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Owned and Operated Growth

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

📅 January 27, 2026 ⏱️ 48:02 🎤 John Wilson, Sam Preston

Chapters

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  • 0:00
    Marketing Budget Intro
    The hosts introduce the topic of marketing budgeting for 2026, emphasizing the importance of strategic spending.
  • 0:27
    Gross Profit vs. Revenue
    John Wilson argues that marketing budgets should be a percentage of gross profit, not revenue, due to varying gross margins across businesses.
  • 1:22
    Marketing as Flexible Cost
    The discussion shifts to viewing marketing as a flexible cost rather than a fixed overhead, allowing for dynamic adjustments based on performance and market demand.
  • 2:17
    How Many Leads Needed?
    Sam Preston introduces the core budgeting question: 'How many leads do you need a day?' as the starting point for any marketing strategy.
  • 3:01
    Marketing Budget Buckets
    The hosts outline four to five buckets for marketing budgets: what worked, wasted spend, discovery, emergency, and investment for future growth.
  • 3:38
    Beyond Lead Problems
    Sam challenges the common belief of having a lead problem, suggesting that operational issues like booking rates or sales effectiveness are often the real culprits.
  • 5:20
    Budgeting for Testing
    The discussion covers how to allocate a 'discovery budget' for testing new marketing channels and campaigns, emphasizing smart spending and avoiding spreading budgets too thin.
  • 6:26
    Kill vs. Scale Framework
    A 'kill vs. scale' framework is introduced to evaluate marketing tests based on lead volume, sales conversions, and positive ROI (aiming for 5x or more).
  • 7:24
    Emergency Budget & Action
    The hosts discuss the importance of an 'emergency budget' and actionable steps for when the call board is empty, including immediate outbound efforts.

Speakers

J
John Wilson
Host
S
Sam Preston
CEO of Service Scalers

Key Takeaways

✦

Base your marketing budget on a percentage of gross profit, not revenue, to ensure financial health and realistic spending for your specific business margin.

✦

Determine the exact number of leads you need daily to fill your technician's schedules, as this number is the foundation for all marketing decisions.

✦

Categorize your marketing budget into 'what worked last year,' 'wasted spend,' 'discovery for new channels,' 'emergency funds,' and 'future investments' to optimize allocation.

✦

Address operational inefficiencies like low booking rates or poor sales performance before increasing marketing spend, as these are often mistaken for a 'lead problem.'

✦

Implement a 'kill vs. scale' framework for testing new marketing channels: ensure 100 leads, confirm a sale, and achieve a minimum 5x ROI before scaling.

✦

Maintain an 'emergency budget' or action plan with clear, immediate steps for when your call board is low, leveraging both marketing spend adjustments and direct outreach (e.g., SMS campaigns, outbound calls).

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