Free landscaping leads are almost always an introductory batch attached to a contract, or aged records bundled with a paid order. Neither is dishonest, and neither is free in the sense that matters, which is cost per booked job. Two channels in this trade genuinely cost nothing per enquiry and neither is sold by a lead company.
What a free batch usually costs
The commonest form is a handful of enquiries at no charge attached to a minimum term, which prices the free leads as the seller's customer acquisition cost. The second is aged records, and the general aged home service band is published at $.10 to $1.50 a lead, so a hundred free aged records is a gesture worth a few dollars. Ask what term you are committing to and what the rate becomes at renewal, because the reset is where the seller earns it back.
The two channels that really are free
A sign on a finished garden and a word from a satisfied customer both cost nothing and both work best in exactly the trade where the result is visible from the pavement. Landscaping is unusually well suited to this: the work is on display, neighbours see it daily, and a street with one good garden frequently produces two more enquiries within a season.
Why aged data is more defensible here than elsewhere
In emergency trades an old enquiry describes a problem somebody else has already fixed. In landscaping the need is seasonal and recurring: a homeowner who asked about a garden last autumn very often wants work done this spring. That makes cheap aged records a genuine option in this trade rather than a rationalisation, provided you contact them at the right point in the year.
Questions people ask about free landscaping leads
Are free landscaping leads worth anything?
Free batches are normally an introductory offer attached to a term contract, or aged records worth roughly the published $.10 to $1.50 each. The terms matter more than the leads.
What genuinely free channels exist in landscaping?
Signage on finished gardens and referrals from satisfied customers. Both work unusually well here because the result is visible from the street.
Do aged landscaping leads work?
Better than in emergency trades, because the need is seasonal and recurring. A homeowner who asked last autumn is a reasonable prospect this spring.
What should I ask before accepting free leads?
The minimum term, whether the records are fresh or aged, and the renewal rate. Those three turn a giveaway into a measurement.