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Trades & Services·April 2026·5 min read

How a Solar and HVAC Company Cut Ad Waste and Lifted Lead Conversion

Albert Triolo, Managing Director of Gibson Promotions

Albert Triolo

Managing Director, Gibson Promotions · 20 years in marketing accountability

Key takeaways

  • Dynamic call attribution identified which channels drove high-intent callers, producing a meaningful lift in lead conversion.
  • Reallocating budget away from underperforming campaigns delivered a material reduction in ad spend without reducing call volume.
  • Call data helped refine sales scripts and improve how the team handled common objections.
  • Automated missed call alerts delivered a meaningful reduction in lost enquiries from the first month.
  • The full setup ran on existing infrastructure, with no new phone system or hardware required.

This is a case study based on a home energy efficiency company in Sydney running both solar installation and HVAC services. The name is not used here, but the numbers are real.

The challenge

The business was running Google Ads, SEO, and social media advertising at the same time. All three channels were generating traffic. Some of that traffic was calling. But the team had no way to connect a specific inbound call to the campaign that drove it.

The result was predictable. Marketing budget was allocated based on which channel the agency thought was performing, not which one was actually generating qualified phone enquiries. Leads were being lost to voicemail and ring-out with no follow-up process in place. The sales team had no visibility into where callers were coming from, so every conversation started cold.

Conversion rates were flat. Ad spend kept climbing. Nobody could explain why.

What we implemented

Step 1: Dynamic call attribution

The first step was assigning unique tracked numbers to each channel. Google Ads got its own number, SEO traffic got another, and each social campaign got its own. Dynamic Number Insertion was activated on the website, so calls from Google Ads also captured the exact keyword that preceded the call.

Within the first four weeks, the data showed clearly which channels were generating high-intent callers, which were generating browsers who occasionally called, and which were generating almost no phone activity at all despite reasonable click volumes.

Step 2: Ad spend reallocation

With attribution in place, the team identified several Google Ads campaigns that had been running for months with strong click-through rates but almost no inbound calls. The budget from those campaigns was reallocated to the keywords and audiences that were demonstrably generating conversations.

The result was a material reduction in total ad spend with no reduction in call volume. The same number of qualified enquiries came in at a lower cost, because the budget was now behind the campaigns that actually worked.

Step 3: Sales team improvement through call data

Call recordings were reviewed weekly. The sales manager identified patterns: callers who mentioned government rebates in the first 30 seconds converted at a higher rate when the rep addressed eligibility immediately. Callers asking about installation timeframes were more likely to drop off if given a vague answer.

Scripts were refined around those two sticking points. The team started addressing rebate eligibility and installation timing proactively rather than waiting to be asked. Conversion rates on handled calls improved as a direct result.

Step 4: Missed call recovery

Before the implementation, missed calls went into a voicemail box that was checked intermittently. Most callers did not leave a message. The business had no idea how many enquiries were being lost.

Automated missed call alerts were configured to fire immediately to the sales team when a call was not answered. An automatic SMS text-back also went to the caller within 60 seconds of the missed call, keeping the enquiry alive until the team could call back.

Within the first month, lost enquiries dropped meaningfully. Callers who had previously gone unanswered were being reached within minutes rather than hours.

Results

Across the four areas of the implementation:

  • Lead conversion lifted meaningfully, driven by better attribution and improved sales call handling.
  • Ad spend reduced materially as budget shifted away from campaigns that generated clicks without calls.
  • Lost leads decreased through the missed call alert and SMS recovery process.
  • The sales team had consistent call intelligence for every inbound conversation, reducing the number of cold-start calls.

None of this required a new phone system or a new CRM. The call tracking and demand recovery infrastructure ran on top of the existing setup. The business was up and running within a week of the tracked numbers going live.

If your business is in a similar position, running ads across multiple channels but unable to attribute phone calls to specific campaigns, book a free call audit. We will show you what your current call data looks like and where the attribution gaps are.

Frequently asked questions

Is call tracking relevant for both solar and HVAC, or just one?

Both. Solar and HVAC businesses typically run similar marketing mixes (Google Ads, Facebook, and organic search) and face the same attribution problem. Neither product sells online. Both require a phone call at some point in the sales process. Call tracking sits at that point and tells you which channel drove the conversation.

How long before call tracking data becomes useful?

Most clients have a usable data set within 4 to 6 weeks. That is enough call volume to see which channels are generating enquiries, which campaigns are driving high-intent callers, and where the missed calls are happening. Budget decisions based on that data tend to show results within the following 4 to 8 weeks.

What does the missed call recovery setup involve?

Missed call alerts are configured in the call tracking platform. When a call goes unanswered, an SMS or email goes to whoever handles follow-up. With demand recovery active, an automatic SMS also fires to the caller within 60 seconds. No new phone system is needed. It runs on top of the existing setup.

Can call data improve how the sales team handles enquiries, not just where they come from?

Yes. Call recordings show exactly what callers say, how the team responds, and where conversations drop off. For solar and HVAC, common drop-off points include price objections, installation timing questions, and rebate eligibility. Reviewing a sample of calls each week and refining scripts around those patterns directly improves conversion rates.

Want to see this in action?

Book a free call audit. Albert will show you how this applies to your business specifically.

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