Why Your Leads Aren’t Converting — And How to Fix It (for Cleaning Business Owners)
By DREW LARISON
Founder and CEO, Five Door Media
More Clicks, Fewer Customers? Let’s Talk About It.
You’re running ads, your website is live, and leads are coming in — but they’re not turning into paying customers. If you’ve ever felt like your digital marketing is driving traffic but not revenue, you’re not alone.
In the home service world, especially cleaning, this is one of the most common frustrations we hear: "I’m getting leads, but they’re not converting."
And here’s the hard truth: If your leads aren’t converting, it usually means one (or more) of five things in your marketing and sales process is broken.
At Five Door Media, we call this the 5 Door System, and in this blog, we’re going to focus on Door 3: Targeting, Door 4: Engagement, and Door 5: Sales — because that’s where lead conversion lives or dies.
Let’s break it down.
1. You’re Not Getting Qualified Leads (Your Targeting Is Off)
Why It Happens:
You’re running ads — but they’re reaching the wrong people. If your targeting is too broad, too narrow, or based on the wrong data, you’ll get leads… but not the kind of leads that become customers.
A qualified lead should:
Fit your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Be in your service area
Be able to afford your services
Have a clear need or interest
In cleaning businesses, your ICP might be busy professionals, families with multiple kids, homeowners in higher-income neighborhoods, or property managers. If your targeting doesn’t reflect that, you’re wasting ad spend.
Example: Targeting all of “Dallas” might get you 100 leads. Targeting 3 higher-income zip codes in north Dallas might get you 30 leads — but 25 of them are ready to buy.
How to Fix It:
Refine your targeting by age, income, family size, and neighborhood.
Use interest-based targeting to reach busy families, sports parents, realtors, etc.
Avoid lower-income areas or renters if your service is premium-priced.
Build lookalike audiences based on past customers.
The quality of your targeting dictates the quality of your leads. Garbage in, garbage out.
2. Your Website or Forms Are Broken (Or Just... Not Working Well)
Why It Happens:
When someone clicks your ad and lands on your website or lead form, they expect a fast, frictionless experience. If your site takes too long to load, or your form is hard to find or too long, most people bounce.
Remember: We’re living in an Amazon Prime world. If it’s not fast and easy, people will abandon the process.
Stat to Know: A 1-second delay in page load time can reduce conversions by 7%. If your page takes 5+ seconds? You're losing almost half your potential customers.
Common Mistakes We See:
Form is buried way below the fold
Too many form fields (asking for their life story)
Site isn’t mobile-friendly
Load times over 3 seconds
Confusing navigation or layout
How to Fix It:
Optimize for mobile first — most home service traffic comes from phones.
Place the form above the fold on landing pages.
Keep Meta (Facebook/Instagram) lead forms short and sweet.
Use clear calls-to-action (CTAs) — no mystery buttons.
Test your site regularly for speed, bugs, and broken links.
Tip: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to test your load times.
Clean, fast, and focused = conversions.
3. You’re Not Following Up Fast Enough (Your Sales System Is Broken)
Why It Happens:
Most cleaning businesses don’t have a formal sales system. And even if they do, they often aren’t fast enough. In today’s digital world, speed-to-lead is everything.
If you’re waiting 15–30 minutes (or hours… or days) to follow up with leads, you’ve already lost them. They’re calling someone else.
Stat to Know: 78% of customers will choose the first business that responds to them.
How to Fix It:
Set a goal to respond within 5 minutes (ideally less).
Use automated responses to confirm form submissions and buy you time.
Consider a CRM or lead notification system (like HighLevel, Jobber, or Housecall Pro).
Train your team on consistent scripts and tone for first contact.
Set clear expectations in your ads and emails: “We’ll call you within 5 minutes.”
Pro Tip: Even if you can't close the sale right away, being first gets you in the door and builds trust.
Speed = trust. Trust = booked jobs.
Bonus: Are You Giving Your Leads a Reason to Say Yes?
Sometimes it’s not your systems—it’s your offer.
Are you giving new leads a compelling reason to take the next step?
Are your prices clear?
Is your value proposition strong?
Are you offering a quick-win service (like a discounted first clean)?
Is your reputation (reviews, testimonials) visible?
The stronger and simpler your offer, the easier it is to convert a lead.
The 5 Door Fix Framework (Recap)
Here’s how our Five Door Method helps identify where your conversion problem really lives:
Door 1: Platform – Are you even on the right platform?
Door 2: Creative – Is your message engaging and clear?
Door 3: Targeting – Are you reaching the right people? ✅
Door 4: Ad Engagement – Are your landing pages, forms, and site helping or hurting? ✅
Door 5: Sales – Are you following up quickly and professionally? ✅
Your leads aren’t just numbers. They’re people with expectations, timelines, and skepticism. The more you reduce friction and increase clarity, the more likely they are to book with you.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Blame the Ads
We see this all the time — cleaning business owners assume their ads “aren’t working” when in reality, the leads are there. The issue is with targeting, the customer experience, or sales follow-up.
If you’re spending money on marketing but not seeing bookings, it’s time to zoom out and diagnose what’s actually broken.
At Five Door Media, we specialize in helping cleaning businesses not just generate leads—but convert them. If you're stuck between clicks and customers, we can help.
Want to know where your leads are falling off? Schedule a Free Lead Conversion Audit
