I take one HVAC client per zip code in the San Fernando Valley. Once your zip is signed, it's closed forever — to your competitor across the street, to the bigger shop two zips over, to anyone. Here's why I made that decision, and why no agency above $5M in revenue can copy it.
Full post coming soon. The short version: it's a math problem disguised as an ethics question. Geographic exclusivity is impossible to scale past a certain headcount, which is why national agencies don't offer it. It's also the single biggest reason an owner-operator can out-deliver them on the work that matters.
You can rank one client in a zip really well, or you can rank three of them mediocre-ly. You can't do both. The math is final.