How a Philadelphia Christmas Lights Installer 3X'd Revenue in One Season
The Short Season Challenge
Christmas lights installation is a sprint. You have roughly 8 weeks—mid-October to early December—to make your entire year's revenue. Every day counts. Every missed call is a missed install.
Derek runs Philly Glow in Philadelphia. He serves the city and surrounding suburbs—Chestnut Hill, Manayunk, Roxborough, and parts of Montgomery County.
In 2024, Derek did 45 installs. He was exhausted by December and still felt like he'd left money on the table.
"I'd see my missed calls at the end of the day and just... couldn't call them all back," Derek said. "I was too tired. I figured I'd get to it tomorrow. But tomorrow I was on a roof."
The Lost Opportunity
During the 2024 season, Derek tracked his metrics:
- 312 total inquiries (calls, forms, DMs)
- 143 estimates scheduled
- 67 estimates completed
- 45 installs booked
- Conversion rate from inquiry to install: 14%
Derek was losing 86% of his leads. At $1,200 average install, that's potentially $320,000 in lost revenue.
"When I saw that number, I felt sick," Derek admitted. "I was killing myself for $54,000 when I could have done $300,000."
The Automation Game Plan
We built a complete lead-to-install automation system for Philly Glow, designed specifically for the compressed Christmas lights season:
Instant Lead Response
- AI answers every call (no more missed calls while on roofs)
- Web form submissions trigger instant text follow-up
- Facebook and Instagram DMs get automatic responses
- Every lead gets a response within 60 seconds
Rapid Estimate Scheduling
- Customers self-schedule estimate appointments
- AI shows only available time slots
- Sends confirmation with what to expect
- Weather-aware rescheduling when needed
Aggressive Follow-Up
- Estimates followed up within 1 hour
- Day 2 reminder with scarcity messaging ("limited spots left")
- Day 5 "final availability" push
- Day 10 last-chance offer
Production Communication
- "You're on the schedule for tomorrow" texts
- "Crew is 30 minutes away" notifications
- "Installation complete" messages with photos
- Timer programming instructions
Review Generation
- Automatic review request after install
- Follow-up if no review submitted
- Thank you message when review posted
The 2025 Season Results
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total inquiries | 312 | 487 |
| Estimates scheduled | 143 | 412 |
| Estimates completed | 67 | 298 |
| Installs booked | 45 | 142 |
| Conversion rate | 14% | 29% |
| Revenue | $54,000 | $170,400 |
| Google reviews | 12 | 67 |
Derek tripled his revenue while actually working fewer hours. The automation handled what used to consume his evenings.
The Philadelphia Advantage
Philadelphia and its suburbs are ideal for Christmas lights businesses:
Diverse housing stock: From Chestnut Hill mansions to Manayunk rowhomes, there's a project for every price point.
Dense neighborhoods: Efficient routing means more installs per day. Derek's crews could hit 4-5 Roxborough homes in a single afternoon.
Competitive market: Philadelphia has many Christmas lights installers. Speed to lead is the differentiator. Automation made Philly Glow the fastest to respond.
Word of mouth: One lit-up house becomes a neighborhood talking point. Derek's automated review system generated 67 five-star reviews, dominating local search.
The Key Insight: Speed Wins in a Short Season
In Christmas lights, you're not competing on price or even quality. You're competing on availability.
When a homeowner decides they want lights, they want them NOW. They're not waiting days for a callback. The first company to respond professionally gets the job.
Before automation, Derek's average response time was 8 hours (usually the next morning). After? 47 seconds.
"I had customers tell me they called 3-4 companies and I was the only one who actually answered," Derek said. "That's the game."
The Investment
Derek's costs:
- Setup (before season): $3,000
- Monthly (during season): ~$400
- Monthly (off-season): ~$50
Derek's return:
- Additional revenue: $116,400
- Time saved: 15 hours/week × 8 weeks = 120 hours
- At $75/hour (his time value during season): $9,000
Season ROI: 3,200%
For Philadelphia Christmas Lights Installers
The Christmas lights market in Philly is growing every year. More homeowners want professional installations. The question is: who's going to get those jobs?
If you're still relying on callbacks and handwritten estimates, you're leaving money on the table.
Get a free AI audit and I'll analyze your 2025 season and show you how to capture every lead in 2026.
About the Author
Brandon Calloway is the founder of Work Hard AI. He left Fortune 500 companies (JPMorgan Chase, DuPont) to run blue collar businesses and now helps other contractors implement the same automation systems he built for himself.