Leads don’t pay. Appointments do.
Retainer agencies get paid whether or not work comes in. Lead sites sell you names to chase, often the same job to several firms. I only get paid when a homeowner is actually sat with you.
Offers from other agencies
- How you payOften a monthly retainer, results or not
- What you getLeads: names and numbers to chase
- Who else gets itSome leads are shared with other firms
- Time-wastersPay per lead, even when it goes nowhere
- Tie-inSome want a minimum term
- How you payOnly appointments that happen
- What you getHomeowners booked into your diary
- Who else gets itOnly you, in your area
- Time-wastersNo show, no charge
- Tie-inMonth to month
Based on published offers, October 2026: UK agency retainers, pay-per-lead pricing, “semi-exclusive” leads sold by lead companies, and lead sites that share each job (Rated People up to 3 trades, Bark 2 to 5 responses). Not every agency works this way.
How it works
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Adverts go out to homeowners near you.
Facebook and Instagram adverts across your area, showing the work and a “from” price, so the browsers filter themselves out before they ever reach you.
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They answer a few quick questions.
Do they own the home? What do they want done, and when? What’s the postcode? Only serious homeowners get through.
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Texted and booked in five minutes.
Straight into your diary, with reminders before the day so they actually turn up.
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You only pay for the ones who show.
No show, no charge. Your job is to turn up, quote and close.
Three things you pay for. That’s it.
- One-off setup
- £297
- Your adverts, enquiry form, text follow-up, reminders and diary, built and live in about a week.
- Each appointment that happens
- A fixed fee
- Agreed before we start and based on what a job is worth to you. If the homeowner doesn’t turn up, you don’t pay.
- Your ad spend
- From £30 a day
- Paid by you, straight to Facebook, on your own card. You see every penny and none of it comes to me.
No retainer. No minimum term. Month to month, with 14 days’ notice either way.
One firm per trade, per area.
Your area is roughly 10 to 15 miles around you. Once a firm in your trade takes it, I won’t run adverts for anyone else in that trade there. Your enquiries are never shared or resold.
Who you’d be dealing with.
VarjoStrategy is one person, based in Glasgow, doing one job: putting homeowners who are ready to spend in front of firms like yours. I’m not a tradesman. I run the adverts, the follow-up and the bookings.
I’ll be straight with you: I’m new, and you’d be one of my first firms. That’s exactly why it’s set up so you only pay for appointments that happen. The risk is on me, and you deal with me directly.
Fair questions.
Which businesses do you work with?
Home improvement firms where a job is worth a few thousand pounds or more and a quote starts with a visit: kitchens, bathrooms, extensions, lofts, roofs, windows and doors, heat pumps, garden rooms, driveways and landscaping.
What counts as an appointment that happened?
The homeowner is there at the booked time and you carry out the visit or survey. If they don’t show, cancel more than 24 hours ahead, don’t own the home or live outside your area, you’re not charged.
How much is each appointment?
It depends on what a job is worth to you. Smaller trades start around £100 an appointment; bigger-ticket work like kitchens and extensions is more. We work it out together on the call so it’s a small slice of your margin, and it’s fixed in writing before anything starts.
Who pays for the adverts?
You do, directly. I set up an ad account for you and you add your own card, so Facebook bills you and you can see every penny. I’d start at about £30 a day and never change it without your OK.
Do you sell the same enquiries to other firms?
Never. Every enquiry from your adverts is yours alone, booked into your diary. That’s the point of one firm per trade, per area.
Is there a contract?
A short agreement, month to month, with 14 days’ notice either way. No minimum term.
How quickly could I be live?
Usually within a week of our call. The first week or two is quieter while the adverts learn, and I’ll update you every few days so you always know where things stand.
Do you do social media and content as well?
Yes. As well as booked appointments, VarjoStrategy runs social media management and content creation on its own: planning, filming and editing, posting and growing your pages. You can have it alongside the appointment service or by itself. Ask on the call and I’ll show you what it would look like for your business.
What if it doesn’t work?
Then you’ve paid the £297 setup and nothing else, because no appointments means no charges. You can stop with 14 days’ notice.
Let’s fill your diary.
Book a free 30-minute call. I’ll look at your area and your numbers and tell you honestly whether I can help. I only take one firm per trade in each area, so it’s first come, first served.