If you’re an excavation or septic business owner, you already know the work itself isn’t the hardest part anymore. The real challenge is keeping your phone ringing with the right jobs. Not tire kickers. Not price shoppers. Not projects that chew up your time and equipment for thin margins. What you want is predictable lead flow, higher-value projects, and the confidence to hire crews, invest in equipment, and grow without constantly worrying about what next month looks like.

That’s exactly why the Excavation Profits Podcast exists.

Hosted by Scott Andreasen, founder of Excavation Marketing Pros, the podcast brings you inside real excavation and septic businesses that are winning in today’s economy. These aren’t theory-based conversations or generic marketing advice. They’re real interviews with owners who are actively growing, adapting, and building durable businesses using modern marketing systems.

Across every episode and workshop, one theme keeps showing up: the contractors who win are the ones who understand their numbers, respond faster than their competitors, and treat marketing like an asset instead of an expense.

We recently hosted a webinar that breaks this down in detail:

Why Traditional Marketing No Longer Works on Its Own

For decades, excavation and septic companies survived on word of mouth alone. That still matters, but it’s no longer enough. Today’s customers search online first. They compare reviews. They expect fast responses. And they make decisions quicker than ever.

When a contractor relies only on referrals, outdated websites, or passive marketing, gaps start to appear. Equipment sits idle. Crews get stretched thin one month and underutilized the next. Growth becomes unpredictable.

The businesses featured on the Excavation Profits Podcast have learned that online marketing is no longer optional. It’s the foundation that everything else is built on.

The Difference Between Being Busy and Being Profitable

One of the biggest misconceptions in the industry is that being busy equals success. Many contractors are working nonstop but still feel stuck. Revenue grows slowly. Margins shrink. Stress increases.

The difference comes down to intentional growth.

Successful excavation and septic businesses don’t chase every job. They engineer demand for the jobs they actually want. That starts with setting clear revenue goals and reverse-engineering how many leads, estimates, and closed jobs are required to hit those targets.

Once you understand your average job size, closing rate, and cost per lead, marketing becomes math, not guesswork. That clarity allows you to invest confidently instead of reacting emotionally when leads slow down.

The Hidden Power of Speed-to-Lead

One of the most eye-opening lessons shared repeatedly on the podcast is how speed impacts revenue. Contractors assume losing jobs comes down to price, competition, or timing. In reality, speed is often the deciding factor.

When a homeowner fills out a form or calls about a septic or excavation project, they’re usually contacting multiple companies. The contractor who responds first wins the majority of the time.

Responding within the first minute dramatically increases contact rates, appointment bookings, and closed sales. After an hour, your chances drop off a cliff. After a day, the lead is almost always gone.

This is why the most profitable contractors are now using automation and AI to handle initial follow-up. It’s not about replacing people. It’s about making sure no opportunity slips through the cracks while you’re in the field.

How AI Is Quietly Changing Excavation and Septic Sales

AI isn’t coming to the excavation industry. It’s already here.

The smartest contractors aren’t using it to sound robotic or impersonal. They’re using it to respond instantly, pre-qualify leads, and book appointments automatically. That means homeowners get quick answers, and business owners stop playing phone tag.

When used correctly, AI becomes a force multiplier. It helps capture more leads, improves conversion rates, and frees up time for site visits, estimates, and managing crews.

The contractors who ignore this shift will find themselves losing jobs to competitors who simply respond faster.

Why Your Website Is Either Working for You or Against You

Your website is no longer just an online brochure. It’s your most important salesperson.

Every ad, Google search, social post, and referral eventually sends prospects to your website. If it doesn’t clearly explain who you serve, what you do, where you work, and why you’re different, you’re losing money.

High-converting excavation and septic websites share common traits. They show real people, not stock photos. They highlight reviews and social proof immediately. They make it easy to call, text, or request a quote. They address common fears about pricing, reliability, and professionalism.

Even small improvements to conversion rates can double or triple revenue without spending more on ads. That’s why website optimization is one of the most overlooked growth levers in the industry.

Reviews Aren’t Optional Anymore

Reputation is currency.

