Straight answers

What is a good cost per lead?

Work backwards from the job, not forwards from the lead

Say your average job is worth $2,000 and you close one in four of the leads you speak to. Four leads produce $2,000, so if leads cost you $60 each you spent $240 to earn $2,000. That is a strong return and you should spend more. If leads cost $200 each you spent $800 for the same $2,000, which may still work depending on your margin — but it is a very different business decision.

Notice that the close rate mattered as much as the lead price. Improving your close rate from 1-in-4 to 1-in-3 has exactly the same effect on profit as cutting your cost per lead by a quarter, and it is usually cheaper to achieve.

Rough ranges we see in local markets

• Low-ticket, high-frequency (salons, barbers, restaurants, gyms): single digits to around $25.
• Mid-ticket trades (HVAC service, plumbing, electrical, auto): roughly $25 to $80.
• High-ticket projects (roofing, remodeling, dealerships, med spa packages): $80 to $200+, and still profitable.

Treat those as orientation, not targets. Your market, season, and offer move them significantly.

The number most businesses cannot answer

Ask an owner what a lead costs and you often get a shrug, because leads arrive from five places and nothing is tracked to an outcome. That is the actual problem to fix first — you cannot optimize a number you do not measure, and it is why we wire tracking into a CRM before making claims about performance.

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