Home improvement contractors new to the industry often find themselves bombarded with advertising about lead generation services that promise to bring them business. With Slick advertising and persistent sales teams, these services are more often a budget sinkhole than a reliable revenue stream. Ido is a new service that aims to do away with lead generation fees and bring quality jobs to contractors.

The global home improvement industry is a $330 billion industry, and it’s growing. In fact, it’s expected to grow by 5% in 2023. But for contractors, this growth may not directly translate to higher revenues. This is partly due to the outsized control of the major lead generation services in the home improvement industry, such as Angi and HomeAdvisor. While these large companies spend an incredible amount of money advertising their role in finding leads, the reality is their model makes money from contractors with sudden fees and high premiums. Because of this, finding reliable and consistent work while making a profit can be a challenge for many contractors.

In this article, we delve into how Ido, a new Seattle-based, home improvement company is making a splash in the industry with the goal of putting money back into the pocket of contractors. Ido differs from services like Angi, Houzz, HomeAdvisor, etc in how it aims to improve the working relationships and conditions for both homeowners and contractors.

What We Are Not About

We’re not your run-of-the-mill pay-for business directory, home services marketplace or review platform. In fact, we’re nothing like those fee-hungry giants. We’re in this for homeowners and contractors, not the bottom line. That’s why we refuse to charge exorbitant fees or make contractors pay for leads before we’ve proven ourselves valuable. We’re all about connecting qualified contractors with homeowners who deserve top-notch service.

No-pay-to-play for home improvement

This is why we don’t play the pay-to-play game. For example, sites like Thumbtack will charge contractors anywhere from $8-$25 while Angi will charge $25-$100 for a lead. For many contractors who are accustomed to these norms, there doesn’t seem to be a way out. But these leads are not guaranteed jobs, which means that for many contractors starting out, their budget is already in the red even before making any money. Often, more seasoned contractors have to account for this loss in their books. This means they’ll pass the cost onto homeowners, which raises the total cost of a project. In this system, neither the homeowner nor the contractor is happy because both end up paying more, often for simple home maintenance jobs.

Ido does not believe in the contractor pay-to-play model. With Ido, all contractors have to do is simply sign up, let us know about their profession, preferred projects and qualifications. When a homeowner requests a project, an Ido expert will coordinate with them to find them the right contractors in our vetted pro network to quote the job. For contractors, this means they will get connected to a qualified job to bid on at no cost. Once the homeowner accepts, our Ido expert will help coordinate the project from beginning to end. Our web app also makes job tracking and communication easy.

No figuring things out on your own

For many contractors, performing their craft may be the easiest part of the job. It is the combination of scoping out new business leads, communicating with clients, and staying on top of projects, book and record keeping that brings the most difficulty. Ido does not believe in letting contractors flounder once we connect them with the job. While some services offer Monday-Friday “customer service,” they do not offer end to end assistance on the projects. Our app is designed to not only connect contractors to  new businesses that match their skill-sets, but also with streamlining communication so they can directly message clients and Ido reps, and keep records so that everything is transparent and in order.

We treat all contractors with respect

Ido wants all contractor businesses, big or small, to have a level playing field. For example, HomeAdvisor charges a hefty $350 annual fee for their marketing services so certain contractor businesses have a bigger presence on their platform. In theory, this model is great for those who can afford the fee. But for smaller businesses, this upfront, financial hurdle creates an extra barrier to getting in front of customers. Even if the marketing fees are not an issue, these marketing tools do not guarantee that leads will result in actual jobs. What’s worse, these companies’ sales teams bombard contractors who sign up for the marketing services to upgrade their plans. This means more headaches, more fees, and no guarantee of new business.

In this regard, Ido stands out by not emphasizing one business more than the other, just because they have a bigger budget. During the project request process, Ido selects contractors to invite to quote a job  based on their expertise and their customer satisfaction history, not their budget. We know that some of the best people out there may not have the biggest operation or the biggest budget, so why charge hard-working contractors to spend their cash against each other?

With Ido, your visibility as a contractor will not be based on your marketing budget. We do not rank contractors based on these boosted marketing subscriptions. Instead, your skills, professionalism, and great client reviews is what will make you stand out on our platform.

No Data Fishing

Our homeowners’ personal information is safe with us. Because Ido doesn’t sell leads to contractors, we only collect data that is crucial to the quoting and completion of each project. In practice, this means that when a homeowner puts in a request for work, we will work with them directly to acquire the necessary info so that contractors can provide accurate and detailed quotes. We don’t share homeowner contact information until the quote has been accepted. This way, bids have a higher chance of being accepted, and homeowners will not have to worry about being contacted by dozens of contractors who were sold their personal data.

