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Facts & questions
Everything you might want to know.
The questions we hear most often, answered plainly. Don't see your question below? Reach out and we'll get back to you within one business day.
Getting started
How fast can you actually go live?
Forty-eight to seventy-two hours from contract signing. Website live, AI receptionist answering, Google Business Profile optimized, ad campaigns drafted. The architecture is built for speed — most agencies need two to four weeks for onboarding alone because they bolt vendors together. We don't.
What does onboarding look like?
Hour zero: signed agreement, setup invoice paid, intake form completed. Hours 0–4: account access requested or claimed. Hours 4–24: landing pages built, tracking deployed, AI receptionist configured. Hours 24–48: ad campaigns built. Hours 48–72: full QA review and launch. From day one onward: daily monitoring, weekly optimization, bi-weekly check-ins.
When will I see results?
Most clients see their first qualified lead within 14 days of campaign launch. By day 30, ad campaigns move out of the learning phase into stable optimization. By day 90, you have a clear picture of cost-per-lead, conversion rates, and full-funnel ROI.
What do you need from me to get started?
A signed agreement, the setup fee paid, and a completed intake form covering business details, services offered, service area, ad budget, existing account access, and brand assets. Total time on your end: about 15 minutes. We handle everything else.
Do I need to have a website before I sign?
No. If you have one, we evaluate whether it's worth keeping or rebuilding from scratch. If you don't, the Website Design & Development service handles the full build — custom design, copywriting, SEO foundation, mobile optimization, and conversion tracking — and ships in 7–14 days.
What if I'm already running ads with another agency?
We coordinate the handoff. Your existing Google Ads and Meta accounts get transferred to your name (if they aren't already), historical data is preserved, and we transition the campaigns rather than starting from scratch. You retain everything — including any learning the previous agency built up.
Pricing & contracts
What does it actually cost?
Most clients start with The Surgent Foundation — a $3,995 setup + $999/mo bundle that includes a custom website, AI receptionist, Google Business Profile setup with 15 directory listings, and ongoing maintenance (~$1,000 less than buying à la carte). Individual services are also available standalone: Website Design & Development $2,000 one-time. AI Receptionist $500 setup + $500/mo. Local Foundation Setup $2,500 one-time. Local SEO Engine $2,500 setup + $2,000/mo. Ad Management is $1,000 setup + $1,000/mo per single platform (Google OR Meta), or $1,500 setup + $1,500/mo for both combined (+10% on ad spend over $10,000/mo). When a client takes Foundation + Ad Management + Local SEO Engine, the $4,000 in add-on setup fees is waived.
What contract options do you offer?
Three options. Six-month is the standard minimum, with month-to-month service after that and 30 days' written notice to cancel. Twelve-month locks in your monthly rate for a full year and includes priority support. Pay-in-full means 12 months paid upfront at signing — maximum savings, VIP priority, and all setup fees waived.
Who pays for ad spend?
You do — directly to Google or Meta. Ad spend is never billed through Surgent. Our ad management fee is $1,000/mo for a single platform or $1,500/mo for both combined, with an additional 10% on ad spend above $10,000/mo. Everything is transparent.
Are there hidden fees or auto-renewals?
No. No hidden fees. No auto-renewal traps. No early-termination penalties once the initial contract term is met. After the minimum term ends, service continues month-to-month with 30 days' written notice to cancel.
How does Surgent compare to other agencies?
Scorpion charges $10,000–$25,000 per month and locks clients into multi-year contracts. Average full-service agencies run $3,000–$10,000. Thryv's Growth Plan is around $1,133. The Surgent Foundation is $3,995 setup + $999/mo all-in for the core package. À la carte services run $500–$2,000/mo each depending on what you take. No contract lock-in. Full account ownership from day one.
Why do you charge a setup fee?
Setup fees cover the build work — designing and developing your website, configuring the AI receptionist, structuring the ad campaigns, deploying tracking infrastructure, and standing up the reporting dashboard. That work would run far higher at a traditional agency. Pay-in-full clients get all setup fees waived.
How much should I budget for ad spend?
