0:02
Welcome to Enformed Insights, the official podcast of Enformion.com. Our special guest today is Scott Gilman, who is the current Vice President of Operations at Adopt a Contractor, where he leverages his extensive experience in the Home Improvement and Pest Control Industries. Prior to this role, Scott held key positions at SE’s Home Improvement Products, Truly Nolan of America, and Home Depot. His background in these industry-leading companies has equipped him with a deep understanding of operations, customer service, and business development.
0:31
Hello again, everybody, and welcome to another edition of Informed Insights. Today, we have a very special guest, Scott Gilman of Adopt a Contractor. Scott, how are you doing today?
0:39
Scott: I’m well, Fred. How about you?
0:42
Host: I’m living the dream here in Chicago. I’m really looking forward to this discussion today—so many years of experience and what a background! I’d like to dig deeper into your history and also hear about what you’re doing today. But to start, can you tell us a little bit about your road to Adopt a Contractor?
0:57
Scott: I was in retail 35 years ago, working long hours, 24-hour days. I ran convenience stores, managed about 50 of them, got called out for every burglary, and thought, “There’s got to be a better way to do things.” So, I looked at home improvements. Sears had an opening; they were looking for a FastTrack manager. I started out in sales with them—great company. I worked my way up from small branch to large branch, district manager, regional manager, and, nine years later, ended up as their VP of Operations.
1:30
Host: That’s incredible. So you started on the end-user side, working with leads and understanding customer experience deeply. What came next after Sears?
1:43
Scott: Sears eventually sold that business, and I shifted over to Home Depot. I spent 13 years there, running their Southeast U.S. Home Improvements group for about four or five years. One day, they asked if I had experience in call centers. I hadn’t really, beyond overseeing a couple during my time at Sears. But they needed help with their call center in Tampa, so I stepped in. When I arrived, it was chaotic—about 60 agents taking all our calls, with the manager recently let go. We redesigned it, fixed it, and eventually scaled up to 1,200 agents across five locations.
2:39
Host: Impressive growth! And this was the start of a new phase in your career, right?
2:50
Scott: Yes, my six-month stint turned into five years. I eventually took over as TCPA Director, partly because I stumbled upon a white paper in 2013 and realized we weren’t in compliance. From there, I took on lead buying, got into lead aggregation, and marketing. This was an area I’d never delved into before, and it added a new layer to my experience—I’d gone from selling and installing leads to buying them.
3:42
Host: That’s quite a journey. So what eventually brought you to Adopt a Contractor?
3:55
Scott: After Home Depot, I was planning to retire, but Sears called me back to be their Director of Marketing. After seeing them through some challenging times, I retired for about three months. Then I met the team at Adopt a Contractor at a trade show, and they asked me to help them build their end-user market. Adopt a Contractor had been successful selling to companies like Modernize and Angie, but they wanted to start selling directly to end users, like Home Depot. I came on board to help build that.
4:55
Host: You’ve seen the lead generation industry evolve over many years. When did you start evaluating leads, and what’s the biggest change you’ve observed?
5:10
Scott: I’ve been in the lead business for 30 years, mostly generating leads ourselves—store leads, field leads, and so on. I got more involved in affiliate leads around 2013, which was also when I started with TCPA compliance. The biggest change since then? Definitely the increase in fraud. There are more bots and overseas players who don’t always play by the same rules as we do in North America. You have to filter carefully and know who you’re buying from.
5:40
Host: Great insights. So what is the mission of Adopt a Contractor, and how has it evolved over the years?
6:00
Scott: Adopt a Contractor started with four partners who aimed to create a better system for lead generation. They decided early on to focus solely on exclusive leads. Unlike shared leads, exclusive leads provide a unique opportunity to match the right lead to the right buyer. Over the past nine years, we’ve developed a proprietary AI system that allows us to profile each lead through hundreds of data points to find the right match. This has evolved significantly since the early days.
7:01
Host: It sounds like a sophisticated system. What feedback have you received from contractors who use your platform to find new clients?
7:15
Scott: Many contractors are skeptical at first, having tried multiple other lead providers. But we take their feedback seriously and make system improvements accordingly. For instance, we know that third-party leads won’t convert as well as leads generated directly by the contractors, but we work with them to improve their outcomes. One major West Coast buyer, for example, has told us we’re their top lead provider.
8:50
Host: You mentioned data earlier. What data points are contractors most interested in, and how does Adopt a Contractor leverage this data?
