Shared leads or an exclusive website: which to choose?

There are two main ways to receive customer requests: buy leads on a platform, or have a website that sends requests to you exclusively. Both can work, but they do not cost the same and do not take the same effort.

The shared leads model

A platform attracts people who describe their need. It then sells each request to several businesses.

Advantages:

• quick to start;
• no website to manage;
• you can often choose which requests interest you.

Drawbacks:

• the same request reaches several competitors at once;
• you have to call back within minutes to stand a chance;
• the conversation often comes down to price;
• every request is paid for, even if it goes nowhere.

The exclusive website model

A website that is visible on Google and in AI assistants for your trade and area sends all its requests to you alone.

Advantages:

• no competitor on the same request;
• the customer contacts you directly, often by phone;
• you have time to answer properly and defend your price;
• the cost is fixed per month, whatever the number of requests.

Drawbacks:

• you need a site that already ranks well, which takes time to build yourself;
• the volume depends on demand in your area.

The real calculation: cost per customer won

The price of a lead does not mean much. What matters is the cost per customer actually signed. Do the maths over a month:

1. Add up everything you paid to get requests.
2. Count the number of customers signed from those requests.
3. Divide the first number by the second.

With shared leads, a low conversion rate quickly pushes that cost up. With an exclusive site, every extra request in the month lowers the cost per customer.

Which model suits whom?

• Shared leads suit testing a new service or filling a temporary gap.
• An exclusive site suits you if you want a steady flow of requests without direct competition and want to build a customer base in your area.

Many businesses start with platforms and then switch to an exclusive source as soon as they can.

The RankoWeb solution

RankoWeb rents websites that rank well on Google and ChatGPT, by trade and area, to one professional at a time. Every request from the site is yours: calls, WhatsApp and forms. The first 30 days are free. To understand the model in detail, read rank and rent explained.