How to get more tree surgery work: what 162 lead conversations show

I run Facebook ads for tree surgeons, and when results dip I open their lead apps and read every conversation. Across two tree surgeons’ lead apps in July and August 2026, that’s 162 conversations. This guide covers where tree work comes from, and what decides whether an enquiry ends up as a job in your diary.

Domestic or commercial: which tree work do you want more of?

Decide that first, because the two come from completely different places. Domestic work comes from homeowners. Commercial work comes from organisations, and you win it in a different way.

Commercial work can give you a steady base, and subcontracting for bigger tree firms or landscapers is a common way in. But you can’t switch it on in a quiet week, and tree work has quiet weeks: in our data, enquiries peak from May to August and dip in November and December, two years running (enquiries month by month). The rest of this guide is about domestic work, because that’s what ads reach.

Where do UK tree surgeons get their work?

Most get it from a handful of places, and the busiest firms rarely rely on one.

Google is strong when someone is searching right now. Facebook reaches the people who aren’t searching yet. If you’re weighing up paying per lead against running your own ads, I’ve compared them honestly in lead sites vs your own Facebook ads, and there’s more on why sharing an enquiry with other firms hurts in exclusive vs shared leads.

Why do Facebook ads suit domestic tree work?

Because most domestic tree work gets put off rather than searched for. People live with a conifer that’s too tall, a tree that blocks the light or branches hanging over next door’s fence for a long time before they ring anyone. An ad from a local tree surgeon, shown to homeowners in your area, is often what gets them to finally ask.

The enquiries we’ve read reflect that. In Peterborough the jobs won included a large conifer job and a pine removal. In the other tree surgeon’s review the enquiries were tree work and hedges, and some were tied to a house sale or a survey with a deadline attached.

What makes a tree surgery ad bring in work?

Photos of your own jobs, with your name and your area on it. Tree work is visual, so the ad should show what you actually do: a crown reduction before and after, a garden opened up once the conifers have gone, the crew and kit on site, the clean-up afterwards. Homeowners often worry about mess and damage as much as the tree, so a swept drive and a tidy lawn in the photo says a lot.

People will check you out before they commit. Make sure your Facebook page looks like a real, active business, and that your insurance and qualifications are easy to find. That’s why we set up or tidy every client’s page with a proper cover and a first post before any ads go live.

A couple of other things we’ve learnt:

• We don’t build tree ads around the weather or the time of year. The ad is about you and the work you want.
• Expect comments under the ads. Some are useful, some are noise, and some people comment instead of filling in the form. In our reviews, comments with no job behind them are counted as junk, separately from real enquiries, so don’t judge an ad on its comments.

What should a tree surgery lead form ask?

What the job is and where it is, before they hit send. Every Lead Wave form has people tell you the job and their postcode, so you ring back knowing what it’s about and whether it’s in your patch.

If you’re building your own form, one question about access is worth adding: front or back garden, side access or through the house, and whether the tree is near a building, a road or wires. It tells you what kit and how many hands the job needs before you’ve driven out. Keep the form short, though. Every extra question puts a few people off.

Plenty of homeowners want to send a photo of the tree, and some will ask for a WhatsApp number to do it. If you like to rough-price from photos, make sure the number they’re messaging can take them, and answer when they ask.

It also helps to ask, or check yourself, whether the tree is covered by a preservation order or sits in a conservation area. In England, most work on a protected tree needs the council’s consent, and most work on trees in a conservation area needs six weeks’ notice to the council (GOV.UK guidance). Raising it before they ask shows the homeowner you know what you’re doing.

Why does the first reply matter so much?

Because you’re up a tree when the enquiry lands, and the homeowner may well be asking other tree surgeons too. Whoever gets back first is in the best position.

The numbers show how many people go quiet. In Peterborough we read all 89 conversations from a 21-day window. 73 were real people and 37 never replied to anything. In the other tree surgeon’s 30-day review, 11 of 61 real prospects never replied.

Some of that is people changing their minds. A lot of it is timing: nobody takes a call from an unknown number in the middle of a work meeting. That’s why every enquiry gets a text in your name within seconds, and follow-ups that keep going until they reply, then stop on their own. A text sits there until they’re ready. Some numbers can’t take a text at all, a landline or a typo, and those need a call.

Where do tree surgeons lose the job after the enquiry?

Mostly after the homeowner has already replied. Across all 27 lead reviews we’ve done, in every trade, the same few things came up again and again:

None of that is the lead’s fault. The one I’d fix first on tree work is the reply after they’ve answered. When a homeowner texts back with the job, they’re warm. Asking them to ring you instead is where a lot of them drop off. Ring them, and book the look-see while they’re on the phone.

There’s more on what those reviews found in what 1,282 lead conversations show.

What does it look like when it’s done right?

Here’s Ivan, a tree surgeon covering Peterborough and Cambridgeshire. We read every conversation in his lead app from 12 July to 2 August 2026.

Of those four, a large conifer job was completed, another job was completed and paid, a pine removal was booked into the calendar and a further quote was agreed. That’s three weeks, counted from the conversations themselves.

Yeah a lot better thanks Got four jobs to see so far

Tree surgeon · WhatsApp, 25 Nov 2025, 10:27

It doesn’t run the same every month. Leads can slow down and ads get tired. When that happens I go through the leads, work out why and change the ads.

How fast should you quote tree work?

As fast as you can while they’re still keen, ideally the same day you see the job. A homeowner who has had a visit is often waiting on a couple of prices, and the first sensible one in writing tends to set the bar. For small jobs, a rough price from photos followed by a firm one on site saves everyone a trip.

After the quote, follow up. A short message a few days later asking if they have any questions is not pushy. It’s what gets the quotes that were sitting in someone’s inbox turned into work. To see what each won job really costs you, put your own numbers into the cost per job calculator. Moving how many quotes you win is often worth more than more leads.

A simple plan for more tree surgery work

1. Decide your mix. Commercial for a steady base if you want it, domestic for the jobs you choose.
2. Keep word of mouth going. Ask every happy customer for a Google review and leaflet the street while you’re there.
3. Add one paid source you control, in an area that’s yours alone, showing your real work.
4. Reply in seconds, then ring the ones who reply the same day. Don’t ask them to ring you.
5. Quote quickly and follow up, and judge it all on cost per won job, not cost per lead.

You can run Facebook ads yourself if you’ve got the time to keep an eye on them. With Lead Wave it’s set up for you, usually live within the hour, and the first enquiries usually arrive within 24 hours. We only take on one tree surgeon per area, so you’re never up against another Lead Wave client. More on the wider approach in Facebook ads for tradesmen.