It's November, and in November the phone starts ringing. The question every Christmas light installer asks is how to get more leads, because leads are the life of this business. If you aren't getting leads, you'll go out of business.

This guide covers what's working right now, what isn't guaranteed, how to follow up when jobs don't close right away, and how to keep your pricing strong when the phone gets busy. If you want more strategies for growing a Christmas light installation business, start here.

What Happens in November

Installers who get leads in October are usually the ones already established in business. November is when most new customers call and ask to get their lights done. Most new installs roll in during November, especially if this is your first year. If you're in your second through fifth year, you'll get plenty in October, but you're usually putting up your existing customers' lights then anyway.

That's why you want all of your jobs done in October. You'll hit November with a fully open schedule and room for the new leads.

Thanksgiving Week Is the Big One

Leads roll in from now until Thanksgiving, and the biggest week of all is the week of Thanksgiving. Everyone who waited wants it done before the holiday. Keep that week as open as you can, because it's prime real estate. Save it for the customers who want to pay the most.

No Marketing Is Guaranteed

If you're hoping a marketing company will deliver leads, understand that no one can guarantee results. Installers have told stories like these:

• One spent a lot of money with a company for marketing and got very few leads.

• Another paid $4,000 to $5,000 for a website when starting out and got nothing.

• Three people spent $2,000, $3,000, and $4,000 on one recommended provider and got zero leads.

• Two people with a well-known Facebook ads provider put in $5,000 and got one or two jobs.

There is no secret sauce for getting a website ranked or getting better Facebook ads. Choose carefully, and don't assume a payment buys leads. Expect to try several things, because what works varies by area and person.

Build Your Website for Google EEAT

One installer replaced a template website, one of ten sites that looked alike, with a custom build. Within days of the new site going live on Thursday or Friday, five leads came in over the weekend.

A big part of the change was Google EEAT: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. The last letter matters most, because when people know, like, and trust you, they buy from you. What helps:

• Pictures of you and your crew doing the work

• After pictures, plus pictures showing why you do what you do

• Reviews that build up over time

You may not get a lot this year, but it compounds. AI is changing daily, so stay up on it. ChatGPT, Gemini, and the other AI tools call out businesses based on what they find, so you want to be easy to find and well-reviewed.

Get Listed Where AI Looks

You may need to do things you don't like. One is Yelp. Another is the Better Business Bureau, which costs about $600 a year. That is a good investment because it builds know, like, and trust, which is what ChatGPT, Claude, Google, Gemini, and Grok pull from.

Show Up in Google Maps

If you show up in Google Maps, you'll do much better. Nobody scrolls down more than one or two times, so organic rankings matter less. If your Google Business Profile has 20 or 30 reviews, you'll be at double the next highest in many areas, and that gets you calls.

Get More Google Reviews by Asking

You won't get reviews if you don't ask for them. Ask at every stage:

1. During the sales process. When you first show up, tell the customer your goal is to make them so happy that they want to give a five-star review and tell their friends.

2. At the end of the job. Ask, "Is there any reason why you wouldn't give me a five-star review?" Then hand over a tap card and tap it on their phone, or send a QR code or text link.

Don't feel bad about asking. They paid for a service and you did a great job.

Use Several Lead Sources at Once

Installers are getting leads from many places:

• Facebook groups: Some installers do very well just posting in local groups.

• Facebook ads and Google Ads: Facebook closing rates are picking up for some installers. Facebook leads are often swiping and thinking, "Ooh, that's pretty, I want that." Google Ads leads are typing "I want Christmas lights."

• SEO and your website

• Yard signs: Yard signs always do work.

• Nextdoor: It works well in some areas and poorly in others. Some are just complaint posts.

Put them all together and get them all working, and your phone rings more and more. When it rings that much, you stop worrying about charging less.

Mailers, Door Hangers, and Door Knocking

These are three channels many installers don't talk about, and they work.

Mailers (EDDM)

You can't throw a mailer together and send it once. Send it three times: one in October, one in the first week of November, and another later in November. A single mailing won't do well.

Door Hangers

Don't hang them once. Hit the same door three times within three or four weeks. The consistency matters: they see the door hanger, then your truck, then your yard signs. You want touch, touch, touch.

Door Knocking

Door knocking is cheap. It costs you time and getting out of your car. Knock every door, and get a yes or no from about 90% of the people before you leave the neighborhood. Most people don't answer, so go back. If you book one or two jobs, use them as references: "You know Ms. Jones up the street? We're doing her house."

Design for a Quick Glance

Keep signs, mailers, and door hangers simple. A piece has to catch the eye between the doorknob and the garbage can. Give it one clear-cut goal, not ten pictures. Many signs have QR codes and logos, and you can't even read the number.

For yard signs, MoneyBushes.com has a Canva template where you just change the phone number. A sign with only "Christmas lights" and a big phone number beats one with a bunch of extras. If your phone isn't ringing, check what's on your sign.

How Many Yard Signs to Put Out

If you're starting out and want leads, here is the plan: buy 1,000 yard signs for about $3,000 and put out 200 a week right now. If you go all year, put out 100 a week. At minimum, buy 500 and put out 100 every Friday night, no matter what. That will get your phone ringing.