It Pays to Have Industry Experts

At Ido, we have a team of knowledgeable industry experts and home improvement professionals ready to assist homeowners with their projects. We understand that homeowners may not always know what’s required or needed for a project, nor have the terms to describe exactly what they want. That’s why we take time with each homeowner’s project request to ensure that we account for all the necessary details. We also review quotes to make sure nothing’s missing and to lessen the chances of “unforeseen” costs. There are several reasons for this:

• Details: A detailed project description will give contractors a better understanding of what the homeowner has in mind, which results in more detailed quotes and more successful bids. For example, while estimates for home renovation might seem standard, there may be elements that are not readily apparent to the homeowner. Our job is to make sure that nothing gets overlooked.

• Education: The goal of providing detailed information to both homeowners and contractors is more than getting good quotes, it also informs the homeowner of the scale and costs of each project from the most simple home repair to full scale renovations. For example, changes in material costs or weather may affect certain remodeling, HVAC, or landscaping projects. In these cases, we will communicate with the homeowner on your behalf. By taking care of homeowner communication, we provide homeowners with better expectations of associated costs and timelines, reducing tension and allowing contractors to focus on what they do best: getting the job done.

• Ease for contractors: One of the major pain points for contractors is communicating to homeowners the process and progress of any job. That’s where Ido comes in. Contractors and homeowners stay up to date through our web app. We facilitate communication and notifications, ensuring that no one is left out of the loop. Ido’s accessible app makes communicating progress and updates easy. It also gives us the oversight and opportunity to address any potential issues that may arise, such as project or payment delays.

Poor communication is costly

Research shows that miscommunication costs the construction industry a lot of money, more than $31 billion in 2018. In providing guidance on costs, processes and timelines, our aim is to make it as transparent and hassle-free as possible for all parties. This information is especially useful for projects that might take longer than the initially projected timeline or if the price or supply of materials fluctuates due to factors beyond the control of contractors. By working with our team of experts, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the process and achieve your desired outcome.

Relationship Building Is Core to The Contracting Business

With more than twenty years in the contracting business, we know the industry is full of one-time jobs. Sure, you can make some money from these jobs, but the best lead generation for contractors is still relationship building. To ensure this, we don’t just qualify work requests, our service provides end-to-end communication that is clear, direct, and allows room for feedback between contractors and homeowners. Through our Ido app, both homeowners and contractors will be able to message each other directly, and easily access all related documents and project information. Not to mention, both homeowners and contractors can also contact our Ido representative directly to clarify any confusion.

That said, many services are still lacking in this process whereby homeowners and contractors can communicate clearly while also being able to resolve any disputes. For example, while services like Angi of Thumbtack offer seven days of customer service, and have  comment verification for false statements, the lack of proper vetting instills mistrust amongst all parties involved.

While we recognize there may be some bad players, many hard-working contractors do not deserve a bad reputation. Because of this, it is important to us to vet contractors thoroughly, and verify reviews so there can be more trust overall.

Ido takes the contractor vetting seriously

We’re more than a home maintenance app. Ido’s Pro Network ensures we only connect our homeowner clients with highly qualified, skilled home service professionals. Ido makes sure pros are licensed, insured, and bonded. We also conduct thorough background and business health checks as well as ongoing assessments and evaluations. We are quality focused. Ido looks for contractors who are honest, reliable, passionate about their work and with a track record of quality craftsmanship and happy clients.

Guaranteed payment for contractors

To honor contractors working with us, Ido offers guaranteed payment. In the case of project disputes, Ido ensures that contractors who have completed jobs properly do not walk away empty-handed. We’ve got their backs. To build long-term relationships, we will only charge a small, negotiable fee after a contractor has earned more than 20k in jobs booked through Ido, after we’ve proven our value. Prior to that, every dollar a contractor makes is theirs.

With Ido, we want your experience to be seamless. From start to finish, we treat every project like it is done in our own homes and backyards. We want homeowners and contractors to have positive experiences so that homes will have the care and attention they deserve, and contractors will have consistent quality leads and jobs.

Conclusion

Ido is a new home improvement service that differs from Angi and HomeAdvisor because we do not charge contractors for leads. It is our goal and our promise to make bidding for jobs fair and cost-effective. More importantly, we aim to be an integral part of the home improvement process by offering guidance, direction, and facilitating communication between homeowners and contractors. For homeowners, we want to offer them peace of mind by helping them find quality contractors and providing expert guidance. For contractors, our promise is to deliver qualified jobs to bid on at no cost, project support, and guaranteed payment. We are contractors and we want to do right by contractors, so we don’t believe in a pay-to-play service. If you are a contractor who is tired of working with those who claim to be the best contractor lead service, Ido is the place to start. To learn more about us, check out our websiteand sign up today to be a part of our Pro Network.