9:10
Scott: Contractors are interested in detailed disposition data. They want to know what happened with each lead—whether the customer was contacted, whether the lead converted to an appointment, and if it resulted in a sale. We also receive data from APIs, including homeowner info, property type, and income levels. Our data team analyzes all this feedback to help optimize the leads we send to each contractor, constantly improving their results.
10:50
Host: It seems that technology is a critical part of Adopt a Contractor. How has it played a role in enhancing the services you provide?
11:00
Scott: Technology is our backbone. We get around 12 million pings a day, which are essentially zip code and product requests. Managing that volume requires robust systems. Thanks to technology, we’re able to run the business efficiently with 30 people, not 300. We were early adopters of AI, and our proprietary tech has allowed us to manage leads and optimize for each client’s needs in real-time.
12:27
Host: Looking at the broader industry, what trends are you seeing in the home improvement and contractor space?
12:35
Scott: Home improvement is booming. It’s a nearly recession-proof industry—during downturns, people stay in their homes and invest in repairs instead of moving. And when the economy’s up, people are buying and renovating. The industry, now around $500 billion, is projected to grow toward $800 or $900 billion. It’s a stable field, and we’re committed to it as our core focus.
13:30
Host: How has demand for specific services changed over recent years, especially during and after the pandemic?
13:45
Scott: There was a dip after the initial pandemic boom, as people used lockdowns to improve their homes. Post-pandemic, the demand rebounded as the economy picked up. Overall, we’ve seen steady interest, especially in areas like windows, roofs, and HVAC.
15:07
Host: And they’ll stay around forever. We’ve never been a churn-and-burn company. We don’t want to have a call center that does nothing but call to try to find new consumers because you’ve burned through the old ones. We want to keep the same ones and build on that network.
15:20
Host: What advice would you give to a homeowner or business looking to start a new project in their search for the right contractor?
15:23
Scott: I’m going to go back 15 years. I’m not talking about lead generation here, but do your research as a consumer. Look at reviews, ask for advice from your neighbors, find out who they hired. Check out the contractor’s licenses, make sure they have proper insurance, and look them up on the Better Business Bureau. Once they start working on your home, you don’t have a lot of options—you’re kind of stuck.
15:56
Host: What has been the most rewarding aspect of working with Adopt a Contractor for you personally?
15:58
Scott: It’s a smaller company that cares about its people and customers, which is important to me. I could’ve retired three different times, but I just don’t enjoy it. All my friends drink and complain, and I don’t like to do either. I enjoy being in a positive environment where the goals are achievable, and we have fun. Recently, we hit a big goal, and the company took everyone out on a yacht for the day. Working in Miami for a company with that kind of upbeat, supportive atmosphere is great.
16:39
Host: What advice would you give to a younger listener just starting their journey in the business world?
16:42
Scott: Good question! I mentor a few people and often tell them to keep an open mind about their career. They might have an idea out of school, but really, learn from experience. Listen to those who’ve been around for a while, attend conferences, and get exposure to other businesses outside your own to broaden your perspective. We’re involved in various groups like TCPA, Reach Insurance, and the Marketing Coalition to get outside input and avoid tunnel vision. Also, have fun! Work to live, don’t live to work—balance is key.
17:55
Host: With the legislative changes enacted earlier this year and others potentially forthcoming, how has that affected your business? What advice would you give to businesses facing uncertainty around outreach?
18:01
Scott: We prepared as best we could based on what we thought the FCC might do, but they took an unexpected route. Although I understand the goal, the regulations have created some uncertainty. There are ongoing challenges from groups like the Insurance Marketing Coalition and the Better Business Bureau. If these regulations take effect, we’ll adapt. We’re exploring compliant solutions, like ping, pick, and post, and working closely with a large company on data solutions to protect consumers.
19:20
Host: Amazing. It sounds like you’re already making adjustments in anticipation.
19:23
Scott: Yes, we’re heavily moving into calls and focusing on organic traffic to our own website. If the regulations go into effect, we’re ready, although we hope for a delay so the FCC can review it. We’re aligned with the goal of reducing unwanted calls to consumers.
19:50
Host: Scott Gilman of Adopt a Contractor, thank you for joining us on the Enformed Insights podcast. We appreciate your expertise.
19:59
Scott: Thank you! I appreciate the opportunity.
20:03
Host: Thanks for listening to Enformed Insights. To learn more or listen to another episode, please visit Enformion.com.
