No Fluff, Just Results: 7 Real Lessons from Helping Remodelers Win in 2025

There’s no shortage of “thought leadership” in the remodeling space. Mostly thought, not much leadership. Roundtables, webinars, and posts filled with vague advice and regurgitated talking points. But the truth? A lot of that content is created by people who aren’t selling, building, or scaling remodeling companies day to day.

At Builder Funnel, we’ve spent the past year working alongside multiple dozens of fast-growing remodeling businesses. We’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, and what separates the plateaus from the breakouts. Here’s the short version: cute ideas don’t book revenue. Systems do. Here are 7 real-world lessons remodelers need to hear because they moved pipelines and P&Ls in 2025. No fluff, no academic vibes, just what to implement, how to track it, and where most teams trip. Pick one this week and ship it. Then do the next one. That’s how you stack wins in remodeler marketing.

Table of Contents

1. If You Don’t Know Your Numbers, You’re Flying Blind

2. Speed to Lead Is Still Criminally Underrated

3. Your Project Gallery Is a Ghost Town

4. Most Marketing Plans Are Missing a Nurture Layer

5. The Best Remodelers Are Becoming Media Companies

6. Sales Pipelines Are Clogged with “Thinking About It”

7. Your Website Has a CTA Problem

Digital Marketing Success for Your Remodeling Business

1. If You Don’t Know Your Numbers, You’re Flying Blind

The Mistake

This one’s a heartbreaker. Most remodelers can’t tell you:

• Their average Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
  
• Their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
  
• Their ROI by lead source

They’re investing in marketing…but can’t tell what’s working, or why. If you can’t attribute revenue by channel, you’re measuring with a tape that has no numbers. This is how businesses bleed cash quietly.

This is a non-negotiable if you want to be a serious business owner. Knowing your numbers allows you to make better decisions and prioritize your team’s resources appropriately.

The Fix

Put the tracking in place. Use HubSpot or similar lead tracking software. It’s not good enough to know the lead “came from your website”. Your website isn’t a lead source. Google Ads, Direct, Referral, Instagram: these are specific lead sources. If you can’t break down your remodeling leads and revenue by channel, you are just guessing. And that’s not good. This needs to be solved now. Or you’ll forever be guessing, pivoting and confused as to why you can’t scale your marketing.

Tactical Move

Start with this 4-step audit.

LTV (Lifetime Value)

Take your last 12 months of revenue from closed jobs ÷ total number of closed clients. Multiply this by your average gross margin.

Example: You did $3M in revenue across 25 projects. $3M divided by 25 projects gives you an average job size of $120,000. If your average gross margin across those projects is 30%, you’ll multiply $120,000 x 30% to get $36,000. This is what a customer is worth to you.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

Take your combined sales + marketing spend over the same time ÷ number of new clients.

Example: You spent $206,000 in sales and marketing to get those 25 projects. Take $206,000 divided by 25 to get $8,240. That’s what it costs you all-in to get a customer.  

LTV:CAC

Compare your LTV to CAC to identify how strong your business model is today.

Example: $36,000:$8,240 is 4.3:1. For every dollar you put into your business machine, you get $4.30 back. Not bad! Your benchmark should be at least 3:1 but the higher, the better!

ROI by Source

• Pull lead source and deal data from your CRM (HubSpot makes this easy).
• Track revenue by source and compare to spend on that channel.
• Focus on scaling what’s working and cutting what isn’t.

Once you understand your LTV:CAC ratio (target 3:1+), you can make confident decisions about marketing spend, pricing, and the design-build sales process.

2. Speed to Lead Is Still Criminally Underrated

The Mistake

Most remodelers assume prospects will “wait” because remodeling is a big decision. So, they wait a day (or more) to respond to new inquiries. By then, the lead has moved on or already booked a meeting with someone else.

Even worse: some remodelers still rely on a shared inbox or generic contact form notification buried in an admin’s email.

Please stop. Leads are a top priority. This is the lifeblood of your business. You are a marketing and sales business that happens to do remodeling. If you want to grow, you need to re-sell all of last year’s revenue AND MORE each year.

The Fix

Speed still wins. Remodelers responding to leads within 5 minutes are seeing 3–4x the conversion rate compared to those responding in 24+ hours. If you need more business, this should be a top priority.

Tactical Move

• Set up instant lead notifications via text, Slack, or mobile push. HubSpot and similar CRMs can easily do this.
• Assign ownership. One person should be on-call for new leads every weekday. They will likely have other priorities, but this is the TOP. If a lead comes in, they drop what they are doing to respond.
• Use a booking link. Make it easy for the lead to schedule a time without back-and-forth emails. This acts as an “instant” follow-up since the meeting can be self-booked.

Faster follow-up → more real sales conversations → more projects. It’s a numbers game for home remodeling leads.

3. Your Project Gallery Is a Ghost Town

The Mistake

Remodelers pour time and money into social media, SEO, and ads, but their website’s project gallery hasn’t been updated in years. Or worse, it’s just a photo dump with no context, pricing, or story.

Prospects want to imagine themselves in your past projects, but most galleries fall flat.

