From Google to AI: How Homeowners Are Choosing and Communicating with Septic Contractors

Scott Andreasen

Excavation Marketing Pros

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DISCLAIMER: The materials and opinions presented are those of the speaker and do not reflect the opinions of the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA) or the Onsite Wastewater Mega-Conference sponsors.

WHEN I SAY 'AI'...

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THE PREMISE

AI DOESN’T

REPLACE YOUR PEOPLE.

AND IT SHOULDN’T.

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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IT REPLACES:

​

​

• RESEARCH
• DELAY

- INITIAL CONTACT

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

6:17 PM

Sunday night.

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THE CUSTOMER

MEET SARAH

She is not thinking about software. She is thinking about getting help.

HOMEOWNER MINDSET

Urgent

Wants an answer now

She will keep searching until someone helps

She does not care what CRM you use

She does not care if AI books her appointment

She wants help NOW.

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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GOOGLE AI CHOOSES FOR HER

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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THE PREMISE

HER AI ASSISTANT CHOOSES FOR HER

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

9:08 PM

Later that night.

Betsy notices toilet won’t flush & sewage in shower

What happens in your company right now?

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THE OLD JOURNEY

WHAT HAPPENS WHILE SHE WAITS?

9:15 PM

Call is made

9:18 PM

Nothing/voicemail

9:41 PM

Searches again

9:44 PM

Competitor answers & WINS JOB

8:15 AM NEXT DAY

You call back

The lead did not disappear. The opportunity moved.

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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DID THE COMPETITOR WIN

BECAUSE THEY WERE BETTER?

BETTER EQUIPMENT?

Not necessarily.

BETTER TECHNICIANS?

Not necessarily.

MORE EXPERIENCE?

Not necessarily.

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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NOW CHANGE ONE THING: THE RESPONSE

7:17:00

Sarah submits form or Calls

7:17:15

AI responds during off hours AND as backup answering system by phone and SMS.

7:19

Qualifies Intent

7:22

Appointment booked

No one had to drop what they were doing. People Self-Book Into Consultation Calendar

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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THE SYSTEM

ONE LEAD/CUSTOMER. MULTIPLE DOORS. ONE AI CONVERSATION.

CRM +

AI/AUTOMATION

WEBSITE CHAT

SMS

INBOUND CALLS / VOICE AI

MESSENGER

EMAIL FOLLOW-UP

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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MULTIPLE CONVERSATIONS HAPPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY

WEBSITE CHAT

Hi Sarah. We can help. Is sewage actively backing up into the home?

Yes, in the bathroom

Got it. What ZIP code is the property in?

28078

AI AUTOMATED SMS FOLLOW-UP

Hi John, this is ABC Septic. I saw your request. Is this an emergency?

Yes. Sewage is backing up.

I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. I can ask a few quick questions and help get you scheduled.

Yes please.

Let me get your cell number & we’ll text / call you right back.

YOU SET ESCALATION RULES

FOR WHEN HUMAN CONTACT STARTS

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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THE DEMO

CALLING BACK A LEAD FORM YOUR WEBSITE/PAID ADS.

LIVE / RECORDED DEMO

VOICE AI

00:00 • Actual customer conversation

LISTEN FOR 3 THINGS

Does it sound natural?

Does it ask useful questions?

Does it create a clear next step?

GOAL: QUALIFY INTENT, MOVE LEAD ALONG TO NEXT STAGE.

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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WHAT DID YOU NOTICE?

NATURAL?

What sounded human?

USEFUL QUESTIONS?

What did it learn that you can use in the sales process?

CLEAR NEXT STEP?

Did it know what to do?

MOST IMPORTANTLY: WHAT DID IT ACHIEVE?

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

GUARDRAILS

The data also says: keep the customer experience human

SCOTT ANDREASEN | DOMINATE YOUR LOCAL MARKET

87%

Want a real person on local-service calls

OnePoll survey of 6,000 adults commissioned by ServiceForge.

62%

Do not trust AI in a trades emergency

Urgency increases the need for human reassurance and judgment.

85%

Say AI should not pose as a human

Transparency should be part of the customer experience.

AI: speed, repetition, triage, booking. PEOPLE: trust, judgment, exceptions, relationship.

Source: ServiceForge / OnePoll, May 2026, 6,000 adults. ServiceForge commissioned the study and sells human answering services.

INDUSTRY PROOF

AI users are already reporting measurable gains

SCOTT ANDREASEN | DOMINATE YOUR LOCAL MARKET

40%

Faster response + fewer lost leads

AI users saying AI helps them respond faster and lose fewer leads.

28%

Save 6+ admin hours/week

AI users reporting at least six hours of admin time saved each week.

68%

AI contributed to revenue growth

AI users saying AI has contributed to revenue growth.

Source: Housecall Pro, The AI Advantage, 2026. Survey of 248 U.S. home-service professionals; results are directional.

