One tradesperson per area.
Zero shared leads. Ever.
Looking for trade leads? The honest version of that product: the same enquiry, sold to ten companies at once, won by whoever rings first. We don’t sell that. We build the brand people go to when the gutter leaks, and when a real job passes our five published checks, it’s warm-referred to exactly one tradesperson in that area. If you hold the area, that’s you. Better odds than 1-in-10: it’s 1 of 1.
How a referral
reaches you
We build the brand
A consumer brand for your trade, with its own name and reputation. It’s the name people find the day the gutter leaks or the boiler gives up.
The homeowner comes to it
Someone with a real job engages. The brand replies in seconds and has the conversation your voicemail keeps missing.
Five checks pass
They confirm the job over SMS in their own words, state a timeline, and confirm nobody else is booked. Five checks, every referral.
It recommends you
The brand gives them one name: yours. They’re expecting your call before you make it.
SMS · confirmed in their own words
“Yes, back gutters are leaking over the door, want it sorted in the next 2 weeks. Not had anyone else out yet.”
What a referral arrives with
- The homeowner’s name and direct mobile
- The job, in their own SMS words
- Their stated timeline
- “Nobody else booked”, confirmed
- Consent on record
- Delivered in real time
The Standard
vs the directory
Every referral passes five published checks before it reaches you. Ask a directory for theirs. Then read the dated system record behind 19 referrals in five weeks.
| What matters | Shared-leads directory | OptiMAX |
|---|---|---|
| Exclusivity | The same enquiry pinged to five-to-ten firms. Whoever rings first wins; the rest paid to lose. | One tradesperson per area. The referral is 1 of 1, no second name, ever. |
| Where the job comes from | A job posted into a marketplace. You’re one listing among many, competing on quote price. | A consumer brand we own and run, the name the homeowner already went to when the problem hit. |
| Billing | Membership fees and credits, charged win or lose. | Pay only for referrals that passed five checks. Fails one → not sent, not billed. |
| Consent & compliance | A number passed around a panel. The homeowner never agreed to hear from you specifically. | Confirmed in writing, in their own words. They’re told your name and expect your call. |
| Contracts | Memberships, credit packs, lock-ins that outlive the jobs. | No retainer, no lock-in. Hold the area, take the referrals, release it when you stop wanting jobs. |
Trades we cover
Proof the model is real: Gutters, Surrey & borders is held. A live partner takes every gutter referral on that patch, and nobody else can. Every other trade and area hasn’t been opened yet, areas open one at a time, and the waitlist hears first. See who holds what on the coverage map.
Straight answers
How is this different from Checkatrade or Bark?
Those are directories: the homeowner posts a job, five-to-ten firms get pinged, cheapest quote usually wins, and everyone paid to be listed. We’re the opposite mechanism. Our brands recommend one company, the homeowner never sees a list, never gets a second name. You’re not competing on a marketplace; you’re the one that got vouched for. We’ve compared the models properly: is Checkatrade worth it, Checkatrade alternatives, Bark reviews from tradespeople and MyBuilder reviews, plus the definitions in shared vs exclusive leads vs referrals.
Why only one company per area?
Because the moment we send the same job to two of you, we’re a leads site with better fonts. One partner per area is what makes the recommendation real, the brand can say “call these people” and mean it. It also means we only make money when you can actually win the work. Scarcity isn’t the marketing; it’s the mechanism.
What if the referral is rubbish?
Then a check failed and you shouldn’t have been billed, flag it, we credit it, and we trace which check let it through. That’s not a goodwill gesture; the billing system enforces it. We publish the five checks precisely so “rubbish” is an objective call, not a negotiation.
How does a referral actually reach me?
In real time, the moment the fifth check passes. You get their name, their number, the job in their own SMS words and their stated timeline, and they’ve been told your company name. Ring while it’s warm; they’re expecting your call.
Can I just take my area now?
Areas open one at a time, when the brand behind them is ready to send real work, we don’t sell a patch we can’t feed. If your area is held, we tell you straight. If it hasn’t been opened yet, you join the waitlist and hear first when it does. What we won’t do is squeeze in a “second partner” anywhere. That’s the product.
Is there a contract or a retainer?
No retainer for referrals, no long lock-in. Hold your area, take the referrals, pay for the ones that passed the checks. If you stop wanting jobs, the winter’s booked solid, or you’re winding the van down, you release the area and the waitlist takes it. The exclusivity is the commitment: ours to you, and yours to answering the phone when the brand sends someone.
Is your area
still open?
One company per area, opened one at a time. If yours is held we tell you straight, and when it opens, the waiting list hears first.