What's Inside:
- ZIP scoring formula and methodology
- Spreadsheet template with worked examples
- Tier A/B/C classification rules
- Promote/demote decision trees
- Quarterly review process
- Meta + Google targeting setup instructions
Prepared by: Richard Butts
Founder, Groundbreakers Digital
Most contractors target "25-mile radius" or "our county" with no margin analysis, no booking rate tracking, no performance measurement. They spend the same budget on ZIP codes where they close 15% of estimates as ZIPs where they close 45%.
Note: Territory targeting improves efficiency, but your CPBE is still driven by creative + offer + intake speed. This toolkit fixes where you spend—not how fast you follow up.
This toolkit shows you how to identify your top-performing territories and focus 80% of your ad budget there.
- Tier A ZIP list (your top 10 profit zones)
- Tier B ZIP list (next 5-10 testing grounds)
- Tier C exclusion list (everywhere else you'll avoid)
- Meta + Google targeting allowlists (copy/paste ready)
- Quarterly review process (promote winners, demote losers)
Landscape, Snow, and Maintenance business owners who want to stop radius sprawl and focus their budget on the specific neighborhoods where they generate the highest profit.
- Initial scoring: 60-90 minutes
- Quarterly reviews: 30 minutes
If you want to build your Tier A/B/C lists TODAY, follow this process:
Pull your last 50 closed projects OR last 12 months of closed projects (whichever gives you more data).
Required fields:
- Project ZIP code
- Total project revenue
- Direct costs (materials + labor + subs)
- Date project closed
- Source (how they found you: referral, Meta, Google, other)
Create a simple table with these columns:
- ZIP
- Number of projects closed
- Total revenue
- Average project value
- Total gross margin $ (revenue minus direct costs)
- Average gross margin %
For each ZIP, calculate:
Gross Margin %: (Total Gross Margin $ ÷ Total Revenue) × 100
Booking Rate % (if you have lead data): (Booked Estimates ÷ Total Leads from that ZIP) × 100
If you don't track leads by ZIP yet: Use close rate as proxy: (Closed Projects ÷ Total Estimates) × 100
Job Count: Number of closed projects in that ZIP
Drive Time: Google Maps: Your shop/yard address → ZIP code center point. Use realistic weekday mid-morning traffic conditions
FAST SCORING METHOD (Back-of-Napkin - Good Enough to Start):
If you're not using the spreadsheet, use this simplified formula:
Score = (0.4 × GM%) + (0.3 × Booking Rate %) + (0.2 × Job Count) - (0.1 × Drive Time in minutes)
Example: ZIP 75034 (example only):
- GM%: 47% → 18.8 points
- Booking Rate: 42% → 12.6 points
- Job Count: 18 jobs → 3.6 points
- Drive Time: 18 min → -1.8 points
- Total Score: 33.2
RECOMMENDED: Use the Normalized Scoring Method (more accurate - see "Scoring Formula + Normalization" section below) in the spreadsheet for cleaner comparisons across different-sized datasets.
Sort ZIPs by score (highest to lowest).
Tier A: Top 10 ZIPs (ONLY if the ZIP has 5+ closed projects)
Tier B: Next 5-10 ZIPs (or any ZIP with 3–4 closed projects that you want to test)
Tier C: Everything else (including ZIPs with <3 closed projects)
Minimum sample rule: A ZIP cannot be Tier A unless it has 5+ closed projects in your window. ZIPs with 3-4 projects can be Tier B (testing only). ZIPs with <3 projects are Tier C (insufficient data).
- 80% of ad spend → Tier A ZIPs
- 20% of ad spend → Tier B ZIPs
- 0% → Tier C
Upload your Tier A allowlist to Meta and Google. Start running campaigns.
That's it. You now have data-driven territory targeting instead of radius sprawl.
