Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast

Nextdoor Marketing for Contractors: The Local Referral Engine for Plumbing, HVAC & Home Services

Dec 23, 2025

Join Sam Preston, CEO of Service Scalers and marketing guru for home service businesses, as he reveals the untapped potential of Nextdoor. Discover why authentic storytelling outshines salesy ads and how small operators harness community trust. Learn about the three effective strategies for marketing on Nextdoor, from organic posts to neighborhood engagement. Sam shares insights on turning technicians into content creators and why local authenticity trumps bigger brands. Key takeaways to transform your approach to local marketing await!

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INSIGHT

Nextdoor Is A Referral Engine

Nextdoor functions more like a digital referral engine than a traditional ad platform because neighbors ask for recommendations frequently.
Sam Preston and John Wilson note high-intent requests for trades show clear local demand.

ANECDOTE

One-Truck Plumber Winning With Daily Posts

Sam tells of a one- or two-truck plumber who posts daily job photos and treats Nextdoor like his public Instagram.
His simple before-and-after posts drive lots of comments and requests to come out to customers' houses.

ADVICE

Post Narrative, Not Coupons

Post narrative, less-salesy content and before-and-after job photos to match the recommendation-seeking intent.
Avoid overt coupons or hard-sell ads because neighbors want social proof from real people.

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In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Sam Preston, CEO of Service Scalers, to break down one of the most overlooked (and misunderstood) marketing channels in home services: Nextdoor.

They unpack why Nextdoor feels annoying—but works incredibly well when used the right way. From neighborhood recommendation posts to organic storytelling, this platform behaves less like Google Ads and more like a digital referral engine.

John and Sam discuss why salesy ads and coupons usually flop, while real-world job photos, personal narratives, and community-driven content quietly generate high-intent leads. They also explore how small operators are winning big by treating Nextdoor like a mix of Google Business Profile + Facebook Groups, and why larger companies struggle to replicate that authenticity.

The conversation covers the three ways to win on Nextdoor (ads, organic posting, and commenting), common mistakes contractors make, and how operators can turn technicians into content creators to scale neighborhood trust—without blowing up their marketing budget.

If you’re looking for more phone calls, higher close rates, and marketing that actually feels like referrals—this episode breaks down how to think about Nextdoor the right way.

What You’ll Learn

Why Nextdoor behaves more like referrals than traditional lead gen
The three ways to market on Nextdoor (and which ones actually work)
Why organic, narrative posts outperform coupons and ads
How small, local operators beat larger brands on trust
The role of social proof in neighborhood-driven platforms
How to turn field techs into authentic content creators
The biggest mistakes that get contractors ignored—or kicked off

Host: John Wilson

Guest: Sam Preston

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💼 Shoutout to ReferPro

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John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

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