Lead platform
A lead platform is a website that collects quote requests from customers and resells them to trade businesses, usually per enquiry. Often several businesses receive the same enquiry.
- 2 min read
What is a lead platform?
A lead platform is an intermediary between customers and trade businesses. Customers fill in an enquiry on the platform, for example for a new roof, a heat pump or a renovation. The platform forwards that enquiry to one or more connected businesses. You pay per enquiry you receive, sometimes topped up with a subscription.
There are large general platforms for all kinds of jobs and smaller platforms that focus on one trade. They invest heavily in findability themselves, so they often rank high on Google for searches such as “dakdekker kosten” or “offerte warmtepomp”.
How pay-per-lead works
On most platforms you pay for the enquiry, not for the job. Whether the customer eventually signs with you makes no difference to the price. The same enquiry is often sold to several businesses. The customer then gets a number of phone calls in a short time, and chooses from the quotes that come in.
That has consequences. The customer is often comparing, and price plays a bigger role. Whoever calls first has a head start. And with every enquiry you compete with other businesses that have paid just as much.
Pros and cons
A lead platform has clear advantages. You get enquiries quickly, without having to set up a website or ads yourself. For a starting business or a quiet period, that can be exactly what is needed. Your costs are also predictable per enquiry.
There are disadvantages too. Shared enquiries mean more competition per job. The customer does not know your business, but the platform. And you build nothing that lasts: if you stop paying, the enquiries stop. You depend on the platform’s prices and rules.
An example from construction
Say a painting business gets most of its work through a lead platform. It works, but several enquiries are needed per job and a large share of customers compare mainly on price.
The business decides not to cancel the platform in one go. First comes a website with projects, reviews and a good enquiry form, and a small Google Ads campaign on searches with a place name. The business measures per channel what a signed job costs. Only when its own channels deliver enough work does the budget for the platform go down.
Common mistakes
Looking only at the price per lead. A low price per enquiry says little if only a small share becomes a job. Calculate with the cost per signed job.
Following up slowly. With shared enquiries, whoever calls first often wins. Read more about speed to lead.
Becoming fully dependent. If all your work comes through one party, that party determines your revenue.
Stopping all at once. Anyone who cancels the platform before their own channels work ends up with a gap in the schedule.
How to approach it
First measure what a platform really costs you. Count the enquiries, quotes and signed jobs per month, and divide your costs by the number of jobs. Compare that with what a job brings in.
Alongside that, build your own channels that last: a website that brings in enquiries, a strong Google Business Profile and ads on buying intent. Those enquiries are yours alone. With the Growth System we help trade businesses become less dependent, step by step, on bought-in enquiries.
Frequently asked questions
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Is a lead platform worth it?
That depends on what a signed job costs you through the platform and what that job brings in. For a starting business it can bring in work quickly. In the long run you build up more with your own channels, because those enquiries are not shared.
What is a shared lead?
A shared lead is an enquiry that the platform sells to several businesses. The customer is then called by different businesses and compares the quotes. So you compete directly with other businesses for the same job.
How do I become less dependent on lead platforms?
Build your own channels, such as a website that brings in enquiries, your Google Business Profile and Google Ads on searches with buying intent. Measure per channel what a signed job costs and only shift your budget once your own channels deliver enough.
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