| Today, I'm sharing something extremely important about your marketing team… | Don't rush to hire an in-house marketing manager just because you're frustrated with your agency. Hire one only when marketing complexity and spend justify it, and when the role is clearly about owning budget, speed, and accountability, not "doing everything." | When done right, it can unlock operational leverage. But when done wrong, it can strangle growth. | Below, I share my thoughts on when and why to make (or not make) this hiring decision. | PS: my "ultimate home service marketing guide" will transform the way you think about this all-important task. |
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| | Check out these resources before we get started… | |
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| | To Hire or Not to Hire | This week's newsletter tackles one of the most misunderstood decisions in home service growth: when to make your first marketing hire. | It breaks down why owners feel the pull to bring marketing in-house, what actually justifies that move, and why hiring too early often makes performance worse, not better. The focus is on spend, complexity, and speed, not frustration with agencies. | It also clarifies what that first marketing role should truly own, where owners set unrealistic expectations, and why customer acquisition remains an executive responsibility even after marketing is delegated. |
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| Get the RIGHT Help | BlueBreeze AC was growing fast, but 40% of their invoices were overdue and bills were all over the place. The owner knew she needed help, just not another local hire. | Quick Staffers placed a remote AR/AP clerk with HVAC experience. Within 90 days: | • Overdue receivables dropped 53%
• On-time bill payments improved 72%
• $28,000 in cash was freed up for growth | The work got done. The books got clean. The owner got her time back. | If AR, AP, CSRs, or admin work are slowing your operation down, Quick Staffers helps you hire trained remote staff who already know home service. | |
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| | | | When an In-House Marketing Hire Makes Sense | Many owners assume hiring a marketing manager is the natural next step once revenue starts climbing. In reality, the decision has far less to do with company size and far more to do with marketing complexity. | If growth is still coming from one or two simple channels, adding headcount usually slows things down. Marketing at this stage is not complicated. It is expensive, and it works as long as spend is managed and leads are flowing. | An in-house hire starts to make sense when multiple channels are running at once, speed of execution matters, and the owner is spending too much time reacting to a light board instead of proactively managing demand. At that point, the role is about owning budget, coordinating agencies, and making fast adjustments to keep leads coming in. | The key shift is understanding that this hire does not replace agencies or magically fix performance. It exists to create focus, improve speed, and hold every marketing dollar accountable. |
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| | | | Follow the Numbers | Marketing hiring decisions start to break down once dollars get real. | Early on, many operators are spending around $8,000 per month on marketing. At that level, adding a full-time salary immediately starves lead flow and creates more risk than upside. | The math begins to shift as spend climbs into the tens of thousands per month. | When marketing budgets reach roughly $80,000 to $90,000 monthly, agency fees alone can approach $8,000 to $9,000 at a 10% rate. | At that point, the question becomes whether internal talent can manage spend more efficiently while still relying on agencies for specialized execution. | Revenue benchmarks also matter. Under $5 million, marketing remains relatively straightforward and can often be scaled by increasing spend in proven channels. | As businesses move into eight figures, complexity increases, channels multiply, and budget missteps become far more expensive. | The strongest signal is not revenue, but concentration. When one person is effectively responsible for managing six-figure monthly budgets, multiple agencies, and daily lead performance, the need for a dedicated marketing manager becomes operational, not optional. |
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| | | How to Decide | This decision is not about being annoyed with your agency. It is about whether your marketing has become too expensive, too fast-moving, and too multi-channel to manage reactively. | Use this step by step checklist to decide. | Start with the reason: If your primary reason is frustration, pause. The best reasons are control, speed, and focus.
Check your spend level: If your total marketing spend is around $8,000 per month, adding a salary usually leaves too little for leads.
Look at complexity: If growth still comes from one simple move like spending more on LSAs, you do not need a hire yet.
Audit your execution speed: If it takes days to make basic changes like offers, landing pages, budget shifts, or follow-ups, you have a speed problem.
Measure owner involvement: If you or your partner are filling the board daily, managing agencies, writing SMS and email campaigns, and moving budgets around, marketing is consuming executive bandwidth.
Run the percentage test: Estimate what you pay in agency fees as a percentage of spend. If you are paying 10% to 20%, the question becomes whether hiring can beat that efficiency without sacrificing results.
Reality check the "one person" myth: If your plan is to hire one person to do SEO, PPC, social, content, video, emails, and everything else, that plan breaks. One person cannot replace multiple specialists.
| Green lights that mean it is time | You need faster iteration than an owner can provide. You want control over priorities and response time. You need focus because marketing is changing daily. You are running multiple channels and campaigns consistently. You have meaningful budget that requires real oversight.
| Red flags that mean it is not time yet | Your plan is "hire a marketing manager because the agency is annoying." Your spend is low enough that a salary would crowd out lead spend. You are still mostly winning by buying more of one channel. You expect one hire to replace an entire agency stack.
| What the role should own if you hire | Budget control and performance shifts. Speed to execution on changes and campaigns. Agency accountability with clear targets. Lead flow visibility so you are not reacting when the board is already light.
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| | | | Keep Your Eyes Open | Here are some of the most common mistakes that cause owners to hire too early, hire the wrong role, or keep marketing stuck in the owner seat: | Hiring out of frustration instead of need Starving lead spend to fund a salary Assuming one person can replace multiple specialists Bringing on a coordinator to manage six-figure budgets Waiting until the board is empty to react Letting agencies run execution with no internal owner Confusing branding or design skill with demand generation Expecting a hire to magically fix marketing without clear accountability
| If marketing only works when the owner is watching it daily, it is not a system. | Also, watch my video on common marketing mistakes that will keep your company under the $10M mark. |
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| | Build a Marketing Engine That Fills the Board | If you want a marketing plan you can actually run week to week, Booked Solid is for you. | Service Scalers is hosting a 2-day marketing workshop at Wilson's HQ in Akron, OH (March 3–5, 2026) covering paid, organic, traditional, KPIs, lead handling, and your 90-day plan. | Only 30 seats. Grab yours now and use coupon code BOOKEDEARLYBIRD to save $500. | |
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| | | Your next move isn't necessarily to hire an in-house marketing manger. It's to understand the pros and cons of doing so, thus allowing you to make an informed decision. |
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| | |  | What Home Service Business Should You Start in 2026? |
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| Apple | Spotify | YouTube | What do you think about today's "Clicks to Calls" newsletter? | |
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| 👊 John | Disclosure: Some of the content and links in this newsletter are sponsored or affiliate links, which means we may receive payment or earn a commission if you click through or purchase. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own. |
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