That time a customer grilled me on ROI for 20 minutes at a fence site

I was out at a job in Clifton, NJ last Tuesday, setting up posts for a new privacy fence. The homeowner comes out and starts asking about how I market my small business, like I was some guru. He straight up said, 'You got a website but no Google Ads, how do you even get leads?' I told him I just rely on word of mouth and a solid Facebook post every few months. He spent 20 minutes telling me I was leaving money on the table, and I couldn't even finish my concrete mix. Has anyone else had a client try to give you unsolicited marketing advice mid-job?

3 comments

3 Comments

sean_green441mo ago

He was probably trying to sell you something by the end of that.

mary_nelson711mo ago

Yeah five minutes later he'd be showing you a credit card application.

nguyen.morgan1mo ago

@sean_green44 I think you're right, he probably was fishing for something... I had a similar thing happen a few years back with a guy who cornered me at a hardware store. He kept pushing this whole CRM system on me, saying I was wasting time with my notebook and pen method. I finally just told him straight up that word of mouth has kept me busy for 15 years and I don't need to complicate things. He backed off after that, but it was awkward for a minute. Sometimes you just gotta shut it down and get back to work, you know? That's what I did and it worked for me.