Solved: Getting Junk Leads from Meta Instant Forms

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out!

Happy to give you some initial thoughts on the situation with your Meta campaigns. Tbh, what you're describing with the junk leads from Instant Forms is an incredibly common problem, especially for high-ticket services like home renovations. It’s a classic case of chasing cheap leads and ending up paying for it with wasted time and money.

The good news is that this is entirely fixable. The solution isn't just about switching from an Instant Form to a website form, though that's part of it. The real fix involves a fundamental shift in how you think about attracting and qualifying your ideal clients. We need to stop collecting names and start creating a system that makes serious, high-value clients sell themselves on working with you before they even speak to your team.

We'll need to look at the real problem: The "Cheap Lead" Trap...

Right now, you're stuck in what I call the "Cheap Lead Trap." Meta's algorithm is brilliant at doing exactly what you tell it to do. When you choose "Leads" as your objective with an Instant Form, you're sending a very clear signal: "Facebook, find me the people who are most likely to fill out a form with the least amount of effort, for the lowest possible cost."

And the algorithm delivers. It finds people who will mindlessly tap a few pre-filled buttons while waiting for the kettle to boil. Some of them, as you've noticed, don't even remember doing it. These are not your ideal customers. These are low-intent, low-commitment individuals who are miles away from making a £50,000 decision about their home.

You’re paying for convenience, but the convenience is for the user, not for you. The lack of friction is the very thing that attracts the junk. A serious prospect, someone who is genuinely considering a major renovation, is willing to put in a little bit of effort. They're willing to read a webpage, answer a few questions, and think about their project. The tyre-kickers are not.

This is why simply switching to a website form or a call option won't solve the root cause if you're still using the same approach on the same platform. You might see a slight improvement, but you'll still be fishing in a pond full of people who aren't actively looking for a builder. It's time to change ponds and use better bait.

Think about the real cost. A £10 "lead" that takes your admin assistant 30 minutes to chase, only to find out it's a fake number, isn't a £10 lead. It's a £10 ad cost plus the cost of your assistant's time, plus the opportunity cost of what they could have been doing instead. It's demoralising for your team and clogs up your entire sales pipeline.

Let's make this tangible. Use the calculator below. Adjust the sliders to reflect your current situation. See for yourself how a smaller number of more expensive, but properly qualified, leads is vastly more profitable than a mountain of cheap junk.

I'd say you need to define your customer by their nightmare, not their postcode...

Before you spend another penny on ads, you have to get brutally specific about who you’re actually trying to talk to. "Homeowners in my area" isn't an audience; it's just a demographic. It tells you nothing valuable and leads to generic ads that get ignored.

You need to define your customer by their pain. By their specific, urgent, and expensive nightmare. Your ideal client isn't just someone who 'wants a new kitchen.' Your ideal client is a family with two young kids who are literally tripping over each other in a cramped, outdated kitchen every morning. Their nightmare is the daily stress and friction it causes. They're not just buying cabinets and countertops; they're buying a peaceful morning routine. They're buying a space where they can finally host Christmas for the whole family without having a panic attack.

Another ideal client might be a couple in their late 50s whose kids have left home. Their nightmare is a house that feels empty and no longer fits their lifestyle. They're terrified of the upheaval of moving, but they're also dreading another decade in a house that isn't right for them. You're not selling them a loft conversion; you're selling them the ability to fall in love with their home all over again, without the pain of starting from scratch somewhere new.

Once you understand this 'nightmare state', everything changes. Your ad copy, your website, your offer—it all starts to speak directly to that deep, emotional pain point. You stop talking about your features ("we use high-quality materials") and start talking about their transformation ("imagine a kitchen so organised, your morning rush feels like a calm ritual").

This is the foundation. If you get this wrong, no amount of clever ad targeting or fancy forms will save you. You'll just be shouting generic messages at a crowd of uninterested people.

You probably should delete the "Get a Quote" button...

Now, let's talk about your offer. I'm guessing your current call-to-action is something like "Get a Free Quote" or "Request an Estimate." Tbh, this is probably the single biggest mistake service businesses make in their advertising.

The "Request a Quote" button is the enemy of profit. Why?

-> It commoditises you instantly. It frames the very first interaction around price. The prospect's mindset is immediately, "Let me collect three quotes and go with the cheapest." You are forced to compete on price, not on value, craftsmanship, or the client experience you provide.

