Let me be straight with you: Lead Gen Academy isn’t a marketing agency, and founder Oliver Pestalozzi — an ex-Google trainer who says he’s managed $7M+ in annual ad spend and trained 2,000+ students — built a genuinely different pitch. Three months of unlimited 1-on-1 mentorship, lifetime access to their training library and templates, plus a peer community, all aimed at teaching you to run your own Google and Meta campaigns instead of paying an agency forever. If you want to own the skill for life, not just rent an outcome, that’s a legitimate case.
But it’s Done-With-You, not done-for-you. You’re the one building the campaigns, writing the ads, testing landing pages and managing spend — with coaching on the side. $4,500 upfront buys the training and the calls; the weekly hours actually running the account are still yours to find, indefinitely, after the 90 days end. And their refund is conditional: you have to complete every module and implement it correctly first.
We built LSM as the other end of that trade: $1,000 or $3,500 a month, month-to-month, and we run the account. Our AI manages bids and budgets daily, I personally review it, and you approve everything before it goes live. Your Google Ads account and landing page are opened in your name from day one — same ownership you’d get building it yourself, minus the hours.
| Lead Gen Academy | Local Service Mastery (LSM AI) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | 3-month 1-on-1 coaching program — you build and run your own Google/Meta campaigns | Done-for-you Google Ads + your own AI account manager, personally overseen by Lior |
| Published pricing | $4,500 one-time (publicly stated: $1,500/mo × 3 months). No ongoing fees | Public, on the page: $1,000 / $3,500 per month. No setup fee |
| Who does the work | You — with 1-on-1 mentorship and a peer community for support | Our AI + Lior. You approve, you don’t execute |
| Time to a live campaign | After you complete onboarding and training modules — self-paced | ~48 hours after setup — we build it |
| Ongoing weekly time | Hands-on: you’re managing and optimizing the account yourself, every week | Near zero. Daily management is ours |
| Commitment | $4,500 upfront, 90-day program. Refund conditional on completing every module correctly | Month-to-month. Cancel anytime. 7-day full money-back guarantee |
| Who owns the ad account & landing page | You — you build it yourself, so it’s yours by default | You. Opened in your name from day one, same outcome |
| Best-fit client | Owner who wants to learn the skill personally and has the time to run campaigns week to week | Owner-operated local service companies that want lead flow without doing the work themselves |
Lead Gen Academy details from leadgen-academy.com as of August 2026. Pricing and terms change — confirm directly with Lead Gen Academy. Lead Gen Academy is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Local Service Mastery, and vice versa. Comparison is based on publicly available information (leadgen-academy.com) as of August 2026; features and pricing change — verify all details directly with the vendor.
I respect what Lead Gen Academy is selling. Teaching an owner to run their own ads instead of handing $2,500 a month to an agency forever is a real answer to a real problem — and if you’ve got the hours and want the skill for life, three months of hands-on mentorship from someone who’s managed millions in ad spend isn’t a bad trade for $4,500.
But most of the owners I talk to don’t actually want to become their own media buyer. They’re already running the business, the crew, the calls. Adding “learn Google Ads” to that list — even with great coaching — is still a second job, indefinitely, after the coaching ends.
So we built LSM around a different assumption: you shouldn’t have to choose between owning your lead flow and getting your time back. Our AI, trained on 8,600+ real coaching sessions, manages the account daily; I personally oversee it; you approve everything before it goes live. Same ownership Lead Gen Academy promises — the account and the landing page are yours — minus the 10 hours a week. And if we ever stop earning it, you cancel and keep the machine.
— Lior Vaknin, founder, Local Service Mastery
Local Service Mastery is a online marketing agency for home service contractors built for contractors who want to own the account, not rent access to one.
More comparisons: Scorpion alternative · Home Service Direct alternative · Hook Agency alternative · See all 100 →
Everything built inside your accounts. Owned by you.
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Starter
$1,000/mo
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Pro
$3,500/mo
|
Enterprise
Custom
Book a call
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|---|---|---|---|
| Included in every plan | |||
| Google Ads campaign built for you | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| High-converting landing page | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Call tracking setup | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Competitor click blocking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Daily AI optimization & negative keywords | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Monthly performance report | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| LSM AI manager — 24/7 Q&A on your account | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Campaigns & coverage | |||
| New campaigns per month | 1/mo | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Cities covered | Start with 1 | Full area | Full area |
| Campaign duplication | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Support & extras | |||
| Support | Standard | Live | Dedicated |
| Local SEO management | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Facebook / Meta Ads management | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| ChatGPT Ads management | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full LSM training access | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weekly group coaching with Lior | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Personal 1-on-1 onboarding call | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Two 1-on-1 calls a month with Lior | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| White-label & custom solutions | — | — | ✓ |
| Book a call | |||
The opposite of an agency. We build it inside your accounts. You own it all.
