How Quality Deck Services Drove Premier Deck’s $1.8 Million Sales in 2023 | F&D Mastery Podcast #23

Steve niched down to only decks after his earlier remodeling company didn't survive the 2009 downturn, letting him build one repeatable system, train inexperienced young workers fast with shop training modules, and keep customer service consistent instead of juggling kitchens, baths and roofs.

He primarily installs TimberTech's AZEK PVC board for its 50-year warranty, clean fit-and-finish and rare callbacks; roughly 90% of his work is composite, about 10% pressure-treated, and only around one hardwood deck a year.

His biggest differentiator is a transparent, milestone-driven process: a 15-minute fit call, an on-the-spot ballpark range from an iPad app, a paid formal-proposal fee that weeds out tire-kickers, optional paid renderings, and daily photo logs so even second-home owners see every step.

Location and demographics make or break SEO: shifting focus from his tiny hometown to higher-population Rochester was an early quick win, because you need enough nearby people who can actually afford a $20,000-plus deck.

Nearly all of his quality leads come from Google search via SEO and pay-per-click, which outperformed a previous agency that kept shuffling him between reps, while Angi, Thumbtack and Yelp produced low-quality, price-shopping leads.

Reviews are fully systematized by his wife: a mailed gift package with grilling rubs and sauce, a thank-you card, warranty info and a QR review link, backed by a follow-up trickle campaign, grew him from about 12 reviews to 40-45.

JobTread is his favorite project-management and proposal tool: lightweight and all-inclusive at roughly $149 base plus $20 per user (about $250 a month total), far cheaper than Buildertrend or CoConstruct, and now integrating the full TimberTech catalog.