Contractors with strong review profiles close more jobs at higher prices. Period. Reviews build trust before the first phone call ever happens. They eliminate skepticism and position your business as the safe choice.

The Excavation Profits Podcast regularly highlights businesses that transformed their growth by fixing their online reputation. In many cases, a handful of negative reviews were holding back years of hard work. Once reviews were addressed and a system was put in place to consistently generate five-star feedback, lead quality and closing rates skyrocketed.

Reviews don’t just influence customers. They influence Google rankings, ad performance, and long-term brand value if you ever plan to sell your business.

Marketing Is an Investment, Not a Gamble

One of the most important mindset shifts discussed on the podcast is how owners view marketing spend. When marketing is treated like a gamble, it creates stress and hesitation. When it’s treated like an investment with measurable returns, it creates confidence.

Successful contractors know their numbers. They know how much a lead costs, how many leads turn into estimates, and how many estimates turn into jobs. That allows them to scale responsibly and predictably.

Instead of asking, “Should I spend this money?” they ask, “What happens if I don’t?”

The Contractors Who Win in 2026

Looking ahead, the businesses that dominate their markets will share a few characteristics. They will respond faster than competitors. They will use automation intelligently. They will have strong reviews and modern websites. They will understand their data. And they will take a comprehensive approach to marketing instead of relying on a single channel.

SEO, paid ads, social media, video, email, and follow-up systems will all work together instead of competing for attention. Marketing will feel boring in the best way possible because it will be predictable.

That predictability is what allows owners to step out of daily chaos and focus on leadership, growth, and long-term value.

The “2026 Plan” Mindset: Turning Goals Into a Lead Machine

One of the most practical ideas behind your 2026 marketing plan is simple: stop hoping growth happens and start designing it. Most contractors can tell you what they did last year, but far fewer can tell you what they’re building next year with any real precision. When you take the time to set a revenue goal, break it down into monthly targets, and then back into the number of jobs you need, something changes psychologically. You stop thinking like a technician who happens to own equipment and you start thinking like a business leader building a system.

This is also where a lot of contractors accidentally underfund their growth. If you want an extra crew, more machines, or a bigger buffer in the bank account, you need a plan that supports it. The best operators treat marketing like fuel. If you want to go farther, you don’t just “drive harder.” You add fuel and you make sure the engine is tuned. That “tuning” is your conversion rate, your follow-up speed, your reputation, and your ability to track what’s actually producing revenue.

Why Tracking Revenue Sources Changes Everything

One of the most frustrating things for a contractor is spending money and not knowing what worked. You might hear, “We’re getting clicks,” or “Traffic is up,” but your schedule still has gaps. That’s not marketing. That’s noise. Real marketing is when you can point to a source and say, “This campaign produced this many booked jobs and this much revenue.”

When you connect lead tracking to actual invoices, you get the truth. You learn which channel brings the best quality leads, not just the most leads. You learn which service lines produce the best margins. You learn what seasonality actually looks like in your market, based on data instead of gut feeling. And once you see those patterns, you can lean into what works, cut what doesn’t, and scale without gambling.

Why This Matters Even If You’re “Already Busy”

A lot of business owners will read all of this and think, “I don’t need more leads. I’m slammed.” But being slammed isn’t the same as being protected. If your lead flow is coming mostly from word of mouth, one market shift can change everything. If your online reputation isn’t strong, one bad review can cost you major jobs. If you’re not following up fast, you’re bleeding opportunities you never even knew you had.

The goal isn’t just “more leads.” The goal is stability, control, and leverage. It’s building a business that can grow on purpose, survive slow months without panic, and eventually become valuable enough to sell if you want that option.

Why the Excavation Profits Podcast Exists

The Excavation Profits Podcast isn’t about hype. It’s about clarity.

It exists to pull back the curtain and show excavation and septic business owners what’s actually working right now. It brings real conversations with real operators who are building profitable, sustainable companies in a changing economy.

If you’ve ever wondered how top contractors keep their schedules full, their equipment running, and their stress levels manageable, the answers are there.

Marketing doesn’t have to feel mysterious. When you understand the system, the fear goes away.

And once the fear goes away, growth becomes a choice instead of a gamble.