“I paid for the lead, and four other companies called the same homeowner. Whoever quoted the lowest price got the job.”
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Platforms like Angi (which includes the former HomeAdvisor) and Thumbtack can bring in customers, but you need to run the numbers to make them work for you.
How these platforms charge
- You pay for the contact, not for a booked job.
- The same customer may be connected with several pros. Whoever responds first and charges less has an advantage.
- Not every contact responds. Some leads never pick up the phone or disappear after you send an estimate.
None of this means the platforms “don’t work.” Some businesses make a profit using them. It means the price you see on the screen isn’t your real cost.
The number that matters: cost per booked job
Run this calculation using last month’s numbers:
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Total spent on the platform | $600 |
| Leads received | 20 |
| Leads that responded | 11 |
| Estimates sent | 8 |
| Jobs booked | 3 |
| Cost per booked job | $200 |
Now compare that with your profit on the job, not the price you charge. If a $180 cleaning leaves you with a $60 margin, paying $200 to acquire that customer only makes sense if they become a repeat customer.
The numbers above are just an illustration. Use the same method with your own numbers.
When it’s worth it
- Higher-priced jobs (remodeling, roofing, flooring), where one contract can cover the cost of many leads;
- When you can respond within minutes, because speed is everything with shared leads;
- As a temporary test while you build your own channels.
Signs it’s time for a change
- Your cost per booked job is higher than the margin on the first job, and you don’t have a plan to bring customers back;
- You’re constantly competing on price with other Brazilian-owned businesses for the same lead;
- You feel like the phone will stop ringing if you stop paying.
Building channels of your own
You don’t have to drop everything at once. Start building channels alongside these platforms where the customer comes directly to you:
- A strong Google Business Profile with recent reviews;
- Google Ads and Local Services Ads in your business’s name, with the right targeting radius and keywords;
- A website with a page for each service and each city;
- A customer list with automated follow-up and outreach to bring past customers back.
Over time, you rely less on purchased leads, and your cost per customer comes down.
Want to run the numbers together?
On a discovery call, we look at your platform numbers and give you an honest assessment of what’s worth keeping and what to replace. We can talk in Portuguese or English.