- Best for established contractors with consistent volume
- Captures seasonal patterns
- Minimum 30 closed projects required
- Fastest to implement
- Works for newer contractors
- May span 6-18 months depending on volume
Formula: (Revenue - Direct Costs) ÷ Revenue × 100
Direct Costs include:
- Materials (pavers, stone, plants, soil, aggregate)
- Labor (crew wages + burden)
- Subcontractors (electricians, plumbers, concrete)
- Equipment rentals (if project-specific)
Direct Costs DO NOT include:
- Overhead (office rent, insurance, admin salaries)
- Sales/marketing expenses
- Truck/equipment depreciation
- Owner salary
Example:
- Revenue: $50,000
- Materials: $12,000
- Labor: $15,000
- Subs: $3,000
- Total Direct Costs: $30,000
- Gross Margin: $20,000
- GM%: 40%
Formula: (Booked Estimates ÷ Total Leads) × 100
Booked Estimate = Appointment scheduled on calendar with specific date/time
Lead = Someone who submitted form or called expressing interest in a project
Example:
- ZIP 75034 (example only): 40 leads, 16 booked estimates
- Booking Rate: 40%
If you don't track leads by ZIP yet:
Use close rate as proxy until you implement lead tracking:
Close Rate = (Closed Projects ÷ Total Estimates) × 100
This is less precise but directionally useful. Start capturing ZIP on every lead form going forward.
Definition: Number of closed projects (signed contract + deposit paid) in that ZIP during your time window
Why this matters:
- Volume indicates proven demand
- Helps identify reliable territories vs one-off wins
- Prevents "1-job ZIPs" from scoring too high
Minimum threshold: ZIPs with fewer than 5 closed projects in your window cannot be Tier A (insufficient sample size). They can be Tier B for testing with 3-4 projects, or Tier C with <3 projects.
Definition: Minutes from your shop/yard to ZIP code center point during realistic working conditions
How to measure:
- Use Google Maps
- Enter: Your shop address → ZIP code center (ex: "75034")
- Check weekday mid-morning traffic (9-10 AM typical)
- Round to nearest 5 minutes
Why this matters:
- Windshield time kills crew utilization
- Long drives increase your true cost per estimate
- 45+ minute drives often mean lower margins due to travel overhead
Example (example ZIPs only):
- Shop in ZIP 75034
- Target ZIP 75087: 22 minutes → penalty applied
- Target ZIP 75125: 47 minutes → higher penalty
ZIPs with 45+ minute drive times rarely make Tier A unless margins are exceptional (50%+).
Instructions on how to use the toolkit:
- Paste raw project data into "Project Export" tab
- Pivot table auto-generates in "ZIP Summary"
- Scoring calculations run automatically
- Review "Tiers" output
- Copy Tier A/B lists to "Targeting Exports"
- Update Meta + Google campaigns
Columns:
- Project ID
- ZIP Code
- Close Date
- Revenue
- Direct Costs (Materials)
- Direct Costs (Labor)
- Direct Costs (Subs)
- Total Direct Costs (auto-calculated)
- Gross Margin $ (auto-calculated)
- Gross Margin % (auto-calculated)
- Source (Referral/Meta/Google/Other)
Paste your 50+ projects here. Formulas will calculate totals.
Grouped by ZIP code:
- Number of Projects
- Total Revenue
- Average Project Value
- Total Gross Margin $
- Average Gross Margin %
- Total Leads (if tracked)
- Booked Estimates (if tracked)
- Booking Rate % (auto-calculated if data available)
- Drive Time (manual entry)
This becomes your scoring input table.
RECOMMENDED SCORING METHOD (Use in Spreadsheet):
For each ZIP, calculate normalized scores on 0-100 scale to ensure fair comparison:
Normalized Scores (0-100 scale):
GM Score: (Your ZIP's GM% ÷ Highest GM% in dataset) × 100
Booking Score: (Your ZIP's Booking Rate ÷ Highest Booking Rate) × 100
Volume Score: (Your ZIP's Job Count ÷ Highest Job Count) × 100
Drive Score (inverted - shorter is better): MAX(0, 100 - (Drive Time ÷ 60 × 100))
Note: The MAX function prevents negative scores if drive time exceeds 60 minutes.
Weighted Total:
Total ZIP Score = (0.4 × GM Score) + (0.3 × Booking Score) + (0.2 × Volume Score) + (0.1 × Drive Score)
Example Calculation:
ZIP 75034 (example only):
- GM%: 47% (highest in dataset: 52%) → GM Score: 90.4
- Booking Rate: 42% (highest: 48%) → Booking Score: 87.5
- Job Count: 18 (highest: 24) → Volume Score: 75.0
- Drive Time: 18 min → Drive Score: MAX(0, 100 - (18÷60×100)) = 70.0
- Total Score: (0.4 × 90.4) + (0.3 × 87.5) + (0.2 × 75.0) + (0.1 × 70.0) = 84.4
This ZIP scores very high (Tier A candidate).
Sorted by Total Score (highest to lowest):
Note: All ZIPs shown are examples only.
