Ring towns around a real metro. Not downtown. Not a 2k void. Texas = phone, not SMS.
Smaller cities, not tiny markets.
Owner lives in the ring. Still sells into the metro.
Competition already exists. High-income houses in range.
Too small → “good old boys.” Everybody knows everybody. Marketing dies.
I like the smaller cities, not necessarily smaller markets. Dallas is a huge market. I don’t like the contractors inside of Dallas. I like the contractors outside of Dallas, but they’re still marketing into Dallas.
2026-04-22 · mid-market targeting
If you get too small, you’ve got good old boys. … 150,000 surrounding. That’s where you want to be — enough competition. I’m not looking for the $10,000 a month ads guys.
Same call · 50k city / 1M county still works if it isn’t Cedar City
North Dakota … everybody knows everybody. It’s impossible to do marketing up there. Not impossible, but it’s hard.
2026-01-26
Texas was the best state until the SMS. Most of my customers are from Texas and they’re amazing. … California, worst state.
2026-03-04 · 2026-04-22 · 2026-04-27 — call Texas; do not cold-text Texas
Target the city with the highest population and the highest income. Mirror where good contractors already win work.
2026-05-11 · ads geos (Fairfax / Virginia Beach type)
$499/mo only works where the owner already makes real money off expensive houses. Cheap markets produce cheap, painful clients.
Target … highest population and the highest income. … High income residential. Those people more times than not are C-suite or owner business.
2026-05-11 · Virginia Beach / Fairfax — not Harrisonburg 40k
The people that pay less money are going to be a bigger pain in your ass.
2026-04-20 · cheap retainers, not “loyal small towns”
Alabama leads are cheap.
2026-02-04 · Dan in chat; Balint didn’t argue. Same state shows up as “good old boy, no idea about computers” (2026-04-01) and a 55-year-old landscaper with a flip phone (2026-02-11).
These transcripts never say “never dial Missouri.” The filter is still income. Alabama is the named cheap/low-tech example. Treat Alabama and Missouri as default-off unless a suburb is obviously Fairfax-stock (don’t use Lee’s Summit / MO proper just because KC is nearby). Overland Park / Olathe are Kansas.
Same bucket as tiny broke towns: North Dakota / Cedar City — not enough money and everybody knows everybody.
No single “best.” Roofers pay more and are harder. Pest is easier and a referral machine. Cheap-to-enter trades are usually bad.
First pass
Second pass
Not the core list
Already in pattern: Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Cary, Raleigh, Tacoma, Vancouver WA, Boise, Spokane.
| City | Sells into | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Frisco / McKinney / Plano | Dallas | Outside Dallas, marketing into Dallas. High income, 1–5 person trades. Phone, not SMS. |
| The Woodlands / Katy / Sugar Land | Houston | Suburb owners, expensive housing, not downtown GC shops. Phone-only. |
| Round Rock / Cedar Park / Georgetown | Austin | 50–140k ring towns; county is huge. Avoid downtown Austin. Phone-only. |
| Marietta / Alpharetta / Roswell | Atlanta | High-income residential, real home-service competition. |
| Franklin / Murfreesboro | Nashville | Franklin = money suburb. Murfreesboro = 150k with enough competition. |
| Huntersville / Concord / Fort Mill, SC | Charlotte | Ring towns, growing housing. Fort Mill sits in a fat metro county. |
| Gilbert / Chandler / Peoria | Phoenix | High-income suburbs. Mesa is mixed — usable as a ring, not a tiny market. |
| Castle Rock / Parker / Arvada | Denver | Smaller cities on a rich metro. Skip 2k mountain towns. |
| Carmel / Fishers | Indianapolis | High-income suburbs, owner-operators. Midwest without ND isolation. |
| Overland Park / Olathe | Kansas City (KS) | Affluent KS suburbs. Skip the Missouri side of the metro as a default pull. |
| Fairfax / Leesburg / Woodbridge | DC | Fairfax-type income. Ring towns, not the District. |
| Apex / Holly Springs / Wake Forest | Raleigh | Next ring after Raleigh/Cary. Same county gravity. |
| Wesley Chapel / Brandon / Clearwater | Tampa | Suburban demand. Not Miami / California grind. |
| Puyallup / Everett / Hillsboro | Seattle / Portland | Same pattern as Tacoma and Vancouver WA — ring, not downtown. |
50k city, fat county — not Cedar City / North Dakota
One campaign per keyword. Exclude the downtown core.
Do not add: downtown Dallas / Houston / Austin / Atlanta / Denver. California. Isolated 2–5k towns. Alabama / Missouri as a default state pull. A Texas SMS blast.
Lookup for “average job?” / $499 break-even. Not a targeting list. Profit = gross / net (approx.).
| Trade | Ticket | Gross / net | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing | $8k–$15k replace; $500–$1.5k repairs | 35–50% / 8–15% | High-ticket; weather + insurance volume |
| HVAC | $400–$650 service; $8k–$14k installs | Svc 45–55%; install 25–35% / 12–20% | Recurring via maintenance; seasonal |
| Pest control | $150–$300 one-time; $100–$175/visit | 50–60%+ / 15–25% | Highest recurring LTV; plans ~80% of revenue |
| Plumber | $300–$500 service; $1.2k–$2.5k heaters | 35–55% / 12–20% | Emergency + flat-rate lifts tickets |
| Deck builder | $7k–$15k (avg ~$10k–$12k / 200–300 sq ft) | 35–45% / 12–18% | Adjacent home service; optional |
| General contractor | $15k–$50k+ remodels; $25k–$100k+ projects | 25–40% / 8–15% | Usually too big / long cycle vs 1–5 employees |
| Hot tub store | $7.5k–$12k installed | 25–40% / 10–15% | Retail — not the home-service ICP; don’t pull |