You finish a job. The customer is thrilled. They shake your hand and say, “I’ll definitely leave you a review.”
They mean it. And then they don’t.
Not because they changed their mind. Because life got in the way, they forgot, and by the time they remembered, it felt like too much effort to find your Google page. Multiply that by every happy customer you’ve ever had, and you can see why so many great contractors have fewer reviews than they deserve.
Why reviews matter more than ever
Reviews do two jobs for a contractor, and both of them win work.
They help you get found. Your Google reviews are one of the things that affect where you show up in local search and on the map. A contractor with a steady flow of recent reviews looks more active and more trusted than one whose last review was two years ago.
They help you get chosen. When a homeowner compares three contractors on their phone, reviews are often the tie-breaker. They’re reading them for reassurance: did you show up on time, communicate well, clean up after yourself, and charge what you quoted?
That’s also why your best reviews should sit front and centre on your website, not only on Google.
The real reason you don’t have more reviews
Most contractors don’t have a review problem. They have an asking problem.
Asking in person feels awkward. Remembering to text every customer after every job is one more thing on a list that’s already too long. And a single request, even when it’s sent, is easy to ignore.
So the fix isn’t to try harder. It’s to take the asking off your plate entirely.
A review process that runs itself
Here’s what a good review system looks like in practice.
- Send the request when the job is fresh. The best time to ask is the day the work is done, while the customer is still happy and the result is right in front of them.
- Make it one click. The request should include a direct link to your Google review page. No searching, no logging in somewhere strange, no hunting for your business name.
- Follow up politely. Most people who don’t respond to the first request aren’t saying no. They’re just busy. A friendly reminder a few days later, and another after that, catches many of them.
- Stop once they’ve followed through. Nobody wants to be nagged after they’ve already done the thing.
- Do it after every job. Consistency is what builds a steady stream of recent reviews, instead of a burst every time you remember.
With Prospect Labs, that whole process is one click. When a job is complete, you send the review request from your phone, and reminders go out automatically for a few weeks until the customer follows through.
What to say in a review request
Keep it short, personal and easy. For example:
Hi Sarah, thanks again for having us out for the roof repair on Friday. If you were happy with the work, a quick Google review would mean a lot to a small local business like ours. It takes about a minute: [link]
A few rules of thumb:
- Use their first name and mention the actual job.
- Say it helps a local business. It does, and people like helping.
- Put the link in the message. Every extra step loses people.
What not to do
Stay on the right side of Google’s review rules. Don’t offer discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews, don’t write reviews for yourself or ask staff to, and ask every customer, not just the ones you expect to be happy. Honest reviews from real customers are the only kind worth having.
And when a less-than-perfect review does come in, reply calmly and professionally. A thoughtful response to a complaint often reassures future customers more than another five stars would.
Reviews feed the rest of your marketing
Every review you earn makes the rest of the system work harder. It helps you show up in local search. It gives your website fresh proof to display. It makes a homeowner more likely to text you instead of the next contractor. That’s why the review funnel sits alongside the website, missed-call text-back and follow-up as one connected system.
See the review funnel on a live account
On a strategy call, we’ll look at your current reviews and how you ask for them today, then show you the review funnel running on real client accounts.