The Fix

Your portfolio isn’t just proof of work. It’s sales collateral. A great project spotlight page builds trust, answers questions, and pre-sells your process. It allows a prospect to see themselves in the project. It allows them to really understand the transformation that’s possible for them.

Tactical Move

• Add 1 new project spotlight this week using this structure.
  • Hero image (after photo)
  • Budget range
  • Client problem → your solution
  • Favorite feature or material choice
  • 1-sentence testimonial or client quote

• Repurpose that project:
  • Instagram carousel post (Before → After → Cost → Favorite Feature)
  • Short video (slideshow + voiceover)
  • Email spotlight
  • Blog: “How We Transformed a [Room Type] in [City] for $X”

Create and promote a project spotlight every month and your gallery becomes a conversion engine.

4. Most Marketing Plans Are Missing a Nurture Layer

The Mistake

Remodelers focus heavily on lead generation but drop the ball when it comes to staying in touch with people who don’t buy right away. Most sales pipelines are 80% “open but inactive.”

They assume, “if they’re serious, they’ll come back.” Spoiler alert: they won’t. It’s up to you to keep that line of communication open. Learning how to stay in touch, add value and becoming ever-present will bring you more business than you thought possible.

The Fix

The best-performing remodelers are creating nurture sequences that build trust and bring old leads back to life. We had one client land a $200K+ basement project from 1 simple email.  That’s what we call low-hanging fruit.

Tactical Move

• Segment your cold leads (e.g., not closed or contacted in 90+ days).
• Build a 3-part reactivation sequence:
  • Email 1: “Still Planning a Remodel?” + short story + soft CTA
  • Email 2: Recent project spotlight + timeline expectations
  • Email 3: FAQ format (“What’s the cost of waiting?”)
• Send manually or automate via your CRM.
• Bonus: Add a low-barrier re-entry CTA like “Grab a free 15-minute call” or “Download our Remodeling Planning Guide.”

Email re-engagement can bring lost revenue back to you just like it has for so many of our clients.

5. The Best Remodelers Are Becoming Media Companies

The Mistake

Many remodelers still believe “no one wants to see me on video.” So they avoid content creation or only post generic progress pics and stock tips.

Meanwhile, their competitors are showing up on camera, building trust, and becoming the go-to remodeler in their market.

The Fix

You don’t need to be an influencer. You just need to show up consistently and let people get to know you. Video builds authority, shortens sales cycles, and drives traffic across every channel.

Tactical Move

• Choose 1 homeowner FAQ you hear all the time.
• Record a 1–2 minute video on your phone answering it.
• Post it to:
  • YouTube Shorts
  • Instagram Reels
  • Facebook
  • Your website (embed it on a blog or relevant service page)
  • Your email list (“We recorded a quick video on this...”)

One video just covered five platforms and positioned you as the expert.  Don’t overthink it.  I’ve seen too many remodelers get stuck worrying about what equipment they will use or what to say.  It leaves them delaying getting started for years and years.

6. Sales Pipelines Are Clogged with “Thinking About It”

The Mistake

Remodelers send a proposal...and wait. Weeks go by. Ghosted. Crickets. But when we audit their sales process? There’s no urgency, no scarcity, and no structured offer.

The Fix

Stop delivering single-price “take-it-or-leave-it” estimates. Start guiding the decision with tiered options and soft deadlines.

Tactical Move

• Build a true packaged offer around your design phase.
  • For a flat fee of $X you get…
  • Add bonuses to your offer to increase the perceived value.
  • I do an entire session on how to increase your close rates by packaging up a compelling design offer at our in-person workshops. Learn more here.

• Use phrasing like:
  “We’re currently booking into [next month], so if you’d like to reserve a spot, we’d recommend deciding by [date].”
  
• Train your sales team to assume leadership in the conversation.

You're not just quoting a price. You’re guiding a decision. Helping clients to understand this distinction early positions you as their trusted expert.

7. Your Website Has a CTA Problem

The Mistake

“Contact Us” is the only next step on 90% of remodeler websites. That’s like proposing marriage on the first date. Most traffic isn’t ready for a call yet, but they are ready to engage.

The Fix

Give visitors more than one path. Not everyone wants to schedule a consultation right away. Meet them where they are.  Every page on your website needs multiple conversion opportunities at different buying stages.

Tactical Move

Add at least one mid-funnel CTA this week. Here are a few of our go-tos:

• Cost Guide Download – “See What People Are Paying for Kitchens in [City]”
• Project Gallery Tour Video – “Watch a 3-Minute Walkthrough of Our Favorite Remodels”
• Fit Quiz – “Are We a Good Fit for Your Project?”

Capture emails with these assets and start a nurture sequence. More conversion paths = more leads.  More leads = more sales.

Digital Marketing Success For Your Remodeling Business

Most remodelers are getting advice from the wrong places: fluffy webinars, passive Facebook groups, or industry insiders who are still practicing outdated tactics.

You don’t need more ideas. You need clear moves that create traction. These 7 are working in the field right now. Pick one. Implement it. Measure it. And if you're serious about growth, do all seven.

Ready to take action and accelerate your growth? Book a meeting and let's get ready to grow together. 👇