Exclusive versus shared
The single most important question. A shared lead is sold to several tree businesses at once; an exclusive lead goes to one. Shared leads look cheaper per unit and are usually more expensive per booked job, because you are in a race with three other loppers and the customer knows it. The conversation starts on price and stays there.
Ask the supplier directly: how many businesses receive this enquiry? If the answer is vague, "up to a few", or a definition of exclusivity that only applies for the first hour, treat it as shared and price it accordingly.
Also ask how territory is defined. Some suppliers sell "exclusive" leads while running an overlapping territory two suburbs over, so you are effectively competing with yourself for the same searchers. Get the postcode list in writing.
What a fair price looks like
Work it out from your side before anyone quotes you. Take your average job value, apply the percentage of warm enquiries you actually convert, and that gives you revenue per lead. Your maximum cost per lead is a fraction of that figure — how large a fraction depends on your gross margin and what you can tolerate. The method is set out step by step in what a tree service lead is worth, and you can run your own figures through the lead value calculator.
Arriving with that number changes the conversation entirely. You stop asking whether $90 a lead sounds reasonable and start asking whether $90 works against a $2,400 average job and a one-in-four close rate.
The contract clauses that cost tree businesses money
Auto-renewing terms. A twelve month agreement that rolls over unless you cancel in a thirty day window before the anniversary. Strike it or start month to month.
Loose lead definitions. If "lead" means any submitted form regardless of whether the person answers the phone, you are paying for bots and misdials. Insist the definition requires a contactable person requesting a quote for a job type you do.
Short credit windows. Seventy-two hours to dispute a bad lead is unworkable when you are on the tools and reconciling weekly. Ask for fourteen days minimum.
Ownership traps. Some suppliers build your campaigns, your landing pages and even your Google Business Profile in accounts they control, then keep them when you leave. Anything carrying your business name should be registered to your business.
Volume minimums with no quality floor. A commitment to buy sixty leads a month with no standard attached is a commitment to buy sixty of whatever they send.
How to trial a supplier properly
Run one channel for eight to twelve weeks, long enough to cover a quiet stretch and a busy one. Log every enquiry: date, suburb, job type, whether they answered, whether you quoted, whether you won it, and the invoice value. At the end you will know your true cost per booked job, which is the only figure worth comparing between suppliers.
Track your own response times in the same sheet. A supplier gets blamed for a lot of leads that were fine and simply went to voicemail — an honest log will tell you which problem you actually have, and an AI receptionist fixes that one far more cheaply than switching suppliers.
And when not to buy at all
There are several situations where no supplier will make you money, no matter how good the leads are. They are listed in when not to buy tree service leads.
If you want the version of this with our name on it, our terms are on the lead generation page and the numbers are on pricing. Ask us the same questions you would ask anyone else, or call 0468 062 773.
Frequently asked questions
Are exclusive leads worth paying more for?
Usually yes, because the arithmetic favours them. A shared lead sent to four tree businesses converts at a fraction of an exclusive one, and the customer arrives already comparing prices. If an exclusive lead costs twice a shared one but converts three or four times as often, the exclusive lead is cheaper per booked job even though the sticker price is higher.
What is a fair price per tree service lead?
There is no universal figure, because it depends on your average job value and close rate. The method is to calculate your maximum sensible cost per lead from your own numbers and treat that as a ceiling, not a target. A supplier who cannot explain their price in terms of your job economics is quoting from their margin, not your business.
Should I sign a twelve month lead contract?
Not as a first engagement. A supplier confident in their delivery does not need to lock you in for a year before you have seen a single enquiry. Start month to month, judge the leads over eight to twelve weeks, and only discuss a longer term if it comes with a meaningfully better rate.
What counts as a bad lead I should not pay for?
Wrong numbers, disconnected numbers, enquiries outside your agreed postcodes, job types you said you do not do, tyre kickers who never requested contact, and duplicates of an enquiry you were already billed for. All of those should be creditable, and the credit window should be measured in weeks rather than the seventy-two hours some suppliers allow.