Buying leads vs. generating your own: the honest math.
Thousands of contractors search “buy roofing leads” or “buy HVAC leads” every month. Here's the answer nobody selling leads will give you: the per-booked-job math on both models, when buying is actually rational, and the 90-day plan to stop renting your pipeline.
Bought vs. generated, side by side.
Bought (shared marketplace)
$20–$120 per lead, sold 4–8 ways. Real cost per booked job: 4–6× the sticker price, plus the margin you cut to win the bid. Starts producing today; stops the second you stop paying.
Bought (exclusive broker)
$50–$250 per lead, allegedly exclusive. Better — but verify where campaigns run and who keeps the assets. Most brokers keep everything; you're still renting.
Generated (your assets)
LSA + search + your website: $25–$200 per exclusive lead depending on trade, falling over time as reviews and rankings compound. Slower to start; permanent once built.
The three legitimate reasons to buy leads.
Bridging an empty calendar
New market or new company: shared leads keep crews busy while LSA screening and rankings build. Budget them like a bridge loan — temporary, expensive, exit planned.
Testing a new service line
Adding epoxy floors or heat pumps? A month of bought leads validates demand before you invest in campaigns and pages.
Absorbing overflow demand
Storm weeks and heatwaves: buying marginal leads at known cost beats letting a competitor's phone ring. Only works if your close rate is proven.
From renting to owning in one quarter.
LSA screening + tracking
Google Guaranteed paperwork in week one; call tracking and CRM routing so every lead source is measured from day one.
Search campaigns live
Intent-split campaigns by trade produce exclusive leads inside two weeks — while shared-lead spend starts stepping down.
Estimator website + reviews
The instant estimator converts research traffic; the review engine builds the map-pack position that makes leads free.
Cut the cord
Compare cost per booked job across sources and drop what loses. Most clients cut marketplaces entirely here — the math does the deciding.
Questions contractors actually ask us.
Should I ever buy leads?
As a bridge, maybe — a new company with an empty calendar can use shared leads to fill gaps while assets build. As a strategy, no: you're renting a pipeline at a markup, competing on price, and funding the marketplace that outbids you on Google.
How long until generated leads replace bought ones?
LSA typically produces calls within 2–3 weeks of Google Guaranteed approval. Paid search produces leads inside 2 weeks. Organic rankings and the estimator take 3–6 months and then keep compounding. Most clients stop buying shared leads entirely within one quarter.
What's the real cost difference?
Work per booked job, not per lead. A $40 shared roofing lead at a 1-in-6 close is $240/job with squeezed margins. A $120 exclusive lead at 1-in-3 is $360/job at full margin — and the cost falls every month as reviews and rankings compound. By month six, generated usually wins by 2–5x.
Which is better: pay-per-lead or a monthly system?
Pay-per-lead (ours, not a marketplace's) is the low-risk test: exclusive leads at a fixed price, no retainer. The monthly system wins long-term because you own the assets. Start with whichever matches your risk tolerance — details on our pay-per-lead page.
Get the buy-vs-build math for your company.
One call. Within 24 hours you get it in writing: your current cost per booked job, what generated leads would cost in your trade and territory, and the 90-day switch plan.
No card. No contract. Takes one phone call.