Confidence Badges:
Tier A Eligibility Rule: Requires 5+ closed projects (Medium or High confidence only). Low confidence ZIPs cannot be Tier A regardless of score - maximum Tier B for testing.
Tier A Allowlist (80% of budget):
75034
75022
75087
75024
75055
75011
75019
75035
75009
75021Note: Example ZIPs only. Use your actual data.
Tier B Test List (20% of budget):
75013
75078
75025
75056
75020Note: Example ZIPs only.
Tier C Exclusion List (0% budget):
75023
75125
75104
75002
[All other ZIPs in service area]Last Updated: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Next Review: [YYYY-MM-DD + 90 days]
Copy these lists directly into Meta and Google targeting settings.
Track decisions over time:
This prevents yo-yo decisions and creates institutional memory.
Raw metrics have different ranges:
- GM%: 25-55% (30-point range)
- Booking Rate: 20-50% (30-point range)
- Job Count: 1-25 (25-point range)
- Drive Time: 10-60 minutes (50-point range)
Without normalization, Job Count (1-25) would dominate GM% (25-55) even though we want GM% weighted higher.
Normalization fixes this: Convert each metric to 0-100 score, then apply weights. Now a ZIP with 47% GM and 18 jobs competes fairly against a ZIP with 52% GM and 12 jobs.
Your ZIP's Score = (Your Value ÷ Best Value in Dataset) × 100
Example:
- Your ZIP's GM%: 44%
- Highest GM% in dataset: 52%
- GM Score: (44 ÷ 52) × 100 = 84.6
Repeat for Booking Rate and Volume. For Drive Time, invert it (shorter = better) and cap at 0 to prevent negative scores.
A ZIP cannot be Tier A if it has fewer than 5 closed projects in your time window.
Why: One to four projects don't prove consistent demand. You need volume to validate performance.
- Score 70+ but <5 projects: Tier B (test with 10-15% of budget)
- Score 60+ but 3-4 projects: Tier B (test with 5-10% of budget)
- <3 projects: Tier C (exclude, insufficient data)
- Can be Tier A or B based on score
- Reliable performance data
- Can be Tier A if score 70+
- Monitor closely
- Maximum Tier B (testing only)
- Cannot be Tier A regardless of score
ZIP 75013 (example only):
- Score: 78.2 (normally Tier A range)
- Projects: 4 (low confidence)
- Classification: Tier B (test at 10% budget, need more data)
ZIP 75034 (example only):
- Score: 84.4
- Projects: 18 (high confidence)
- Classification: Tier A (proven winner)
Tier A: Top 10 ZIPs by score (or top 15-20% of your service area)
Tier B: Next 5-10 ZIPs (or next 20-30%)
Tier C: Everything else
Additional requirement: Tier A ZIPs must have 5+ closed projects (Medium or High confidence).
Why this works:
- Automatically adjusts to your market
- Always gives you a Tier A list to focus on
- Forces prioritization
Tier A: Score ≥70 AND 5+ closed projects
Tier B: Score 50-69 OR 3-4 closed projects
Tier C: Score <50 OR <3 closed projects
Why this works:
- Clear standards
- Easier to explain to team
- Some contractors may have zero Tier A ZIPs (forces improvement)
(your proven profit zones)
(testing ground for expansion)
(exclude completely)
Total monthly ad spend: $3,000
- Tier A: $2,400/month ($80/day)
- Tier B: $600/month ($20/day)
Campaign: [City] - Design Build - Tier A+B
- Budget: No campaign budget (using ad set budgets)
Ad Set 1: Tier A
- Locations: Custom Locations - Tier A ZIP list (example: 10 ZIPs)
- Daily Budget: $80 (80% of total)
Ad Set 2: Tier B
- Locations: Custom Locations - Tier B ZIP list (example: 5-10 ZIPs)
- Daily Budget: $20 (20% of total)
Campaign: [City] - Design Build - Tier A+B
- Budget: Campaign Budget Optimization (Advantage campaign budget)
- Daily Budget: $100
Ad Set 1: Tier A
- Locations: Custom Locations - Tier A ZIP list
Ad Set 2: Tier B
- Locations: Custom Locations - Tier B ZIP list
- Track performance by tier independently
- Allows promote/demote decisions based on data
- Can pause Tier B if it's not performing without affecting Tier A
Review frequency: Monthly (at minimum). Weekly is better if volume allows.
Minimum data requirement: Don't promote/demote unless the ZIP has generated at least 10 leads OR 3 booked estimates in the last 60-90 days. Small sample sizes create false signals.