Most service businesses we work with start at $3,000–$10,000 per month in ad spend, paid directly to Google or Meta. You can run just one platform ($1,000 setup + $1,000/mo management) or both combined ($1,500 setup + $1,500/mo — a $500 bundle discount). The right ad spend number depends on your service area size, average ticket value, and growth goals. We help you set a budget that hits your cost-per-lead target without overspending.
Can I add services partway through my engagement?
Yes. Most clients start with a website + AI receptionist and layer in additional services — Local Foundation Setup, Local SEO Engine, Ad Management — once initial results are demonstrated. Adding a service is a simple addendum to your existing agreement, not a new contract.
Is there a discount for paying in full?
Yes. Pay-in-full clients (12 months paid upfront at signing) receive all setup fees waived and get VIP priority status on the queue for new work, asset turnaround, and creative requests. It's the recommended option for clients ready to commit.
Ownership & control
Who owns the accounts you set up?
You do — from day one. Google Ads, Meta Business Manager, Google Business Profile, the website itself, every domain, every login. We operate them. You own them. This is the opposite of how the major agencies operate, and it's non-negotiable on every Surgent engagement.
What happens if I want to leave?
After the initial contract term, you can cancel with 30 days' written notice. You keep every account we built, every login, every domain, every creative asset. There's no early-termination fee. The risk structure is deliberately weighted to your side.
Do I get access to performance data?
Yes. Every client gets a live reporting dashboard with real-time access to leads, calls, ad performance, and ROI. No waiting for monthly reports. Full transparency at every level.
Will I have all the passwords and admin access?
Yes. Every account we set up or claim is created with you as the owner and primary administrator. We're added as a manager or admin with the access we need to operate. You can revoke our access at any time without affecting your ownership of the account itself.
What if I want a different agency to take over later?
Hand them the logins. Because every account is in your name from day one, there's no extraction process, no data export, no transition fee. The new agency picks up exactly where we left off — campaigns, history, audiences, creative assets, all of it intact.
Can I edit my own website?
Yes. We can give you direct access to make text and image updates. For structural changes or new pages, we typically handle those as part of your engagement. Either way, the website itself — code, content, hosting — belongs to you.
Services & specifics
What services do you offer?
Five core services: Website Design & Development, AI Receptionist, Ad Management (Google + Meta), Local Foundation Setup (one-time Google Business Profile build plus 15 high-trust directory listings), and Local SEO Engine (everything in the Local Foundation Setup plus monthly blogs, active Google listing management, and cross-posted social content). Most clients combine three or four of these into a custom engagement.
Do you build the website on WordPress?
No. We build custom, conversion-optimized websites on modern frameworks (React + Tailwind) — not cookie-cutter WordPress templates. Each site includes 15–20 pages, mobile-first design, fast load times, SEO foundation and schema markup, conversion tracking, and an AI website chatbot trained on your specific services.
What is the AI receptionist?
An AI phone agent that answers every inbound call in under one second, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It qualifies leads, answers common FAQs, and books appointments directly on your calendar. It's trained specifically on your services, pricing, and service area.
What is the Local Foundation Setup?
A one-time engagement that builds the local-search foundation Google reads when deciding who to surface. We build or clean up your Google Business Profile — photos, hours, services, attributes, Q&A, categories — and get you listed correctly on the 15 directories Google trusts most. Your name, address, and phone number get fixed everywhere they're inconsistent online. $2,500 one-time, no monthly fee.
Does the AI receptionist work in Spanish?
Yes. The AI receptionist supports bilingual call handling and can switch languages mid-call based on the caller. For South Florida service businesses serving Spanish-speaking communities, this is configured during onboarding.
How many calls can the AI receptionist handle at once?
Unlimited. Unlike a human receptionist who can only field one call at a time, the AI handles every concurrent call independently. Storm season, a sudden ad spike, three calls in the same minute — every caller still gets answered in under one second.
What if a customer asks the AI something it can't answer?
The AI is trained to gracefully escalate. If it encounters a question outside its training, it captures the caller's details, takes a message, and either routes the call to you directly or schedules a callback — depending on your preferences. Nothing falls through the cracks.