-> It attracts the wrong people. Serious buyers who value quality know that a proper quote for a complex renovation takes time, detailed discussion, and proper scoping. The people who just want a quick price over the phone are almost always price-shoppers who will waste your time and never appreciate the quality of your work.

-> It's high-friction for the prospect. Asking for a quote feels like a big commitment. They know it means they'll have to get on the phone, schedule a site visit, and then fend off sales calls. It's much easier for them to just do nothing.

You need to replace this low-value offer with a high-value, low-commitment offer. Your offer's only job is to provide a moment of undeniable value—to solve a small, real problem for them for free, and in doing so, prove your expertise and build trust.

What could this look like for a renovation business?

1. The Free 20-Minute Renovation Feasibility Call: This isn't a sales call. This is a focused, expert consultation. The promise is: "In 20 minutes, we'll help you clarify your project scope, identify potential pitfalls, and give you a realistic ballpark budget range so you can plan with confidence. No obligation, just expert advice." This positions you as a trusted advisor, not a pushy salesman.

2. A Downloadable Guide: "The Homeowner's Guide to a Stress-Free Kitchen Extension: 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid." You bottle your expertise into a PDF. To get it, they give you their email address. You're providing immense value and demonstrating your knowledge before you ever ask for their business. You can then follow up with a helpful email sequence.

3. An Interactive Tool: A "Kitchen Renovation Budget Calculator" on your website. They answer a few questions about size, finish level, appliances, and it gives them a rough estimate. This satisfies their need for a price, but in a way that you control, and it captures their details as a lead in the process.

This change in offer is fundemental. It shifts the entire dynamic. You're no longer chasing them for a sale; they are coming to you for your expertise.

You'll need to use the right platform for the right intent...

With a new high-value offer in hand, we now need to get it in front of the right people. And for a high-intent service like yours, Meta is not the place to start. You need to be on Google Search Ads.

The difference is simple: Intent.

On Meta, you are interrupting people. They are there to look at photos of their grandkids or watch funny videos. Your ad is an unwelcome pattern-interrupt. You have to work incredibly hard to grab their attention and convince them to think about something they weren't already considering.

On Google, you are answering a direct question. Someone is literally typing "best loft conversion company in [Your City]" into the search bar. They have a problem, they are actively looking for a solution, and they have their wallet figuratively on the table. There is no higher-intent prospect on the planet. This is where you should be spending 80% of your ad budget.

Your Meta ads haven't just been failing because of the form type; they've been failing because you're trying to sell a complex, considered purchase in a low-intent environment. We've seen service businesses like HVAC companies see leads costing around $60 on Google, which seems high until you realise one of those leads can turn into a £10,000 installation job. We've even seen a home cleaning company get leads for £5 a pop. The costs vary massively, but the principle is the same: Google finds people who are ready to buy.

So, what does the new funnel look like? Let's map it out.

This is the main advice I have for you:

Putting it all together, here's the actionable plan I would recomend. This isn't just theory; this is a proven system that works for high-ticket service businesses. We've implemented variations of this for dozens of clients, moving them away from chasing vanity metrics like 'cost per lead' and towards what actually matters: profitable growth.

Each step builds on the last. You can't just pick and choose one element. You need the right message, aimed at the right person, on the right platform, with the right offer and qualification process. It's a complete system.

I know this is a big shift from what you're currently doing. It requires more setup work upfront – you need a proper landing page and a thought-out offer. But the payoff is enormous. You'll move from a state of being constantly frustrated by junk leads to having a predictable, scalable system for attracting the exact type of high-value clients you want to work with.

Your admin assistant's time will be spent talking to pre-qualified, motivated homeowners, not chasing ghosts. Your sales conversations will be warmer and more effective because the prospect already sees you as an expert. This is how you build a sustainable business, not by chasing the lowest cost-per-lead metric on a social media platform.

Implementing a system like this correctly can be tricky, and getting the details right—from the keyword research on Google to the copywriting on the landing page—makes all the difference. Many business owners find it's more effective to have an expert set this up for them, ensuring it's optimised from day one.

If you'd like to chat through how we could apply this exact framework to your business in more detail, I'd be happy to offer you a free, no-obligation strategy session. We can look at your specific market, your competitors, and map out what a high-performance lead generation system would look like for you.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh