What Happens After You Sign Up: The Contractor Bear Onboarding Process

Signing up with a marketing agency can feel like a leap of faith. You commit to a monthly investment, hand over your brand, and hope something good happens. The uncertainty between “I signed the contract” and “I’m getting leads” is where most agencies lose trust — because they leave you in the dark.

We do not do that. Here is exactly what happens from the moment you sign up with Contractor Bear, step by step, with real timelines. No surprises, no black boxes.

Day 1: Welcome and Account Setup

Within one hour of your payment processing, you receive:

• Welcome email with your client portal login, onboarding calendar link, and a list of what we need from you
• Onboarding questionnaire — a detailed form covering your business details, service offerings, service area, target customers, competitive advantages, and marketing history
• Access request list — the accounts and logins we need to get started (Google Business Profile, existing website if applicable, social media accounts, CRM access for revenue share tracking)

What we need from you on Day 1:

• Complete the onboarding questionnaire (takes 15-20 minutes)
• Grant access to your Google Business Profile
• Provide CRM access (Jobber, ServiceTitan, FieldEdge, etc.) for revenue attribution
• Share any existing brand assets (logo, photos, brand colors)

We know you are busy running your business. The questionnaire and access grants are the only significant time investment we ask of you during the entire onboarding process. Everything else, we handle.

Days 2-3: Kickoff Call and Strategy Session

We schedule a 45-60 minute kickoff call with your dedicated account manager. This call covers:

Business deep dive. We go beyond the questionnaire — understanding your highest-margin services, your ideal customer profile, your competitive landscape, and your growth goals. A plumber who wants to grow water heater replacements needs a different strategy than one focused on drain cleaning volume.

Competitive analysis review. Before the call, our team has already analyzed your top 5-10 competitors: their Google rankings, review profiles, website quality, ad presence, and content strategy. We share this analysis and discuss where the biggest opportunities exist.

Strategy alignment. Based on your goals and our analysis, we outline the specific marketing strategy for your first 90 days. This includes which channels we will activate first, what content we will create, and realistic lead projections.

Revenue share setup. We walk through exactly how revenue attribution works — how we track which leads came from our marketing, how revenue is calculated, and when revenue share is invoiced. Full transparency from day one. For more on how this model works, read our article on revenue share marketing explained.

Days 3-10: Website Build

Your custom website goes into production immediately after the kickoff call. Here is what we build and how long each component takes:

Days 3-5: Design and structure. We design your homepage, service pages, and contact page based on your brand, your services, and proven conversion patterns from our work with hundreds of contractors. You receive a design preview for approval before we proceed.

Days 5-8: Content creation. We write unique, SEO-optimized content for every page — not template text shared with other clients. Your service descriptions, about page, and city-specific content reflect your specific business, service area, and competitive advantages.

Days 8-10: Technical build and launch. We build on the Astro framework with Tailwind CSS for maximum speed and SEO performance. Your site is optimized for Core Web Vitals (90+ PageSpeed score), mobile-first design (75% of traffic is mobile), and structured data (schema markup for local SEO).

Total pages at launch: 20-100+ depending on your package tier. Starter clients get core pages. Growth and Dominate clients get full city-specific landing page buildouts. To understand the tiers, see our packages comparison.

You keep the website. If you ever leave Contractor Bear, the website transfers to you. We do not hold your digital assets hostage. Your website is yours.

Days 5-10: Google Business Profile Optimization

While the website is being built, our local SEO team fully optimizes your Google Business Profile:

• Complete profile audit and optimization — business description, service categories, hours, attributes, and service area
• Photo upload — we add professional-quality photos (or optimize the ones you provide) for your office, team, vehicles, and completed work
• Google Posts setup — weekly Google Posts scheduled for the first 4 weeks
• Q&A section — we populate the Q&A with common customer questions and expert answers
• Review response — we respond to all existing reviews that have not been addressed

GBP optimization alone can increase your map pack visibility by 30-50% within the first month. For background on why this matters, see our Google Business Profile guide.

Days 10-14: Marketing Channel Activation

With your website live and GBP optimized, we activate your paid channels:

Google Local Service Ads (All Packages)

• Background check and license verification initiated (this can take 1-3 weeks depending on Google’s processing time)
• LSA profile configured with your services, service area, and budget
• Once approved, LSAs begin generating leads immediately

Google Ads (Growth and Dominate Packages)

• Campaign structure built based on your highest-value services
• Keyword research completed and negative keyword lists implemented
• Ad copy written and approved by your account manager
• Landing pages connected (service-specific pages from your new website)
• Conversion tracking configured for both phone calls and form submissions
• Campaigns launched with conservative initial budget, then scaled based on performance

SEO Campaign Launch (All Packages)

• Technical SEO audit completed and issues resolved
• Content calendar created for the first 90 days
• Local citation building initiated (50+ directories, industry sites, and local listings)
• Blog content production begins (2-4 posts per month depending on package)

For context on the difference between these channels, see our Google LSA vs. Google Ads comparison.

Week 3-4: First Results and Optimization

By the end of week 3, most clients are seeing their first leads from the marketing channels we have activated:

Google LSAs (if approved): First leads typically arrive within days of approval. Lead volume ramps over the first 2-4 weeks as Google’s algorithm learns your profile.

Google Ads: First leads arrive within 3-7 days of campaign launch. The first 2 weeks are a learning period — we monitor performance closely and optimize bidding, keywords, and ad copy based on early data.

Google Business Profile: Increased visibility in map pack searches begins showing within 1-2 weeks of optimization. Call and direction request volume increases measurably.

SEO: This is the long game. You will not see significant organic ranking changes in the first month. Content is being created, citations are being built, and the foundation is being laid. SEO results typically begin showing meaningful movement in months 2-3 and compound from there. For realistic timelines across all channels, read our marketing results timeline.

Ongoing: Monthly Reporting and Optimization

After onboarding, you receive:

Weekly lead updates. A summary of new leads, their source, and their status in your pipeline.

Monthly performance reports. Comprehensive reports covering: leads by channel, cost per lead, revenue attributed to marketing, SEO ranking progress, review growth, and website analytics. These are real numbers, not vanity metrics.

Monthly strategy call. A 30-minute call with your account manager to review performance, discuss strategy adjustments, and plan for upcoming seasonal opportunities.

Continuous optimization. We do not set and forget. Google Ads campaigns are optimized weekly. Content is published on schedule. Reviews are monitored and responded to. Your marketing runs like a machine — and we are the mechanics.

The Onboarding Timeline Summary

From signup to first leads: 2-3 weeks for most clients.

What We Ask of You

Our goal is to minimize the time you spend on marketing so you can focus on running your business. After the initial onboarding (questionnaire + kickoff call = about 2 hours total), here is what we need from you monthly:

• 30 minutes: Monthly strategy call
• As-needed: Approve content or design changes (we send for approval and proceed if we do not hear back within 48 hours)
• Ongoing: Close the leads we send you (this is the most important part)

We handle everything else. Content creation, ad management, SEO, review management, reporting — all of it.

Ready to Get Started?

Now you know exactly what happens when you sign up. No mystery, no waiting, no wondering what you are paying for. We move fast, communicate clearly, and start generating leads within weeks — not months.

See our pricing and packages or schedule a call to discuss which package fits your business. Whether you are a plumber ready to grow or an HVAC company in Houston, the sooner we start, the sooner the leads arrive.