How long does the website build actually take?
Seven to fourteen days from kickoff for a standard 15–20 page custom build. Larger or more complex sites (deep e-commerce integrations, multi-location architectures) can run longer. We give you a firm timeline before work starts.
Can I make changes to my website after launch?
Yes. Minor copy and image updates can be done by you directly or sent to us — we handle them as part of your engagement. Larger structural changes or new pages are scoped and built by our team. There's no per-edit fee on minor updates.
Which platforms do you post social content to?
The Local SEO Engine includes 4 social posts a month, with the same post cross-published to Instagram and Facebook. That's the only social posting Surgent offers — it's a consistent presence so your business shows up where your buyers scroll, not a full social media management product.
Do you create the content for the social posts?
Yes. The 4 monthly social posts in the Local SEO Engine are written and designed by us, built around your service work and customer wins, then cross-posted to your Instagram and Facebook. Photos for your Google Business Profile are also refreshed monthly as part of the active GBP management.
Will Google Ads compete with my own SEO?
No. Paid search and organic search occupy different real estate on the results page, and Google does not penalize a domain for running ads against its own keywords. In fact, running both typically increases overall click-through rate because your business appears in two places at once.
Reporting & accountability
How do you measure success?
By the metrics that actually impact your business — qualified leads, booked appointments, cost-per-lead, conversion rate, and ROI. We don't optimize for impressions or clicks; we optimize for revenue. Every weekly check-in centers on what's converting and what isn't.
What's in the live reporting dashboard?
Real-time access to leads (with source attribution), calls (volume, duration, outcome), ad performance (cost-per-click, cost-per-conversion, ROAS), website analytics (sessions, conversion rate, page-level performance), and ROI calculations. You can log in any time — no waiting for end-of-month reports.
How often do I get formal reports?
Monthly performance reports are delivered in plain English with the numbers that matter — leads generated, ad spend deployed, cost-per-lead, and what we changed during the period. The live dashboard covers everything in between.
Do you provide call recordings from the AI receptionist?
Yes. Every call handled by the AI receptionist is recorded and transcribed (where legally permitted), with the transcript and outcome available in your dashboard. You can review actual conversations, flag missed opportunities, and refine the AI's training over time.
Working with us
Who will I be working with?
The founders directly — Grant St. Leger and Preston Murphy. There are no junior account managers, no call centers, and no handoffs to teams that don't know your business. You work with the people building and managing your campaigns.
Do you work with my industry?
If you're an established service business doing $1M or more in annual revenue — roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, awning, screen enclosure, auto repair, med spa, dental, general contracting, home improvement — yes. The system is built for service businesses with real reputations and real reviews that just need the digital growth layer to match.
Where are you located?
South Florida. We work with clients across the region in person — we drive past their storefronts, we know their competition, we live in the same market they do. This isn't a remote agency guessing at the dynamics of a region from a different state.
What if I'm not in South Florida?
We've worked with clients outside the region (Amino Fuel Labs is a national DTC brand). For service businesses outside South Florida, reach out and we'll let you know if it's a fit. Some services — like the Local SEO Engine and Ad Management — work anywhere.
What's your typical response time when I need something?
Within one business day for any non-urgent request — usually much sooner. Urgent items (campaign issues, broken ads, downed tracking) are handled the same day. Because you work with the founders directly, there's no ticket queue and no junior account manager screening your requests.
Do you have an office where we can meet in person?
Yes. We're rooted in South Florida and meet clients on-site at their business or at our office, depending on what works. For commercial roofing and contractor clients especially, walking the job site or the showroom together is often the fastest way to understand the work.
What if I already have an in-house marketing person?
We work alongside them. Many clients have an in-house person handling content, social engagement, or local relationships — and they continue to. We integrate as the technical and operational backbone (ads, website, tracking, reporting) so your internal team can focus on what they do best.
Still have a question?
Let's talk it through.
We respond within one business day, and you'll speak directly with our founders — no gatekeeper, no junior account manager, no call center.