How Do I Get Exclusive Leads?
Generate enquiries that come to you alone, or use a service that commits each enquiry to one contractor. Either way, check what exclusive actually means.
The short answer
Exclusive leads come from customers who contact only you, or from a service that commits each enquiry to one contractor.
To get exclusive leads, generate enquiries that come to you directly (referrals, your own website, your Google Business Profile, paid search that points to your own number) or use a service that commits to passing each enquiry to one contractor only. Some lead companies sell an exclusive option at a higher price, and contractor networks that appoint one contractor per job are another route. Whichever you choose, check in writing what exclusive actually means before you pay for it.
The word gets used loosely. This page covers where exclusive work really comes from, how to test a claim, and when it's worth the extra. For the concept itself, see what are exclusive leads?
Why it matters
Being the only quote changes the conversation
When an enquiry goes to several trades, the customer is set up to compare, and price often decides it. It's commonly reported that some platforms pass a single enquiry to as many as four tradespeople. You can still win those jobs, but you're spending time on quotes where the odds are split before you arrive. Why shared leads don't convert explains how that plays out.
With an exclusive enquiry you can spend the visit understanding the job rather than racing to be first. The customer may still get other quotes on their own, but you haven't paid to join a queue. What wins it then is the basics done well, covered in how do I win more quotes?
Where exclusive work comes from
Six sources of enquiries that are yours alone
Referrals
The most exclusive lead there is. The customer has asked for you by name, and usually trusts you before you arrive.
Your own website
Enquiries through your site come to you and nobody else. It takes time to rank, but every enquiry it produces is yours.
Google Business Profile
Calls and messages from your profile come straight to you. Recent, genuine reviews make that call more likely.
Paid search
Ads that lead to your own site or phone number produce enquiries only you receive. You pay per click rather than per lead.
Exclusive lead products
Some lead companies offer an exclusive tier, priced higher than shared leads. Read exactly what it promises.
Contractor networks
Some networks appoint one contractor to each enquiry rather than selling it on to several.
Before you pay
How to test an exclusive claim
Ask how many contractors receive it
You want a straight answer: one. Phrases like limited or a small number of trades mean it isn't exclusive.
Ask for how long
Some offers are exclusive for a set window and then released to others. Check whether that applies and how long the window is.
Ask how the enquiry was captured
Did the customer ask to hear from one trade, or fill in a form that could reach several services? A customer contacted by several companies may not remember which one they chose.
Get it in writing
If exclusivity is part of what you're paying for, it should be in the terms, along with what happens if it turns out not to be.
Weighing it up
Exclusive leads still have a price
Exclusive enquiries you generate yourself cost time and marketing spend rather than a fee per lead. Exclusive lead products cost more per enquiry than shared ones. Neither is automatically better value.
The comparison that counts is cost per job won: what you spent on a source, divided by the jobs it actually produced. If an exclusive lead costs more but you win a far greater share of them, it can work out cheaper per job than a shared one. If you win them at much the same rate, you've paid extra for a word. Track both side by side for a few months before deciding.
An exclusive lead can still be a poor one: wrong area, wrong job, or a customer only gathering prices. Qualification matters as much as exclusivity. Track what each source converts to before paying a premium for it. When is a lead worth paying for? sets out the test.
How Mortaro handles it
One contractor per enquiry
In our network, each enquiry is appointed to one contractor. We don't sell it and we don't share it. We generate the enquiry ourselves, qualify the customer, book the site visit, and handle the quotation and follow-up. You don't pay for the enquiry at all: our fee is added on top of your trade rate when the work goes ahead. See is the work exclusive?
What we don't offer is a territory of your own or a set number of jobs. Work goes to contractors with a good record on response, communication and completed work, as explained in how opportunities are allocated, and we won't promise volume.
Straight answers
Exclusive lead questions
Are exclusive leads worth the extra cost?
Sometimes. If they convert well enough that your cost per job won comes out lower than with shared leads, yes. The only way to know is to track them. See what is cost per lead?
Can the customer still get other quotes?
Yes. Exclusivity controls who the lead source passes the enquiry to, not what the customer does next. Many homeowners get more than one quote whichever route they came through.
For contractors
Tell us about your business
Your trade, the areas you cover and the size of work you take on. A person reads every enquiry, and if it looks like a fit we will send you the full application.