Your 2026 Marketing Budget is Wrong (Here's Why)

Stop guessing with your marketing budget. Learn exactly how to calculate your 2026 spend based on gross profit and reverse-engineer the leads you actually need to grow your home service business. In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Sam Preston, CEO of Service Scalers, to dismantle the "one-size-fits-all" approach to marketing. If you are running an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, you know that dumping money into ads without a plan is a recipe for disaster. We break down why most operators don't have a lead problem—they have an execution problem. You’ll discover the "4 Bucket" framework for budgeting, why you must budget based on gross profit (not revenue), and how to decide when to kill a channel or scale it to the moon. Whether you are a new contractor or a $10M+ operation, this strategy works. 👇 What you’ll learn in this episode: - The Framework: Why marketing budgets must be based on gross profit, not top-line revenue. - Reverse Engineering: How to calculate spend by backing into your daily lead requirements. - Growth Stages: The critical difference between budgeting for a startup vs. a mature 10-year-old company. - The 4 Buckets: The definitive marketing budget categories every home service operator needs. 💼 Extra Special Thanks to Service Scalers! We’ve been partnering with Service Scalers to maximize our Local Service Ads (LSAs) and optimize our Google My Business profiles, and the results have been incredible. With hundreds of thousands in sales and 900+ calls in a single week, GMBs are now our top-performing organic lead channel. Want to learn how Service Scalers can do the same for you? 🔗Check Them Out Here: https://servicescalers.com/free-marketing-giveaway?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pros_12mo_free 💼 Big Reputation — Stop chasing reviews and watching competitors outrank you. Big Reputation is the AI-powered review + SEO platform built for home service pros. Automate review generation, respond with AI, track local SEO, and integrate with your CRM. Setup is free, and your first month’s on the house. 👉 Book your demo: https://www.bigreputation.ai/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=oao&utm_campaign=freeheatmap 💼Shoutout to Avoca AI! Looking to train your call center and improve technician performance? Avoca AI helps teams identify issues, improve call quality, and drive results from start to finish. 🔗 Schedule a demo: [https://www.getavoca.ai/partners/oao] 🔗 Connect with Us John Wilson: https://x.com/WilsonCompanies Sam Preston: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampreston/ #tags #hvacmarketing #plumbingbusiness #homeservices #marketingbudget2026 #contractortips #ownedandoperated #servicescalers