How to choose a lead generation company

Choosing a lead-gen company is mostly an exercise in asking better questions. The sales pitch will sound similar everywhere. The answers to these nine will not.

Take this list to every provider you talk to, including us.

1. Is this lead sold to anyone else? Ever?

This is the first question because it changes the value of every other answer.

A good answer is a plain yes or no with no qualifiers. A bad answer contains the word “typically”, or explains that leads are “usually” exclusive, or describes a tiered system where exclusivity costs extra on top.

Ours: every lead goes to exactly one contractor, with no exceptions and no tier where that changes.

2. Who qualifies the homeowner, and how?

There is a large difference between a form with checkboxes and a person on the phone.

Ask specifically: is there a human conversation before the lead is sent? What do they ask? What disqualifies a homeowner?

If the provider cannot describe the disqualifying criteria, there probably are not any.

3. How is my territory defined?

“Your area” is not an answer. “Your zip codes” is.

Ask how many other contractors in your trade can buy leads in the same postal codes. If the answer is anything other than zero, you are sharing, whatever the leads are called.

4. What happens when a lead is bad?

Every provider sends a bad lead eventually. Wrong number, moved away, changed their mind. What matters is what happens next.

Ask what counts as a bad lead, how you report it, how long you have, and what you get. Then ask how often it happens.

We do not offer refunds. We do replace a lead that did not meet the bar, and we do not make you fight for it.

5. What am I actually committed to?

Read for three things: the term, the notice period, and the early-termination fee.

A provider confident in its own leads does not need a twelve-month lock-in. Ours is month to month, with no setup fee.

6. How fast will the lead reach me?

Speed decides more outcomes than price does. Ask for the number, not the adjective.

If the answer is “quickly” or “in real time”, ask what the median is and what the worst case looks like on a busy day.

Ours is under 10 minutes from qualification, delivered by text and email.

7. What volume should I expect, and what happens if it does not arrive?

Any provider that guarantees a lead count is guessing, or worse. Demand depends on your trade, your territory and the season.

What you want is an honest range and an explanation of what moves it. Most contractors working with us see 10 to 15 qualified leads a week, and that depends on trade, territory size and local demand. Anyone promising a floor with no conditions is telling you what you want to hear.

8. Can I talk to a contractor in my trade who uses you?

A reasonable request. The answer tells you as much as the reference would.

9. What does the handoff actually look like?

Ask to see it. A text and an email with the homeowner’s name, number, trade and what they asked for is a handoff. A login to a portal you have to remember to check is not, for a business where minutes matter.

Before you sign

Run a small paid test rather than a big first month, and judge it on the right things.

• Contact rate: how often did you reach a real, interested homeowner?
• Appointment rate: how many turned into a booked estimate?
• Response time on your side: were you calling back in minutes?
• Close rate: how many became jobs, and at what margin?

Track those four for a month and you will know more than any sales call could tell you.