What should a lead cost a tradie in Brisbane?

Start with the job, not the lead

Owners often ask what a 'good' cost per lead is. The honest answer is that it depends on what the lead turns into. A $90 lead that books a $4,000 hot water system is cheap. A $12 lead that never answers the phone is expensive.

So before comparing yourself with anyone, write down two numbers: your average job value and the share of enquiries you turn into booked jobs. For most trades we work with, close rates on phone calls sit between 35% and 60%.

Sample ranges by trade

These are sample figures from the kind of accounts we manage. Your suburbs and services will move them.

• Plumbers: $35 to $60 per lead, average job around $480
• Electricians: $45 to $70 per lead, average job around $620
• Cleaners: $14 to $28 per lead, first job around $310
• Dentists: $35 to $75 per new patient call
• Physios: $30 to $55 per new patient
• Builders and renovators: $140 to $320 per qualified lead, with projects averaging $86,000

The maths in one line

Cost per booked job equals cost per lead divided by your close rate. If leads cost $50 and you book 45% of them, each job costs about $111 to win. On a $650 job, that is 17% of the invoice.

Whether 17% is acceptable depends on your margins and on repeat work. A cleaner who turns one in five first jobs into a fortnightly client can afford to pay far more for the first booking than the numbers suggest.

Three ways to bring the cost down

• Answer more calls. An unanswered lead costs the same as an answered one.
• Send ad clicks to a page about that exact service, not your home page.
• Block wasteful searches every week. DIY, jobs, courses and suppliers are the usual culprits.

Try it with your own numbers

Our lead cost calculator takes your ad spend, cost per click, conversion rate, close rate and job value, and shows leads, cost per lead, booked jobs and return. It takes about two minutes and nothing is saved.