The price of a lead is one useful number. The time spent answering, travelling, preparing an estimate and following up is another part of the picture.
That does not make paid leads a bad choice. It gives you more to consider when comparing where your next customer comes from.
A made-up example to talk through
Suppose a business buys ten leads for $60 each and wins two jobs. The advertising spend is $600, or $300 per job won.
Now suppose those same ten opportunities involve $60 of office time, $850 of travel and site-estimate costs, $500 of quote preparation and $75 of follow-up. These are illustrative assumptions, not measured client results or market averages.
| Illustrative acquisition cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Advertising | $600 |
| Office time | $60 |
| Travel and site estimates | $850 |
| Quote preparation | $500 |
| Follow-up | $75 |
| Total | $2,085 |
Under those assumptions, $2,085 divided by two jobs is $1,042.50 per customer won. Your figures could be very different. Check that labour and travel costs are not counted twice, and keep the cost of doing the work separate from the cost of winning it.
What could you check in your own business?
Take a small set of recent inquiries. Record the source, whether a site visit was needed, time spent estimating and the outcome. Use a consistent method so the comparison is useful.
A higher-priced lead could still be worthwhile if it produces suitable work with less estimating effort. A lower-priced lead could need more staff time. The job value and delivery costs matter too.
Where might a process change help?
A few initial questions could avoid an unnecessary visit. A reusable quote template may reduce repeated typing. A reminder with a named owner could make follow-up easier to manage.
Test the change against your own figures before calling it a saving. How much of your estimating and follow-up time currently appears in the way you judge lead costs?