If you are running a home service business of any type, whether plumbing, roof work, HVAC, landscaping, etc., you probably know that the hardest part of the business isn’t the actual labor involved, but getting the phone to ring in the first place.

This is where lead generation companies step in, but there is a wide range of prices charged by various lead generation companies. Here’s how to make sense of them.

Table of Contents

What Home Service Lead Generation Companies Actually Do

Most of these businesses offer at least one or two of the following services:

Paid advertising (Google Local Services Ads, Facebook, etc.) that sells you the leads that come from their ads
Directory-type sites (Angi, Thumbtack, Homeadvisor, etc.) where homeowners post requests
Building and ranking organic leads through SEO/local content pages
A combination of the above into a complete lead generation channel

What is important here is the business model and not the marketing speak. Some provide exclusive leads (you get this particular lead). Others provide shared leads (the same homeowner gets contacted by 3–5 contractors and it is just a race to see who calls first). The latter are cheaper per lead but are less effective, you will not be the first call, and homeowners get tired of calls real quick.

The Big Players Worth Knowing

Angi and Thumbtack

Angi (earlier known as Angie’s List/HomeAdvisor) and Thumbtack rule the shared-lead marketing approach. They possess enormous organic as well as paid exposure, hence, both the volume of leads and competition from other contractors for the same leads is very genuine.

Other Popular Lead Marketplaces

Networx, CraftJack, and Modernize offer products which compete in the same market segment but with relatively lesser brand awareness and sometimes less expensive leads.

Local Marketing Agencies

There is another category: local marketing agencies that create for you a separate lead generation system, Google My Business listing optimization, local SEO, and Local Services Advertising management. It’s a more costly option but it always gives you exclusive leads to work with.

How to Evaluate One Before You Sign Anything

Ask yourself these questions before turning over your credit card:

1. Exclusive or Shared Leads?

Be sure to know this before getting a quote. Everything else becomes irrelevant.

2. What’s the Return/Refund Policy on Bad Leads?

Typographical errors, out-of-town leads, and spam are common occurrences. An organization that lacks any sort of dispute policy is suspect.

3. What’s the Actual Cost Per Lead in Your Specific Trade and Market?

HVAC and Roofing leads in competitive markets can be $50-$150+. Need a quote, not a range.

4. Can You See a Sample Dashboard or Reporting Before Committing?

Without being able to track the leads in real-time, then there’s something wrong.

5. What’s the Contract Length?

Monthly billing should be available. Large contracts mean that they expect customers to churn out.

A Simple Way to Test Any Provider

Before allocating your budget, do some testing first:

Duration: 30 days
Budget allocation: Fixed
Lead tracking mechanism: (Call tracking, CRM tag, etc.)

Measure:

Cost per lead
Cost per booked appointment
Cost per closed deal not just pure lead quantity. An inexpensive lead which fails to book an appointment is costlier than an expensive one which closes.

Building Your Own Lead Engine Instead

However, many home services businesses will inevitably reach a point where they can do away with third-party lead generation sites altogether, having reached sufficient volume.

This progression usually goes something like:

Begin with the marketplace (Angi, Thumbtack) as a cheap source of volume.
Then add in Google Local Services Ads for leads with more intent and exclusivity.
SEO optimization in the form of Google Business Profile, service-area pages, and reviews, all for free leads after ranking.

Those companies that do have the highest margins typically operate a combination of:

Paid directories for volume
SEO/GBP owned for margins
Referrals for the most inexpensive leads

Bottom Line

There is no such thing as “one best” home services lead generation company, and the proper choice is contingent upon your industry, level of competition in your market, and ability to service shared leads in a timely manner.

Start small, measure your cost per booked job, not your cost per lead, and don’t hesitate to test two companies simultaneously to identify the one that covers its costs.

Home Service Lead Generation Companies: How to Pick One That Actually Works