What is the difference between exclusive and shared leads?
An exclusive lead is an enquiry that the provider supplies to one business under the agreed terms. A shared lead is supplied to more than one business. Ask for the definition in writing: exclusivity might cover a particular service, area or period rather than every possible use of that enquiry.
Neither model guarantees a sale. A homeowner can contact another contractor independently, even if your provider sends the enquiry only to you. Exclusivity also says nothing by itself about budget, project suitability or readiness to buy.
Exclusive vs shared contractor leads: a practical comparison
| Decision | Exclusive enquiries | Shared enquiries |
|---|---|---|
| Who receives the enquiry? | One business from that provider, within the agreed scope. Confirm any exceptions and time limits. | Several businesses may receive it. Ask how many, when they receive it and whether it can be resold. |
| What competition remains? | The homeowner can still request quotes elsewhere. | You may be competing with other recipients as well as companies the homeowner finds independently. |
| What do you pay for? | It could be a fee per enquiry or a campaign funded through advertising spend and management fees. | It could be a fee per lead, access charge, subscription or another agreed model. Confirm the billing trigger. |
| What needs checking? | Project fit, contact details, the promise made to the homeowner, ownership and permission to follow up. | The same checks, plus recipient count, enquiry age, duplicates and credit rules. |
| What decides whether it works? | Suitable enquiries becoming worthwhile jobs at an acquisition cost you can support. | The same outcome. A lower lead price alone does not establish better value. |
Exclusive is not the same as qualified
For a remodeler, a useful enquiry might be a homeowner inside your service area planning a kitchen renovation with a suitable scope and timeframe. An exclusive request for a small repair is still the wrong lead if you only take full renovations.
For a solar installer, a form can collect location, homeowner status, interest in panels or batteries and timing. Your team still has to confirm the information and assess the property. An enquiry is not a completed survey.
Agree the qualification criteria before the campaign or lead purchase begins. Decide which details are self-reported by the homeowner and which are checked by the provider or your team.
Compare cost per signed job, not just cost per lead
For each source, track the enquiries that arrived during a defined period and the jobs those enquiries eventually produced. Include the relevant advertising, lead-provider and agency costs once, without double-counting bundled charges. Track sales handling costs separately or include them consistently across both sources.
Cost per signed job = total acquisition cost for that group of enquiries ÷ jobs signed from that group. If no jobs have been signed, there is no meaningful completed cost-per-job figure yet. Keep open quotes separate from lost opportunities.
The following numbers are invented to show the arithmetic. They are not industry benchmarks, FDM prices or client results. The same calculation works in dollars using your actual costs.
| Measure | Source A | Source B |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries | 100 | 50 |
| Total acquisition cost | £2,000 | £3,000 |
| Cost per enquiry | £20 | £60 |
| Signed jobs | 4 | 6 |
| Cost per signed job | £500 | £500 |
This does not tell you which lead model is better. You would also compare the work won, delivery margin, sales effort and remaining open opportunities. Review longer buying cycles over a suitable period rather than declaring recent enquiries unsuccessful.
Eight questions to ask a lead provider or marketing agency
- Who else receives this enquiry? Ask about recipient limits, resale, exclusivity periods and exceptions.
- What did the homeowner ask for? Check the ad, form and offer so your first conversation matches their expectations.
- What counts as a qualified lead? Specify location, service, project scope and the information that will actually be checked.
- How old is the enquiry when we receive it? Establish the handover process and who handles the first response.
- When are we charged? Request the fees, advertising budget, minimum commitment and cancellation terms before agreeing.
- What happens with duplicates or unsuitable enquiries? Get the credit criteria, evidence requirements and claim window in writing.
- What can we access and keep? Confirm account ownership, reporting access, data export and what happens when the arrangement ends.
- How will we judge the test? Agree how contacted leads, qualified opportunities, quotes and signed jobs will be recorded.
Also check that the homeowner has been clearly told who may contact them and why. A provider's lead label is not a substitute for checking the permissions and terms that apply to your follow-up.
Which approach fits your home improvement business?
A shared-lead source can be worth testing when the projects fit your business, the terms are clear and the total economics work. An exclusive campaign can be a better fit when you want marketing built around your own offer, service area and accounts. Neither approach fixes poor project selection or a sales pipeline nobody follows up.
Choose a test your team can handle. Record the source, arrival date, contact attempts, qualification, quote and final outcome in one pipeline. Use our home service lead generation guide to compare these approaches with referrals and organic search.
How Fox Digital Media handles enquiries
FDM builds Facebook and Instagram campaigns, landing pages and CRM follow-up for US and UK home service companies. Enquiries generated by a client's campaigns go to that client; we do not resell those enquiries to competing installers or contractors. Advertising spend and agency fees are separate costs.
Explore our approach to lead generation for remodelers or digital marketing for solar installers. Your team remains responsible for confirming project suitability, preparing quotes and closing the work.
Bring your service area, target projects and current lead costs to a free Growth Diagnostic. We will review whether our campaign approach fits the work you want to win.
Book Your Free Growth DiagnosticP.S. Before paying for more enquiries, write down what a suitable project looks like. That gives both your marketing provider and your sales team a clear standard to work towards.