Roofing Cost Per Lead vs Cost Per Sold Job: What Matters
Roofers compare lead prices. The better question is what a sold job costs you.
The chain
Every source runs through the same steps:
Leads → homeowners reached → inspections held → jobs sold
Each step loses people. A cheap lead that never answers is not cheap.
A worked example
These numbers are examples only. Put your own in.
| Source A | Source B | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per lead or booking | $50 | $400 |
| Bought | 100 | 15 |
| Spend | $5,000 | $6,000 |
| Inspections held | 12 | 12 |
| Jobs sold | 3 | 4 |
| Cost per sold job | $1,667 | $1,500 |
Source B looked eight times more expensive. Per job it was cheaper, and nobody spent a week dialing.
The hidden cost: time
Source A needed someone to call 100 people, most of them more than once. Put a dollar value on that time and add it to the spend. It often changes the answer.
How to track it without software
One spreadsheet, one row per source, updated every Friday:
- Spend
- Leads or bookings
- Inspections held
- Jobs sold
- Revenue sold
That is enough. A CRM helps later, but a sheet you fill in every week is better than software nobody opens.
What is a good cost per job?
It depends on your job size and margin. As a rule of thumb, decide what share of a job you are willing to spend to win it, then hold every source to that line.
Questions roofers ask
Should I include my own time?
Yes. If you are the one calling leads at 9 p.m., that has a cost.
How long should I test a source?
Long enough to hold at least 15–20 inspections. Fewer than that and luck decides the result.
Where does NorthLine fit in the chain?
We take the first three steps. You pay per booked inspection, and we pay for the ads. See if your area is open.