One city or your whole service area. The free audit tells you exactly what to expect in your market.
Your AI marketing manager builds your Google Ads, call tracking, fraud protection, and landing page — inside your accounts. You approve before a single dollar is spent.
Most clients are live within 48 hours. Your AI optimizes bids and keywords daily — results compound over time.
Built on 8,600+ real LSM coaching sessions. Trained in Lior's exact voice.
The moment you sign up, your LSM AI knows your plan, your city, your service. No setup call. No briefing a stranger.
Google Ads. Call tracking. Fraud protection. Your landing page. Built inside your accounts, step by step.
Before a single dollar is spent, your AI walks you through everything it built. You approve. Then it goes live.
Ask it anything, anytime. 8,600+ real LSM coaching answers. Available instantly.
The day you leave an agency, your Google Ads account, tracking numbers, and landing page are gone. You spent $30,000 building their asset.
Impressions. Clicks. CTR. Beautiful PDF every month. But when you ask how many jobs you closed — nobody has a straight answer.
You need answers now. A human account manager you can never reach isn't service — it's a subscription to uncertainty.
Not sure which plan fits your market? Book a free 15-minute call. I'll tell you honestly if I can help — and if I can't, I'll tell you that too.
— Lior
I built Local Service Mastery because I watched too many great contractors get burned by agencies — overcharged, locked out, left with nothing. So I flipped the model: your accounts, your data, your asset. We build it. You own it.
Peace,
Lior Vaknin
Not exactly — they teach you to run your own campaigns; we run them for you. If you want to learn the skill personally and have the time to execute week to week, their coaching model may genuinely be the better fit, and we’ll tell you that on the call. If you want the lead flow without doing the work yourself, that’s us.
It’s public: $4,500 paid upfront, structured as $1,500/month over 3 months, with no ongoing fees after that. Confirm current pricing directly with them — programs change.
Overlap, not identical. They list chiropractors, med spas, fitness studios and real estate alongside home-service trades. We’re built specifically for local service and trades businesses — HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, pest control and similar — 15 years, 500+ owners coached, $20M+ client revenue.
Sure. Their refund is conditional on completing every module correctly; ours isn’t conditional on anything but the first 7 days. If you’d rather have it managed than manage it yourself, you can start with us any time — month-to-month, no long commitment either way.
Start with Starter if you want to get your phone ringing in one city and grow from there — one new campaign gets added each month. Go with Growth if you're ready to cover your full service area right away. Pro adds local SEO, Facebook Ads, and weekly coaching with me directly. If you're still not sure, run the free audit — it'll tell you what to expect in your market.
Most clients are live within 48 hours of completing setup. Your LSM AI builds everything, you review and approve, then it goes live. The only exception is if Google requires advanced verification for your category (locksmith, garage door) — that's a direct process between you and Google, and we walk you through it.
Depends on your trade, your city, and your ad budget. The free audit gives you a real estimate pulled directly from Google's own Ads data — not a made-up projection. In a medium-to-large market with a $1,000/month ad budget, most clients get 15–40 qualified calls per month. Run the audit first to see what's realistic in your specific area.
Yes. The Google Ads account, the call tracking numbers, the landing page — all built inside your accounts, in your name. If you ever cancel, you walk away with everything you paid to build. That's not a policy. That's the whole point.
No contract, ever. Every plan is month-to-month. Cancel anytime — if we stop earning your business, you should stop paying.
No problem. You can connect your existing accounts, or we set everything up fresh for you. Your call — you pick during onboarding.
Yes — Google requires advanced verification for locksmith and garage door services before ads can run. We build your campaign and all your keywords, but you'll need to complete that verification with Google directly (we walk you through it). If for any reason you can't complete it, you're covered by our full 7-day refund.
We specialize in home and local services — HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, locksmith, garage door, pest control, carpet cleaning, water damage, tree service, and more. Run the free audit and you'll instantly see if we're a fit.
It's your personal AI marketing manager — trained on 8,600+ real LSM coaching sessions. Sign up and it's ready to go: builds your full campaign setup inside your accounts, reviews everything with you before anything goes live, and stays on 24/7 to answer any question about your campaigns, leads, or marketing strategy. In Lior's exact voice.
If you sign up and decide within 7 days that this isn't right for you — for any reason — you get a full refund. No hoops. We'd rather lose a bad fit early than keep a client who isn't seeing value.
Check your market, pick your plan, or grab 15 minutes with me. Let's get your phone ringing.
Local Service Mastery