Many people won't put out yard signs because they're scared someone will see them. Get that out of your head. You have to go after these jobs.

What Closing Rates to Expect

An installer with 40 signs out and four quotes sent, but no conversions yet, is normal. Expect one to two jobs out of every 10 quotes, which is 10% to 20%. So you may need 10 quotes to get one job, and sometimes 20 quotes to get a few more. Keep putting signs out.

Attract Bigger Jobs With the Pictures You Post

Look at what you post. If you only show small ranches 80 feet long, you'll attract small houses. If you post big homes with columns, trees, rooflines, ridge lines, and the whole nine yards, and talk about how much the customers loved it, you'll attract bigger jobs.

Raise Prices Instead of Working Harder

Customers who pay the least are your biggest pain. They want you back for every little thing and are never grateful, because to them $500 is a lot of money. For a customer whose house payment is more than $5,000, $5,000 is nothing.

One installer who has been in business for 28 years raised his prices. He lost 20 to 25 customers, but he got better customers and ended up making the same amount while doing 25 fewer jobs. That is the goal: get your average ticket up and do less work.

A dream scenario: 100 jobs at $5,000 is half a million dollars from only 100 jobs.

Installers who run on word of mouth alone tend to charge cheap because they don't have many leads and have to close every one. With a full lead pipeline, you can't afford cheap customers.

When You're Booked Up

If November is three-quarters booked or more, you have two choices. Hire another crew, or raise your prices a lot. You have only a few open slots, and you want those premium customers, not the cheap ones. If you also do gutter cleaning or other services and can't staff them, raise prices on both.

One installer who took this advice raised his prices and hit a $100,000 month in October. He didn't think he could do it before.

Don't Put Lights on Brick With Hot Glue

There is no way to put C9s on brick other than hot glue, and it isn't recommended. Two $4,000 installs can look the same on paper, but one takes four to six hours and the other takes 12 to 16 hours. The extra time often goes to fixing glue that fell off.

Skip the callbacks. People will pay for plenty of other work:

• Ground stake lighting

• Columns

• Bushes

• Trees

• Wreaths, including wreaths on windows

• Garland

Find wreaths, garland, and other supplies at Christmas Lights HQ.

For a Tall Commercial Building

For a three-story commercial building on brick, gluing is probably the best bet. You could also mount a strip of rubber or PVC pipe from top to bottom, fasten the lights to it with zip ties, and paint it the color of the brick. Don't glue to a painted surface like a dealership's, because you'll ruin the paint. Use something like a thick rubber instead. It's still hard, but it's an option.

Getting Your First 10 Customers

It's all about reps. It won't happen overnight. You need to know how to sell the magic, and many people don't even know what the magic is. It isn't about the bulbs.

Go out and knock on doors and pick up the phone. Every no is closer to a yes, and it's a numbers game. Learn what to say and what not to say.

Lessons From a First Year

One installer's first year was 39 jobs for about $40,000. He used the same marketing company another installer paid $5,000 for, and that installer got only one lead. The company kept saying the leads were coming before Halloween, then before Thanksgiving. What worked was a model of getting leads any way possible: Google Ads, Facebook ads, Thumbtack, and yard signs. Yard signs brought in about 25 of the 39 jobs.

His biggest regret was not learning to sell faster. The best fix is being coached by someone with a proven record of helping others, because what works for one person's personality may not work for yours.

Stay Fast and Close in Person

Get quotes out super fast. Don't take three, four, ten, or twenty hours. If you're going in person, sell it while you're there and don't come back empty-handed. Answer the phone, take action, and keep going.

When you need supplies, Christmas Lights HQ ships same day when orders come in before 2:00. Average delivery is two to three days, and about three or four days on the other side of the country. For more training, visit ChristmasLights.io.

When do most Christmas light leads come in?

Most new installs roll in during November. The biggest week is Thanksgiving week, so keep it open for premium customers.

What close rate should I expect?

One to two jobs out of every 10 quotes, or 10% to 20%. You may need 10 to 20 quotes to book a few jobs.

How many yard signs should a new installer put out?

Buy 1,000 signs and put out 200 a week now, or at least buy 500 and put out 100 every Friday night. Learn more at ChristmasLights.io.

What should a yard sign say?

Keep it simple: "Christmas lights" and a big phone number. Skip QR codes and logos so the number is easy to read.

How many times should I send a mailer or hang a door hanger?

Send mailers three times: in October, the first week of November, and later in November. Hang door hangers at the same house three times in three or four weeks.

Is door knocking worth it?

Yes. It's cheap. Aim to get a yes or no from about 90% of the doors before leaving a neighborhood, and use booked neighbors as references.

What should I do if November is mostly booked?

Hire another crew or raise your prices a lot so the remaining slots go to premium customers.

Can I put C9s on brick?

Only with hot glue, which isn't recommended because it causes callbacks. Offer ground stakes, columns, bushes, trees, wreaths, and garland instead. Find supplies at Christmas Lights HQ.

How do I get more Google reviews?

Ask during the sales process and at the end of the job. Ask whether there's any reason they wouldn't leave a five-star review, then tap a card on their phone or send a QR code or text link.

Does marketing guarantee leads?

No. Installers have paid thousands for websites and ads and received little. Build your website with EEAT in mind, collect reviews, and use several lead sources at once.