On this call I told Billy the biggest hurdle in my business: the number of people who say "I almost didn't book because this just sounds too good to be true." His answer, on the record:
"Usually is — right? But it's not in this case. It's true. It's true."
Here's why his word carries more weight than most.
Who's Talking: A Quarter Million Dollars of Lead-Buying Scar Tissue
Billy Stewart isn't new to any of this. He's built 24 townhomes, exited a company at eight figures, and runs Trinity Decks with a real sales operation behind it. And over his career he has bought leads from everyone: "I've spent at least a quarter million dollars in my life on leads. Angie, HomeAdvisor, Facebook guy after Facebook guy, Google guy after Google guy…"
Before signing with us, he vetted seven different marketers. That's the buyer profile: burned repeatedly, diligent, skeptical by default. Which is what makes the next sentence out of his mouth matter: "…and this funnel is the best setup I've ever seen."
The Numbers: 17 Days In
Every figure below came out of the call above. Nothing projected, nothing annualized.
| Metric | Before the system | First 17 days on the system |
|---|---|---|
| First week | — | $196,383 in deck work ("First week. First week.") |
| Signed contracts & deposits | — | $300,000+ by day 17 |
| Ad spend | ~$250K on leads over his career | Less than $1,657 |
| Close rate | — | "80-something percent… it's nuts" |
| Backlog | — | Booked out 14–16 weeks, 15 leads still to run |
I asked him to confirm the spend-to-revenue math on the call: less than $1,700 into the ads. "It's over $300,000 in contracts and deposits."
Quantity AND Quality — "It's Always Been One or the Other"
If you've bought leads before, you know the trade: a pile of junk you have to dig through, or a trickle of good ones that never fills the calendar. Billy named it exactly:
"This is the first time I've ever had quantity AND quality. It's always been one or the other — never both."
And it's not just his read. His sales guy came out of a franchise operation that poured money into marketing: "He said, 'These are the best leads I've ever run in my life.' I said, 'Me too.'" When the guy who runs the appointments and the owner who signs the contracts agree, that's the whole quality argument settled.
Where That Leaves Him: Too Booked to Take More
The close rate is what turns appointments into a backlog: "Because the quality of leads, we're closing at like 80-something percent right now. It's nuts."
"We're booked out 14 to 16 weeks and I still have 15 leads to run." Seventeen days into a campaign, the conversation had already shifted from "will this work" to managing the volume. That's the position every builder should be negotiating from — pricing with a backbone because the calendar is full.
The Bottom Line
A sophisticated operator — eight-figure exit, 24 townhomes, a quarter million dollars of lead-buying experience, seven marketers vetted — put $1,657 into ads and signed over $300,000 in deck work in 17 days, closing 80-something percent of the appointments. Asked about the "too good to be true" doubt, he said it plainly: "It's not in this case. It's true. It's true." His words, not mine.