- ✓ CPBE is 20%+ below your maximum acceptable CPBE
- ✓ Lead→Booked % is ≥35%
- ✓ Closed ≥2 projects from that ZIP
- ✓ No operational objections (drive time manageable, crew comfortable with area)
- ✓ ZIP now has 5+ total closed projects (meets Tier A confidence requirement)
Example:
ZIP 75035 (example only - Currently Tier B):
- Month 1: CPBE $180 (target $300), Lead→Booked 38%, closed 1 project
- Month 2: CPBE $165 (target $300), Lead→Booked 42%, closed 2 projects
- Total historical projects: 6 (meets 5+ requirement)
- Action: Promote to Tier A, allocate 80% budget share
- ✗ CPBE is 30%+ above your maximum acceptable CPBE
- ✗ Lead→Booked % <25%
- ✗ Closed 0 projects in 90 days
- ✗ Quality complaints (many below-minimum inquiries, wrong customer profile)
Example:
ZIP 75013 (example only - Currently Tier A):
- Month 1: CPBE $420 (target $300), Lead→Booked 22%, closed 0
- Month 2: CPBE $450 (target $300), Lead→Booked 19%, closed 0
- Action: Demote to Tier B, reduce to 20% budget share, monitor for 60 days
- ✗ 60 days with 0 booked estimates from that ZIP
- ✗ CPBE is 50%+ above maximum
- ✗ Consistent quality issues (wrong budget bands, out-of-service requests)
Example:
ZIP 75023 (example only - Currently Tier B):
- 60 days, $450 spent, 6 leads, 0 booked estimates
- Action: Demote to Tier C, exclude from targeting completely
Revisit in 6-12 months to see if market conditions have changed.
Run this every 90 days. Takes 30 minutes.
- Export closed projects from last 90 days
- Paste into "Project Export" tab
- Formulas auto-update ZIP Summary and Scoring
- Review updated scores
- Note any significant changes (score swings >10 points)
- Check each Tier A ZIP: Still performing? Any need demotion?
- Check each Tier B ZIP: Any ready for promotion?
- Check Tier C: Any worth retesting?
- Verify minimum data requirements (10+ leads or 3+ booked estimates per ZIP)
- Revise Tier A/B/C lists
- Copy updated allowlists to "Targeting Exports" tab
- Note changes in Quarterly Review Log
- Update Meta ad set targeting with new Tier A list
- Update Google campaign location targeting
- Pause any Tier C ZIPs that crept into active campaigns
Log every change in Quarterly Review Log tab:
- Date
- Action (Promoted/Demoted/Paused)
- ZIP affected
- Reason (CPBE, booking rate, project count)
- Result (monitoring / paused / excluded)
This prevents:
- Forgetting why you made decisions
- Yo-yo changes (promoting and demoting same ZIP repeatedly)
- Team confusion ("Why aren't we targeting ZIP X anymore?")
- Campaign Settings → Locations
- Click "Enter another location"
- Type your Tier A ZIP codes - you may need to enter them with state/region context (ex: "75034, Texas" or "94103, California")
- Select "People in or regularly in your targeted locations"
- Repeat for all Tier A ZIPs
- Campaign Settings → Locations
- Click "Advanced search"
- Enter: ZIP code center address (Google: "center of 75034")
- Set 1-3 mile radius
- Repeat for each Tier A ZIP
- Locations → Exclusions → Add location exclusion
- Enter all Tier C ZIPs (if format allows)
- Or set exclusion radius around competitor territories
Why this matters: Google shows ads to people searching FROM those locations or people searching ABOUT those locations. Inclusion/exclusion lists prevent wasted spend.
