How to get moving leads: the complete guide for movers

What is a moving lead worth to your business?

Before you chase more leads, work out what one is worth. That number tells you how much you can afford to spend to get a lead, and how much you lose every time one slips away. It takes about twenty minutes with last season’s numbers.

1. Find your average job value. Add up last season’s revenue from moves and divide by the number of jobs. Keep local and long-distance moves separate if your mix is wide.
2. Find your booking rate. Out of every ten people who asked for a price, how many booked? If you do not know, count your last fifty leads by hand.
3. Find what you keep from each job. Take away crew wages, fuel, truck costs and materials. What is left is what a booked job actually puts in your pocket.
4. Multiply. Your booking rate times what you keep per job is roughly what one lead is worth before marketing costs.

From then on, watch two numbers above all others: cost per booked job and booking rate by source. A cheap lead source that never books is more expensive than a pricey one that does.

Where do moving leads come from?

Most local movers get their leads from the same handful of places. The mix differs from market to market, but every healthy moving company has more than one source, so a slow month in one does not empty the calendar.

Why do movers lose the leads they already have?

Ask most owners why they lose jobs and they say price. Very often it is speed. Moving customers contact several companies, often at the same time, and the first clear answer tends to win. These are the leaks that cost small movers the most.

• Missed calls. The crew lead is carrying a dresser, the phone rings, the caller reaches voicemail and calls the next name on the list.
• After-hours silence. People plan moves in the evening and on weekends. A form sent at 9 pm that gets a reply at noon the next day is often already booked elsewhere.
• No price. A website that only says “call for a quote” loses the people who want a ballpark number first.
• Scattered inboxes. Leads arrive by phone, text, email, website, Facebook and Instagram. Some get missed simply because nobody opened that app.
• No follow-up. Many people do not book on the first contact. One friendly check-in a day or two later wins back a share of them.

Fixing these leaks is usually the fastest way to book more moves, because these people already chose to contact you. Read what missed calls really cost a moving company, or see how missed-call text-back and the AI receptionist close the gaps.

How fast should you reply to a moving lead, and what should you say?

As fast as you possibly can. Minutes, not hours. A person who just filled out your form is still holding their phone and still thinking about their move. An hour later they are on someone else’s website.

Speed matters, but so does the first message. A good first reply does three things: it confirms you got the request, it moves toward a price and it makes the next step easy.

1. Reply to every new lead within five minutes, day or night. If you cannot do that by hand, set up an automatic first reply that asks useful questions.
2. Collect the basics: move date, from and to towns, home size, stairs or elevators, large or special items and whether they need packing.
3. Give a price or a range as soon as you have enough information. Offer a walkthrough for large or unusual moves.
4. Follow up the next day if they go quiet, and once more a few days later. Keep it short and friendly.
5. Log the outcome: booked, lost on price, lost on date or no reply. Patterns show up within a month.

Keeping every call, text, form and message in one lead inbox is what makes this routine possible on a busy Saturday in June.

How do you turn one finished move into more leads?

Every good move produces three things you can use: a happy customer, photos of the work and a story. Most movers let all three disappear by the next morning. Here is how to put them to work.

Should you buy moving leads?

Buying leads can work, but go in with clear eyes. You pay per lead whether it books or not. Shared leads go to several movers at once, so you are in a race from the first second. Some leads will be for moves you do not do, in areas you do not serve or on dates you cannot cover.

• Exclusive or shared? Exclusive leads cost more each, but you are not competing for the same person. Shared leads are cheaper and book less often.
• Can you reply in under a minute? If not, shared leads will rarely book for you. Someone else will call first.
• What is the real cost per booked job? Divide what you spent by the moves you booked from that source, then compare it with what a lead is worth to you.
• What are the terms? Avoid long contracts, minimum spends you cannot pause and vague refund rules for bad leads.

What should you do this month to get more moving leads?

You do not need to do everything at once. This order fixes the leaks first and then builds on top, so each week makes the next one pay off more.

1. Week 1: stop the leaks. Turn on missed-call text-back, set an automatic reply on your website form and Facebook page, and list every place leads arrive.
2. Week 2: fix your Google profile. Correct category, service areas, hours, services, real photos and a link to your quote form. Reply to every review you have. Our guide to Google Business Profile and reviews walks through it.
3. Week 3: ask for reviews and referrals. Text every customer from the last three months who had a good move, then make it a habit after every job.
4. Week 4: check your website. Does it show a price range, load fast on a phone and have a page for each main town you serve? Run it through the free website checker.
5. Every week after that: look at leads by source, reply times and bookings. Keep what works and drop what does not.

If you would rather have the whole system run for you, LeadKeet does it for $249 a month with no setup fee. See how it works.