Most builders who say 'Facebook ads don't work' tested them once, got a handful of poor-quality enquiries, and stopped. The honest answer is: paid ads work brilliantly for the right kind of building company - and badly for everyone else.
Where Facebook ads work well
- Established companies with real project photography or video
- Average job values in the tens of thousands
- A defined service area where targeting can be tight
- Capacity to respond within minutes, not the next working day
- An owner willing to invest in the system, not just the ads
Where they struggle
- Brand new companies with no proof of work
- Very low-ticket jobs where margins can't absorb lead cost
- No qualification - every form fill goes straight to a busy salesperson
- No follow-up - warm enquiries who don't book first time get lost
What actually drives results
The ad itself is maybe 30% of the outcome. The other 70% is the creative quality, qualification flow and follow-up sequencing. That's why most in-house attempts struggle - they're optimising the wrong layer.