B2B cost per lead is usually quoted from software and enterprise marketing, where a lead is a business with a budget cycle and a buying committee. A contractor lead is a household with a broken system or a project in mind. The two are priced on different logic and the figures are routinely quoted at each other, which helps nobody.
What contractors actually pay, published
Fresh exclusive contractor leads are published between $100 for an HVAC repair enquiry and $225 and above for siding, with shared versions at roughly half and aged records at $0.15 to $10. Those are the numbers a contractor should be comparing quotes against, and they come from sources' own pages rather than from a survey of a different industry.
Why B2B figures do not transfer
A B2B lead's value is a function of contract value, sales cycle length and win rate against a committee, and the benchmarks quoted for it usually come from software companies with recurring revenue. A contractor's lead converts or does not within days, produces a one-off payment, and is worth what the job is worth. Applying a software benchmark to a roofing feed compares two things that share only a word.
Where the comparison is fair
The method transfers even where the numbers do not. Cost per lead divided by close rate gives cost per job in both markets, and both are improved far more by raising the close rate than by shaving the unit price. Anyone quoting you a B2B benchmark for contractor work is worth asking which of those two they think it addresses.
Questions people ask about b2b cost per lead
What is a normal B2B cost per lead?
Benchmarks quoted for B2B usually come from software and enterprise marketing and do not describe contractor work. The published contractor figures run $100 to $225 for a fresh exclusive lead.
Why not use B2B benchmarks for contractor leads?
Because a B2B lead's value depends on contract value and a buying committee, while a contractor lead converts within days and is worth what the job is worth.
What does transfer between the two?
The method. Cost per lead divided by close rate gives cost per job in both, and both improve more from a better close rate than from a lower unit price.
What should a contractor compare against?
The published contractor tiers: $100 to $225 fresh exclusive by trade, roughly half that shared, and $0.15 to $10 for aged records.