There are three ways to get HVAC leads and most contractors end up using all of them: work you already own through past customers and referrals, work you generate through advertising, and work you buy from somebody who generated it. This page prices the second and third against each other, because that is the comparison everybody argues about and almost nobody puts numbers on.
What buying costs, as a benchmark for everything else
The one published HVAC table puts repair leads at $100 with an exclusive range of $80 to $120 and replacement leads at $150 with an exclusive range of $100 to $180. That is the number every other channel has to beat. It is also the number that makes referral work look as valuable as it is: a maintenance customer who calls you directly has an acquisition cost you already paid years ago and is worth defending with service rather than with advertising.
How to generate HVAC leads yourself, honestly costed
In the nearest trade where both sides are published, generating leads through paid media is put at $50 to $120 against $80 to $150 to buy them exclusive, with the lower figure explicitly conditional on knowing what you are doing with paid media. Most contracting businesses do not, and the cost of learning on live budget in one of the most competitive search categories in the country is rarely counted. Counted properly, the gap between building and buying is often smaller than a season of tuition.
The channel nobody prices
Maintenance agreements are the cheapest source of HVAC work there is and they do not appear on any rate card because nobody sells them to you. A customer on a plan generates a visit twice a year, calls you first when the system fails and is the natural buyer for a replacement when it finally goes. The right way to read a $150 lead price is as the cost of the customers you did not keep, which makes the plan the highest-return marketing in this trade.
Other questions people ask
What is the best way to get HVAC leads?
For most contractors, a mix: maintenance agreements and referrals for the cheapest work, paid advertising where you have the skill to run it, and bought leads to fill capacity. Bought leads are the benchmark the other two are measured against.
Is it cheaper to generate HVAC leads than to buy them?
On the nearest published figures, marginally, at $50 to $120 self-generated against $80 to $150 bought exclusive, and only if you are genuinely competent with paid media.
How do I get free HVAC leads?
Maintenance agreements, referral programs and past-customer contact cost nothing per lead and are the only channels in this trade with a falling cost over time. They are slower to build and they do not fill a gap this month.
Do free HVAC lead offers work?
Offers described as free are usually an introductory batch attached to a term contract or aged records bundled with a paid order. Read what the free batch commits you to before counting it as free.
Are heating and cooling leads priced differently from HVAC leads?
They are the same trade under another name. What moves the price is the job: the one published table puts repair leads at $100, with an exclusive range of $80 to $120, and full replacement leads at $150, with an exclusive range of $100 to $180, and demand for both rises in heatwaves and cold snaps.