The ten questions
1. Is the lead exclusive to me? The most important question. A shared lead sold to several contractors converts far worse, and the answer is often evasive.
2. If shared, how many others receive it? And is that number capped in writing.
3. What counts as a billable lead? Wrong numbers, suppliers, out-of-area requests, services you do not offer — are those charged?
4. What is the dispute process? Every source produces bad leads. What matters is whether disputing one is straightforward or deliberately tedious, and how long you have to raise it.
5. Can I control service and area? Or will anything vaguely adjacent arrive on your invoice.
6. How are leads delivered, and how fast? A lead delivered by email an hour later, to a shared inbox, is worth a fraction of one delivered instantly to a phone.
7. Can I pause? Seasonal businesses and businesses at capacity need this. A source you cannot switch off is a liability during a busy month.
8. What happens to the price over time? Marketplace prices generally rise as more contractors join and bid.
9. What close rate do contractors in my trade typically see? Treat a confident, precise answer with some caution — but the way they answer is informative.
10. What do I keep if I stop? Usually nothing, and it is worth hearing them say it. That is the structural cost of renting your pipeline.
Before you sign
Work out your own value per lead: average job value × gross margin × close rate. That figure is your ceiling and it is specific to you.
Then assume your close rate on shared leads will be materially lower than on your own enquiries, and check the numbers still work.
What to do in the first sixty days
Track, for every lead from the source: whether it was genuine, whether you reached them, whether it quoted, whether it booked, and what it was worth.
After sixty days you will have cost per booked job — the only number that decides whether to continue. Most contractors who have strong opinions about lead sources have never calculated it.
Answer fast
On shared leads, speed is close to everything. The contractor who calls in two minutes gets a disproportionate share, and the one who calls in the evening is talking to someone who has already booked.
If you cannot respond within minutes during the hours leads arrive, shared leads are a poor purchase for you.
Getting a second opinion
If you want to talk through whether buying leads makes sense for your situation, call James on 832-338-2926.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important question?
Whether the lead is exclusive, and if not, how many other contractors receive it — capped in writing. Shared leads convert far worse and the answer is often evasive.
What should I check about billing?
What counts as a billable lead — whether wrong numbers, suppliers, out-of-area requests and services you do not offer are charged — and how straightforward the dispute process is.
What should I track in the first sixty days?
For every lead: whether it was genuine, whether you reached them, whether it quoted and booked, and what it was worth. That gives you cost per booked job, the only deciding number.
How quickly do I need to respond to shared leads?
Within minutes. The contractor who calls in two minutes takes a disproportionate share. If you cannot respond that fast during the hours leads arrive, shared leads are a poor purchase.