Lead Generation Plays: Giveaways, Free Offers, Deep Discounts and Face-Value Offers

The fastest way to get a new customer is to give them a reason to try you now.

That’s what these four plays do. Each one gives up a little profit up front to get a customer in the door. Then you earn it back, and much more, over the years that customer stays with you.

But here’s the catch. These plays only work if you know two numbers:

1. What it costs you to get one customer.
2. What one customer is worth over time.

If you don’t know those, you’re gambling. So before anything else, open the customer lifetime value calculator. It takes one minute.

Here’s the rule Alex Hormozi teaches: what a customer is worth over time should be at least three times what you pay to get them. If you can get a customer for $300 and they’re worth $3,000 in profit over five years, you can afford to give a lot away up front.

The 4 plays at a glance

Let’s go through each one.

Play 1: The giveaway

What it is: People enter for a chance to win something valuable. “Win a free roof.” “Win a year of lawn care.” “Win a new furnace.”

Why it works: A big prize gets attention. People share it. You get a list of names and numbers of homeowners in your area who want what you sell.

The real prize for you isn’t the winner. It’s everyone who didn’t win.

When to use it:

• You’re new and need to build a list fast.
• You want to get your name out in a new town.
• It’s your slow season and you want to fill the calendar for next season.

How to run it, step by step:

1. Pick a prize your best customers want. Not an iPad. A roof, a furnace, a year of service. This way, everyone who enters is a real prospect.
2. Make the entry free. No purchase needed. This matters for the law (see below).
3. Ask for name, phone, email, address and one question. For example: “How old is your roof?” That one question tells you who’s ready.
4. Set a short end date. Two to three weeks is plenty.
5. Promote it on Facebook, in local groups, on your trucks and with your past customers. Ask them to share.
6. Pick the winner fairly and post it (with their permission). This builds trust.
7. Call everyone who didn’t win within 48 hours with a consolation offer: “You didn’t win, but because you entered, we’ll give you $500 off any roof this month, plus a free inspection.”

That last step is where the money is. Most owners skip it.

Example: Picture a roofing company in Lucas County running “Win a Free Roof” in March. A few hundred homeowners enter. Some say their roof is over 20 years old. Those are the people the owner calls first with a free inspection and a “runner-up” offer that ends April 30.

Watch out:

• Keep it free to enter. In Ohio, a drawing with a prize, chance and a required purchase can be an illegal lottery. If you require a purchase to enter, talk to a lawyer first.
• Write short, clear rules: who can enter, end date, how the winner is picked, what the prize is.
• Don’t promise to sell their info. Only use it to contact them about your own services.

Play 2: The free offer

What it is: Something truly useful, for free, with no catch. A free inspection. A free second opinion. A free estimate within 24 hours. A free guide or checklist.

Hormozi calls this a “lead magnet.” It’s a small, free thing that solves a narrow problem and naturally leads to the paid thing.

Frank Kern calls it giving “results in advance.” You help them before they pay you. That builds trust faster than any ad can.

Why it works: “Free” lowers the risk to zero. And while you’re there, you can show the homeowner a real problem with photos. Most people who see their own problem want it fixed.

When to use it:

• Your service is big or scary to buy (roofs, foundations, HVAC, trees).
• People don’t know they have a problem until someone shows them.
• You’re good at explaining things in person.

Great free offers by trade:

• Roofing: Free roof inspection with photos and a written report.
• HVAC: Free system check or a low-cost tune-up.
• Tree service: Free tree health check before storm season.
• Basement waterproofing: Free moisture check.
• Lawn care: Free soil test or lawn analysis.
• Pest control: Free inspection with a written plan.
• Gutters: Free gutter and downspout check.

How to run it, step by step:

1. Make it specific. “Free 20-point roof inspection with photos” beats “free estimate.”
2. Give it a real value. “A $150 inspection, free this month.” (Only if you really charge for it sometimes.)
3. Make it fast. “We’ll be out within 48 hours.”
4. Deliver it well. Show up on time. Take photos. Explain in plain words.
5. Give a written report with photos and options. Good, better, best.
6. Make one clear offer at the end, with a reason to act now.
7. Follow up on day 1, 3, 7 and 14 if they don’t decide.

