Lead sources
Buying removals leads vs getting your own enquiries
A cheap lead that never becomes a job isn't cheap. Here's how to compare sources without getting distracted by lead volume.
By James Green · · 6 min read
In this guide
What are you actually buying?
Shared lead site
- What reaches you
- A quote request that may reach other firms
- What you control
- Which jobs you accept and how quickly you respond
Exclusive lead supplier
- What reaches you
- A request sold to one firm, if genuinely exclusive
- What you control
- Your response; less control over how the enquiry was attracted
Your own advertising
- What reaches you
- An enquiry from your advert to your form or page
- What you control
- Message, area, form, follow-up and your own ad account
Exclusive doesn't necessarily mean qualified. Ask if the customer has a move date, a real phone number and a job you can service. Equally, your own adverts won't fix slow call-backs or a quote process that loses people.
Compare booked moves, not lead prices
For each source, record what you spent, enquiries received, surveys arranged, quotes sent and moves booked. Divide total source cost by booked moves. For your own advertising, include the management fee as well as the spend paid to the platform. For bought leads, include subscription or credit costs and the time spent chasing them. If no moves have booked yet, keep tracking — don't call the cost zero.
The same budget can produce very different work
- Source A: lead costs
- £600
- Source A: booked moves
- 3
- Cost per booked move
- £200
- Source B: advertising + management
- £500 + £850 = £1,350
- If source B books 6 moves
- £225 per booked move
Which fits your diary?
- A quiet week to fill? A lead supplier may help, provided you can call quickly and reject jobs outside your area.
- Too many small jobs? Tighten the message, area and questions before buying more volume from any source.
- Want a repeatable channel you can adjust? Running adverts in your own account gives you control, but allow time to test and keep a record of booked work.
- Relying on one source? Try a second channel before turning the first off. Diversifying beats a sudden empty diary.
Ask these before signing anything
- How many firms receive or can purchase the same enquiry?
- Can I filter by service area, move size and type of move?
- What happens if the number is wrong or the job is outside my area?
- Who owns the ad account, landing page and customer data?
- Can I export the enquiries and see which ones became booked moves?