LEAD RESPONSE

Speed matters more than most businesses realize

SCOTT ANDREASEN | DOMINATE YOUR LOCAL MARKET

5 MINUTES

30 MINUTES

21×

You have 21X lower qualification odds

from 5 to 30 minutes

100×

You have 100X lower contact odds

from 5 to 30 minutes

“The lead does not become worthless in 30 minutes. The opportunity simply gets much harder.” –PEOPLE HAVE SHORT ATTENTION SPANS

Source: Lead Response Management Study , 15,000+ leads and 100,000+ call attempts across six companies.

TIME SAVED

Six hours a week becomes a lot of life back

SCOTT ANDREASEN | DOMINATE YOUR LOCAL MARKET

28% of AI users report saving 6+ hours of administrative work each week.

6+

HOURS / WEEK

312+

HOURS / YEAR

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8-HOUR WORKDAYS

What would you do

with that time?

“If I gave you six hours back every week, where would those hours go?”

6 × 52 = 312 hours. 312 ÷ 8 = 39 eight-hour workdays.

Source: Housecall Pro, The AI Advantage, 2026. 28% of surveyed AI users reported saving 6+ hours/week.

BOTTOM LINE

The revenue signal is showing up too

SCOTT ANDREASEN | DOMINATE YOUR LOCAL MARKET

68%

AI contributed to revenue growth

Share of surveyed AI users reporting a contribution to revenue growth.

1 in 3

Attribute 5%+ growth to AI

Share of AI users attributing at least 5% revenue growth to AI.

31%

Saw ROI almost immediately

Another roughly 1 in 5 reported a clear return within a few months.

Source: Housecall Pro, The AI Advantage, 2026. Self-reported and directional, not a controlled causal study.

YOUR PROOF

How many leads did AI actually save/move along in our Experience?

SCOTT ANDREASEN

ONE OF OUR CLIENT’S STATS – 6 months period

SCOTT ANDREASEN

MONEY MATH BY FIXING A LEAK

• Our client’s conversion sales conversion rate is roughly 35%
• Their average ticket is $10K-$25K Average ticket for a septic system install

APPOINTMENTS BOOKED

Appointments directly attributable to AI follow-up

69

35% Closing Ratio

Appointments directly attributable to AI follow-up

69 x .35 = 24

→

~$240K - $600K in Revenue

Why Does This Matter For Septic Businesses?

SENARIO 1:

Septic Website gets 500 Visitors per month

5% Conversion

25 Calls / Leads

30% Conversion to Estimate

7 Booked Jobs

$10,000 Average Transaction

$70,000

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By Improving Your Conversion Rate

You Triple Your Sales

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YOUR MARKETING/ADVERTISING MAY NOT BE THE PROBLEM.

Capturing & Moving Along leads to the next stage might be.

LEAKY FOLLOW-UP

Lead arrives

Waits

Voicemail

Keeps searching

Lost

OLD WAY

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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YOU’RE PROBABLLY THINKING:

“MY CUSTOMERS WON’T

TALK TO A ROBOT.”

Fair concern. So compare the experience.

GET HELPFUL RESPONSE NOW

AI: “I can help now. Is this an emergency?”

LEAVE VOICEMAIL & HOPE

“Please leave a message. We’ll call you back.”

Which experience would you rather give the customer?

Vs.

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AI GETS IT WRONG?

Good AI does not need to know everything.

It needs to know when to stop.

WITHOUT GUARDRAILS

Guessing

Overpromising

Wrong service

Wrong appointment

WITH GUARDRAILS

Approved answers

Service boundaries

Escalation rules

Booking rules

Human handoff

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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THE BOUNDARY

USE EACH WHERE IT IS STRONGEST.

AI IS GREAT AT

PEOPLE ARE GREAT AT

Speed

Repetition

Qualification

Reminders

Scheduling

Judgment

Empathy

Technical decisions

Trust

Closing

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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CAPACITY

WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH

6 HOURS

BACK EVERY WEEK?

More estimates?

Train the team?

Leave earlier?

More family time?

The real payoff is not “robots.” It is capacity.

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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MAKE IT PRACTICAL

WHAT IS THE ONE THING

YOU WOULD AUTOMATE FIRST?

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

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YOUR PLAN

START SMALL.

1

FIND ONE LEAK

Where do leads or time fall through the cracks?

2

AUTOMATE IT

Build one clean workflow with guardrails.

3

MEASURE WHAT CHANGES

Response time, booked appointments, time saved.

One finished workflow beats ten half-built automations.

NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES

DON’T USE AI TO

REPLACE THE RELATIONSHIP.

USE AI TO MAKE SURE

THE RELATIONSHIP ACTUALLY STARTS AND WITHOUT DELAY.

-Let your people handle the relationship AFTER.

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MAKE IT REAL

QUESTIONS?

COME BY BOOTH #100

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NOWRA 2026 • AI STRATEGIES FOR SEPTIC & WASTEWATER BUSINESSES