Watch out:

• Tire-kickers. Some people just want free stuff. Ask 2 or 3 questions before you book. “Do you own the home?” “When are you hoping to get this done?”
• Never invent problems. It’s wrong, it’s illegal, and in a small town it’ll ruin you. Show what’s real.

Run the numbers in the free offer calculator before you start.

Play 3: The deep discount

What it is: A big discount, usually on a small first job, to get a new customer in the door. “First lawn cut $19.” “Furnace tune-up $49.” “First pest treatment half off.”

Some businesses lose money on the first sale on purpose. Costco has sold its hot dog and soda combo for $1.50 for decades. They don’t make money on the hot dog. They make money on the membership and everything else in your cart.

Why it works: A low price on a small job is an easy yes. Once you’re at the home, you earn trust. Then you can offer the bigger, more profitable work.

When to use it:

• Slow seasons. For example, HVAC in spring and fall, or roofing in winter.
• You have a clear next step to sell (a plan, a repair, a bigger job).
• You can do the discounted job fast, so it doesn’t eat your schedule.

How to run it, step by step:

1. Discount a small first step, not your main job. A $49 tune-up, not 30% off a new furnace.
2. Add a limit. “First 30 homeowners.” “Through March 31.”
3. Plan the next step before you start. What will you offer at the visit? A maintenance plan? A repair?
4. Train your tech to look for problems and offer options, without pressure.
5. Track it. How many came in? How many bought more? What did they spend?

Watch out:

• Discounts eat profit fast. If your margin is 35% and you give 10% off, you must sell 40% more jobs just to make the same profit. Check it in the discount calculator.
• Don’t train people to wait. If you run a sale every month, nobody pays full price.
• No fake “was” prices. The FTC’s pricing guides and Ohio’s consumer law say a “regular price” must be a real price you actually charged.

Play 4: The face-value offer

What it is: The customer pays a set amount now and gets that much (or more) in credit to use later. For example, “Pay $100, get a $200 credit toward any service.” Or a gift card sale: “Buy a $500 gift card for $400.”

Why it works: It feels like free money to the customer. And it gives you cash now plus a customer who has a reason to come back.

The trick is that people who prepay are serious. They’ve already put money in. They’re very likely to show up and buy.

When to use it:

• Before your busy season, to pre-book the calendar. A lawn company can sell spring credits in February.
• Around the holidays, as gifts. “Give Dad a gutter cleaning.”
• When you need cash flow for a truck or a new hire.

How to run it, step by step:

1. Pick a credit that’s easy to use. Toward any service, or toward a specific one.
2. Make the math look great but stay safe. If your margin is 50% on a service, a $100-for-$200 credit still covers your costs.
3. Set an expiration date if the law allows it for your type of offer, and print it clearly. (Gift card rules differ from promo credits. Check before you sell gift cards.)
4. Keep a list of every credit sold, who bought it and how much is left.
5. Remind people to use it. Credits nobody uses don’t bring you repeat customers.

Watch out:

• Track everything. A credit is a promise. Keep a simple spreadsheet.
• Don’t oversell. If you sell 200 credits and can only handle 50 jobs a month, you’ll have angry customers.

Which play should you run?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I need a list of names fast? Run a giveaway.
• Is my service scary or expensive? Run a free offer, like an inspection.
• Is it my slow season? Run a deep discount on a small first job.
• Do I need cash now and a full calendar later? Run a face-value offer.

You can also stack them. Run a giveaway, then give everyone who didn’t win a free inspection plus a runner-up discount.

The 5 rules every play needs

Dan Kennedy has rules for direct response marketing. Here’s how they apply to every promotion you run:

1. There’s always an offer. Say exactly what they get.
2. There’s a reason to act now. A deadline or a limited number.
3. There are clear steps. “Call this number” or “Fill out this form.” One step, not five.
4. You track it. Know how many responded and how many bought.
5. You follow up. Most of the money is in the follow-up.

If a promotion is missing any of these, fix it before you spend a dollar.

Never stop

The owners who win don’t run one promotion a year. They always have something going. When one play ends, the next one starts. Read Always Be Prospecting for how to build that into your week.

And remember: a play gets the customer in the door. Your follow-up, your work and how you treat them decide if they stay for life. That’s covered in Retention and Ascension.