gives you hard data: how many referrals came in, how many converted, what revenue they brought, and what rewards were paid out. This isn’t just bragging rights; it’s the backbone of scaling. Imagine knowing that every $100 you spend on referral bonuses brings you $1,000 in closed deals. With reports, you can justify increasing your rewards program — and you can clearly show partners the value of working with you.

Reporting also keeps you focused. Without metrics, referral programs can drift into “nice-to-have” territory, always overshadowed by ads or cold calls. With a dashboard proving referrals account for, say, 30% of new revenue, you can confidently prioritize them. It also gives you leverage when talking to partners: “Hey, last year I paid out $15,000 in referral bonuses. Stick with me, and you’ll keep cashing checks.” That kind of proof turns your referral program from casual to professional.

QuickBooks isn’t just for balancing books — it can double as a simple referral tracking tool when set up correctly. By creating custom fields in your invoices and customer records (like “Referral Source”), you can tag every new client with where they came from. Once you run reports filtered by that field, you’ll know exactly how much revenue came from referrals versus ads, SEO, or repeat customers. QuickBooks also integrates with many CRMs and job-management tools, so you can automatically feed referral data into your accounting system without duplicate entry.

The biggest advantage is payment accuracy. If you pay referral bonuses as either expenses or vendor payments, QuickBooks creates a clear paper trail. You can attach the client invoice, note the referral source, and cut the bonus check all in one system. Come tax season, you’ll know exactly how much you spent on referral fees and can categorize them properly. It’s professional, transparent, and far more efficient than scribbling notes on invoices. For contractors already running QuickBooks, using it as the backbone of your referral program adds zero new software costs — and it keeps your finances and referral rewards in lockstep.

Picture this: you’ve just started demo on a kitchen remodel, there’s dust in the air, and the homeowner’s dog is barking at your crew. That is not the moment to ask, “Hey, do you know anyone else who needs a contractor?” Asking for referrals before you’ve wowed a client is like proposing on the first date — awkward, premature, and likely to backfire. The right time is when the client is grinning ear-to-ear at the finished product, not when they’re staring at bare studs. Wait until they’re thrilled, then ask.

This isn’t just about attribution; it’s about action. When your CRM tracks the source of every deal, you can sort and filter by referral type. That lets you run campaigns like “send thank-you gifts to my top 10 referral partners” or “call every past client who gave me a referral last year.” Without a system, these opportunities slip through the cracks. With one, you’re methodical — which is why companies that use CRMs boost referral conversions by as much as 35% compared to those running blind.

Nobody likes a salesman who feels like a telemarketer in work boots. Encouraging referrals is great; pressuring clients makes them cringe. It’s the difference between saying, “If you know anyone who needs help, feel free to pass along my card,” versus “I need five names from your address book before I leave.” The first builds goodwill, the second makes clients avoid your calls. Referrals thrive on goodwill, not guilt trips.

You promised a referral reward. The client delivered. Then… crickets. No thank-you, no gift card, no follow-up call. Want to guarantee you never get another referral? That’s how you do it. Delays in rewarding referrers erode trust faster than a leaky roof in a storm. On the flip side, rewarding promptly and personally — even with just a handwritten note and a small bonus — makes clients feel appreciated. They’ll remember that feeling next time a friend asks for a recommendation.

The beauty here is cost and simplicity. Google Sheets is included in Workspace (around $6–12/user per month), which most contractors already use for email and files. That means no new software to learn, no vendor lock-in, and no recurring CRM bill. Plus, you can link Sheets to Google Forms so clients and partners can submit referrals online, which auto-populates your tracking sheet. It’s DIY, but for many small to mid-size teams, it’s more than enough to keep referral programs organized and effective.

If a client refers you a $20,000 roofing job and your “reward” is a $5 coffee coupon, you’ve basically said, “Thanks, but your effort is worth pocket change.” Ouch. Incentives need to match the job size. You don’t have to hand out gold bars, but a thoughtful, proportional thank-you goes a long way. A $250 credit on their next service, a nice dinner gift card, or even an upgraded warranty shows you value their referral. Cheap rewards feel cheap — and so does your brand if you go that route.

Reporting also keeps you focused. Without metrics, referral programs can drift into “nice-to-have” territory, always overshadowed by ads or cold calls. With a dashboard proving referrals account for, say, 30% of new revenue, you can confidently prioritize them. It also gives you leverage when talking to partners: “Hey, last year I paid out $15,000 in referral bonuses. Stick with me, and you’ll keep cashing checks.” That kind of proof turns your referral program from casual to professional.

One unhappy client with a megaphone (or worse, a Google review account) can sink more referrals than you’ll ever count. Ignoring complaints is like ignoring a leaking pipe — it only gets worse. If a client isn’t happy, fix it. Call them, apologize, make it right. Not only might you salvage the relationship, but turning a negative experience into a positive one can actually create referrals. People love telling the story of “the contractor who went above and beyond to fix things.”

The biggest advantage is payment accuracy. If you pay referral bonuses as either expenses or vendor payments, QuickBooks creates a clear paper trail. You can attach the client invoice, note the referral source, and cut the bonus check all in one system. Come tax season, you’ll know exactly how much you spent on referral fees and can categorize them properly. It’s professional, transparent, and far more efficient than scribbling notes on invoices. For contractors already running QuickBooks, using it as the backbone of your referral program adds zero new software costs — and it keeps your finances and referral rewards in lockstep.

Flying blind kills referral programs. If you don’t know who referred whom, how much revenue those jobs brought in, or what rewards you promised, you’re running on hope and sticky notes. Spoiler alert: hope isn’t a strategy. Whether you use a CRM, QuickBooks, or a Google Sheet duct-taped together with formulas, track everything. Data tells you which referral sources are gold mines and which ones are dry holes. Without it, you’ll never know what’s working — and you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Start filming video when you arrive to any job sites as your "before" moment and post as a short, "stay tuned for the lunch time walkthrough."

Then film mid-progress and final results, all as short videos. Then you could even combine them as one long project.

• New jobs (any type)
• Gutter types
• Gutter colors
• Gutter Screens
• Gutter scams

Literally anything about the gutter industry. Just pick up that phone and start telling the world!

YouTube isn’t just for views — it’s for conversions. Add:

• Clickable CTAs (end screens, pop-ups) linking to your website or a quote form.
• Pinned comments with your phone number and “Book your gutter service today.”
• Video descriptions with a strong first line CTA (since most people don’t expand the description).
• Cross-promote your videos by embedding them on your city landing pages and blogs — this boosts both SEO and trust.

Listen, going viral isn't likely, but it happens occasionally. The key to YouTube is to keep producing content regularly, like every 1-2 weeks, and see what the audience enjoys. Then, focus on doing more videos similar to the ones people liked.

Customers want recognition and search engines want to see your active on profiles. So within 4-8 business hours, respond to all online reviews using their name and thanking them for allowing you to help them. And if they didn't state what services you provided, you should state them as well.