- Google LSA Dashboard → Service Areas
- Add Tier A ZIPs first
- Set availability to "Available" for Tier A
- Pause or exclude Tier C ZIPs
- Add Tier B after Tier A is consistently generating leads
Monthly:
- Pull "Geographic Report" in Google Ads
- Compare performance by ZIP (or closest available geo level)
- Apply same promote/demote rules as Meta
[Your ZIP 1]
[Your ZIP 2]
[Your ZIP 3]
[Your ZIP 4]
[Your ZIP 5]
[Your ZIP 6]
[Your ZIP 7]
[Your ZIP 8]
[Your ZIP 9]
[Your ZIP 10]Budget Allocation: 80% ($/month of $ total)
Performance Targets (based on historical data):
- Average CPBE: $______
- Lead→Booked: _____%
- Close Rate: _____%
Last Updated: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Next Review: [YYYY-MM-DD + 90 days]
[Your ZIP 1]
[Your ZIP 2]
[Your ZIP 3]
[Your ZIP 4]
[Your ZIP 5]Budget Allocation: 20% ($/month of $ total)
Testing Criteria:
- Monitor for 60 days
- Track CPBE, Lead→Booked %, closed projects
- Promote to Tier A if performance matches/exceeds Tier A benchmarks
Last Updated: [YYYY-MM-DD]
[List all other ZIPs in your service area]Budget Allocation: 0%
Status: Excluded from all targeting
Reason: Low margins, low booking rates, or insufficient data
Revisit: [YYYY-MM-DD + 6 months] (re-score if market conditions change)
A: Use this simplified formula until you build margin tracking:
Score = (0.5 × Close Rate %) + (0.3 × Job Count) - (0.2 × Drive Time)
Focus on close rate (estimates→signed contracts) and volume. Add margin data as you build it into your estimating system.
A: Make ZIP a required field on all forms and Voice AI scripts:
Form: Add dropdown or text field labeled "Project ZIP Code" (required)
Voice AI: Ask ZIP early in qualification: "What ZIP code is the property located in?"
CRM: Create standardized ZIP field (no mixed formats like "75034-1234" or "75034 TX")
Going forward, every lead gets tagged with ZIP. You'll have clean data for next quarter's review.
A: Yes, but use town/area clusters instead of ZIPs:
- Group by town name or area (ex: "North County," "Lake District")
- Use drive-time gates: "Within 30 minutes of shop" = Tier A
- Track by town in CRM instead of ZIP
The principle is the same: Focus on proven territories, avoid sprawl.
A: No. If you have zero completed projects in that ZIP:
- No social proof ("We just built this project two streets over")
- Lower conversion rates (homeowners want neighborhood examples)
- Start with Tier B budget (10-15%) to build portfolio first
- Promote to Tier A after 5+ closed projects (meets confidence requirement)
A: Market saturation is real. Options:
Option 1: Increase creative refresh rate
- Launch new creative kit every 7 days instead of 14
- Different angles, offers, messaging to combat fatigue
Option 2: Expand to Tier B
- If Tier B ZIPs are profitable (CPBE at target), allocate more budget there
- Shift from 80/20 to 70/30 temporarily
Option 3: Add second channel
- Google Search captures different audience (active searchers vs interrupted browsers)
- Budget $900-1,500/month for meaningful Google test
Option 4: Test adjacent ZIPs
- Score neighboring ZIPs that border your Tier A territories
- Start with 10% budget test
Don't keep throwing money at saturated ZIPs. Diversify intelligently.
A: Targeting is probably fine. Intake is broken.
Low booking rate (<30%) = intake problem, not targeting problem:
- Check response speed (are you calling within 15 minutes?)
- Check follow-up persistence (calling 3+ times before giving up?)
- Check calendar availability (offering times within next 7 days?)
- Check budget qualification (are leads actually above your minimum?)
Fix intake before changing targeting. Tier A ZIPs are chosen because they've historically converted well. If they're not converting now, something in YOUR process changed.
For this ZIP scoring system to work long-term, you need clean data:
- Booking page: Required field, no bypass
- Contact forms: Required field
- Quote requests: Required field
- "What ZIP code is the property located in?"
- Before offering appointment times
- Validates against service area allowlist
- Field name: "Project ZIP" (consistent across all projects)
- Format: 5 digits, no dashes, no spaces
- No mixed formats (75034-1234 or 75034 TX)
- Use data validation rules if your CRM supports it
- Tier: Tier A, Tier B, or Tier C
- ZIP: Actual project ZIP
- Source: Meta, Google, Referral, etc.
- Revenue (total project value)
- Direct costs (materials + labor + subs)
- Gross margin % (auto-calculated)
This data discipline makes quarterly reviews fast (30 minutes instead of 3 hours cleaning messy data).
This toolkit gives you the method: score your ZIPs, identify your profit zones, allocate 80/20 budget, and review quarterly.
If you want help implementing the complete demand generation system (ZIP targeting + Meta campaigns + Voice AI intake + CRM automation + performance tracking):
richard@groundbreakers.digital
Stop radius sprawl. Focus on your Tier A ZIPs. Let your data decide where you spend.
How to Choose Your Tier A/B/C Territories, Allocate 80/20 Budget, and Build Exact Targeting in Meta + Google