Every contractor has had the call: a homeowner says “you’re the fourth company to phone me in ten minutes.” That’s a shared lead. You paid for it, three competitors paid for it, and the job goes to whoever answered first and quoted lowest.
What a shared lead really costs
The sticker price of a shared lead varies by trade and market, and it is only the beginning. Factor in the ones you never reach, the ones who already hired someone, and the ones who only wanted a ballpark number, and your real cost per booked job is often three to six times the lead price. Then add the margin you give up to win the bidding war.
- You pay whether or not you reach the homeowner
- You compete on speed and price, not quality
- You don’t own the relationship, the data or the ad creative
- The platform can raise prices or change rules whenever it wants
What an exclusive lead system looks like
An exclusive lead comes from your own ad, pointing at your own landing page, landing in your own inbox. Nobody else sees it. You still have to answer fast, but you’re not racing anyone.
The pieces are simple: an offer homeowners actually want, ads built from your real jobs, a mobile landing page that books, and follow-up that texts within minutes. We call that the 3-part system, and it’s what we build for roofers, HVAC, plumbers and remodelers. Read more on our lead generation for contractors page.
HomeAdvisor and Angi alternatives for contractors
If you’re looking for an alternative to shared-lead marketplaces, the honest answer is: build your own. It takes a few weeks to tune and a modest test budget, but every dollar builds an asset you own instead of renting someone else’s traffic.
An illustrative scenario (not client data)
The numbers below are hypothetical and only show how to compare the two models. Say you buy 20 shared roofing leads at $90 ($1,800), reach 12, quote 6 and close 2. That’s $900 per sold job before you discounted to win. Now run $1,800 of your own ads to an inspection offer: if you book 10 inspections and close 3, you’re at $600 per job with no bidding war and a pixel full of data for next month. Your own numbers will differ; use cost per booked job to compare honestly.
Want a second set of eyes on your lead system? Book a strategy call or call 737-329-5526.