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Searches To SalesAt 9 PM, someone in your town needs the work you do. Will they get through?
By Ryan Mason · The sequel to Likes To Leads
Paperback release: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
They look you up, try to reach you, and get stuck. So they hire someone else, and you never hear about the job you lost. This book gives you a four-weekend plan to find those leaks, fix what you can, and know exactly what help to ask for.
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They can leave before your phone ever rings.
You know how to do the job. A stranger still has to find you, trust what they see, and get an answer. A phone number that will not dial or a form that goes nowhere can end the conversation before you know it started. The book follows that customer through five stops.
- 1
Found
They search for the work you do in the town you serve. Can they find your business without already knowing its name?
- 2
Trusted
They check your reviews, photos and website. Does what they see give them a reason to call you?
- 3
Contacted
They try the number, form or booking button on their phone. Can they reach you without hunting or starting over?
- 4
Answered
Their inquiry reaches someone who takes responsibility for it. They hear back and know what happens next.
- 5
Booked
The estimate gets followed up. Their questions get answered. The next step makes it onto a calendar.
Start with the stop that is costing you work. Chapter 2 helps you choose. The 9 PM Test lets you check it from the customer’s side.
While you wait, take the free 9 PM Test and find your starting point.
Every chapter runs in three parts.
Work through the four-weekend plan and you will have checked your Google listing, reviewed your website on a phone, and followed a test inquiry through to a reply. You will have a record of inquiries and booked work, plus a list of who controls your accounts. Anything you cannot fix becomes a clear request for help.
- 1
The principle
Understand why a customer gets stuck and what needs to work instead. Plain explanations, backed by our audits and the research cited in the book.
- 2
The weekend version
Steps you can take with a phone, a laptop and your logins. Tap the number. Send the form. Wait for the reply. Check what actually happened.
- 3
The handoff
When the fix needs help, know what failed, who can fix it, and what proof to ask for. Give that brief to an employee or the provider you already use.
Read the chapter and take the test →You will never meet most of the people who look you up at 9 PM. You will meet the ones who got through. The ones who did not get through will hire somebody else and you will never know they existed.
Find your leak. Open the chapter that helps you fix it.
The View From Inside
- 1How I Made Bank Selling Cars, And Why I Walked Away
- 2Which Part Is Costing You Work?
- 3The 9 PM Test
The Local Lead Path
Follow the customer from the search to the calendar. Check where they get stuck.
- 4Your Google Profile Is Your Real HomepageFound
- 5Search Has Changed, And So Has “Ranking”Found
- 6Reviews Are The New Word Of MouthTrusted
- 7The Five-Second Front DoorTrusted
- 8Make It Easy To Say YesContacted
- 9The First Five MinutesAnswered
- 10From Inquiry To Booked WorkBooked
Behind The Counter
Count the work you actually booked. Know when ads and useful pages can help. Check who owns your accounts.
- 11Count The Right Thing
- 12Ads, Only After The Path Is Sealed
- 13One Question, One Useful Page
- 14Whose Name Is On The Account?
A business can look open and still be hard to hire.
A phone number you cannot tap. A quote form that cannot gather what the business needs to quote. These are problems we found while auditing local businesses in 2026.
of the homepages we scanned had no phone number you could tap.
had no structured business details in their site code.
of the sites we scanned had no working analytics at all.
More findings and how we counted
of the businesses our researchers wrote up was flagged for a neglected Google listing: unclaimed, wrong category or no working website link.
of the movers we audited had a quote form that could not price a move.
of the campgrounds we audited took a booking on its own website. Most sent the camper to a third-party site. The rest had a request form, were phone or email only, or had no website at all.
The homepage figures come from automated scans for phone links, business details in the page code and analytics tags. The Google listing figure counts problems flagged in our researchers’ written findings. It does not count every possible listing problem. The mover and campground figures come from audits of those industries.
These figures describe the businesses we audited. They are not estimates for all local businesses.
Start finding the leaks tonight.
The book releases on November 11, 2026. The free 9 PM Test is ready now. Use it on your phone to see where a stranger gets stuck trying to hire you. No email is required to use the test or the worksheets.
- Steps you can follow. Open the companion page for the chapter you are using. Follow the steps and check the dated screenshots as you work. The short web addresses in the book take you there.
- Worksheets on your phone. Record what passed, what leaked, and what you still need to check. Your entries save on your device. Nothing you write in them is sent to us.
- Four weekends, by email. Get the closing chapter’s plan a weekend at a time, with links to the steps and worksheets. Free, optional, and separate from the launch list.
Ryan Mason
“I spent years building the follow-up side of the business and very little time looking at the business the way a stranger did.”
From Chapter 1
What to know before joining the list.
When will it be available?
The paperback releases on Amazon on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Join the launch list and we will email you the day ordering opens.
Do I need to read Likes To Leads first?
No. Each book stands on its own. Likes To Leads covers social media. Searches To Sales starts when someone searches for the work you do and follows what happens until the next step is booked. Chapter 1 gives you the car-lot backstory.
Who is this book for?
Owners of local service businesses, including roofers, movers, pest companies, contractors, dealers and salons. If customers look you up before they call, this is the path they take. The book assumes you know your trade and have limited time to sort out the marketing.
Is any of it free?
Yes. The 9 PM Test chapter page and scorecard are open now. You can use the companion steps and worksheets without joining an email list. The optional Four Weekends email series is separate from the book’s launch list.
Do I have to hire anyone to use it?
No. The weekend steps show you what to check and fix yourself. If something needs help, the handoff explains what failed, who can fix it, and how to check the result. You can take that to someone you already trust. The book is complete if you never call us.
See what a stranger finds when they look you up.
Our free online presence report checks your Google profile, listings, reviews, website performance and local search visibility. Use it alongside the 9 PM Test. The report shows what we can check from the outside. You still need to send a test inquiry and see whether someone answers.
Prefer to talk? Call or text (217) 724-8153 or email ryan@elevatedideas.com.