How Mason Sanders of Tier 1 Marketing Helps Local Businesses Get Found First
Deanna Parrish August 24, 2026
Deanna Parrish August 24, 2026
Most owners assume the phone stays quiet because the market slowed down. The truth is usually harsher. The customer already searched, already picked someone, and never knew you existed.
That gap is what I wanted to close, so I invited Mason Sanders of Tier 1 Marketing onto my show to explain where local businesses lose the job before the first call ever happens. He onboards service businesses every week and watches the same blind spots repeat.
If you’re an agent, contractor, or business owner who wants to be chosen first, you've got to hear his insights.
Here’s a preview of that episode:
Why I Had This Conversation
I sell property in Walker County, and I watch good operators lose work constantly. Not because the work is weak, but because nobody can find them at the moment of need.
I have lived the other side of it, too, with our office sitting in an old bank building with an address on a wall that has no door, so clients circled the drive looking for us.
Mason founded Tier 1 Marketing in Jasper and works in local search, paid ads, streaming TV, and automation. He builds the company on Christian values and says serving people well is the real measure of success.
I wanted his honest read on why local visibility for small businesses now decides who gets hired.
Watch the full episode here:
Why the Most Visible Business Wins Before Skill Ever Matters
Mason's answer was blunt: the best business does not always win; the most visible business wins.
Here is the sequence. A customer hits an urgent problem. The AC dies, the crawlspace floods, and a house needs to sell. They search on their phone.
Within roughly five seconds, three businesses appear on a map. They pick based on review count, real photos, and which listing looks alive. If someone answers, the search is over.
Everyone else lost a job a potential customer never knew existed, and their skill never got a chance to compete.
That changed things for me. Building a local SEO strategy for service businesses is not vanity work. Mason called visibility the front door of the business, and most owners keep that door locked.
When I asked Mason what to do first on a small budget, he did not hesitate. A free profile on Google that you can already own outranks anything you can buy.
“The best business doesn't always win. The most visible business always wins. They pull out their phone, go to Google and search, and in about five seconds they have a map come up with three different businesses on it. And they pick the business with number one, the most reviews, number two, real photos, and number three, the business that looks the most alive. And then they choose that business, and they call. If that business answers, the search is over.”
Real Google Business Profile optimization means claiming the listing and then filling every section completely: every service, every area covered, and real photos from real jobs, instead of stock images.
Post weekly like you would to any social account. Answer the questions people leave. Respond to every review, good or bad.
Most competitors claimed a profile years ago and walked away. That is why a fully built-out Google Business Profile is still the cheapest advantage available in a small market.
Mason bet that if you audited ten local businesses, maybe one would have all three of these running.
The first is the complete Google Business Profile. The second is a review engine, where every finished job automatically triggers a same-day review request by text. Asking only when you remember means you mostly do not ask.
The third is a speed-to-lead system, where every call, form, and message gets an answer in minutes rather than days.
His perspective stayed with me. The competitor with two hundred reviews is not better than you. They just have a system, while you have good intentions.
This is the part I knew from real estate and still underestimated. Speed reads as competence.
“Only five years ago, only companies with call centers could deliver that kind of experience with that direct connection right after: ‘Hey, we missed a call from you, how can we help?’ Today, a local two-man or even one-man crew here in Walker County can respond faster than some national franchises. AI didn't raise the ceiling for big businesses; it raised the floor for small businesses.”
A call comes in at two in the morning, or at two in the afternoon while you are under a house. Seconds later, the caller gets a text, questions get answered, and an appointment lands on your calendar.
That single automation is called missed call text back automation, and Mason considers it a wise tool to have for the highest returns. It catches leads you already paid to generate.
He added a practical filter, as well. A ten-second recorded greeting screens out most spam calls, which matters once your number sits publicly on Google.
Layering AI automation for after-hours inquiries does not replace the craftsman. It just keeps the work coming in.
I always believed reviews should arrive unprompted. I take a commission out of a client's pocket at closing, and I hate asking them for one more thing.
“None of these things are expensive. They're not budget problems. They're system problems. And so the business that turns all of these things on, turns them into a system, will quietly, slowly but surely, take over its market when everybody else just stays stagnant in where they're at.”
Mason moved me off that. A system asking on my behalf is not a favor; it is a normal step in a finished job.
I also stopped treating every platform as equal. Google carries the local search weight now, and it feeds the AI answers buyers increasingly trust.
So, I am consolidating my proof onto Google, tightening response time on every inquiry, and holding the same standard on resources for clients preparing to sell an Alabama property.
Everything Mason Sanders of Tier 1 Marketing shared comes down to one shift. Stop trying to be the best-kept secret in town and start being the easiest business to find and reach.
Want to hear my full conversation with Mason on how to win local search for your business?
Frequently Asked Questions
Claim and fully build out a free Google profile. Add every service, real job photos, weekly posts, answered questions, and replies to every review before spending on ads.
For urgent services, yes. Callers move down the list until someone answers, so the fastest response usually wins the job.
Customers care that someone responded quickly, not whether the first reply was automated. A fast text opens the conversation, and you take it from there.
Markets tighten, technology shifts, and the people solving real problems on the ground rarely get the microphone.
If you work in real estate, construction, finance, or the trades, and you have practical answers, I want to hear from you and feature you as a guest on my show!
No Excuses is produced by Icons of Real Estate, the #1 Real Estate Podcast Network. If you are a real estate professional, apply to be a guest speaker across the network!
Whether you are buying a home in town or a retreat on Smith Lake, Deanna is your local connection. She leverages deep community roots to find properties that perfectly match your lifestyle. Connect with her to start your journey.
