What Is a Good Lead Conversion Rate?
There's no single benchmark worth chasing. A good rate is one that makes your cost per job won affordable, and the only reliable figure is your own.
The short answer
A good conversion rate is one that makes your cost per job won affordable, and it's different for every business.
There's no single good lead conversion rate for contractors. It depends on where the leads come from, whether they're shared, the type of job, your area and how you handle each stage. The useful question is whether your own rate, set against what the leads cost, gives you a cost per job won you can live with, and whether it's improving. To answer that you need to measure it yourself, by source, over time.
Any figure quoted as a general benchmark mixes together very different leads, trades and definitions. Your own numbers are far more useful. Here's how to get them.
Measuring it
How to work out your own conversion rate
Decide what counts as a lead
Every enquiry, or only genuine ones in your area and trade? Pick a definition and stick to it, or the figures won't compare from month to month.
Record every lead with its source
Platform, website, referral, repeat customer, network. A simple spreadsheet is plenty.
Track each stage
Enquiry received, site visit booked, visit attended, quote sent, job won or lost. Note the date of each.
Divide wins by leads
Jobs won divided by leads received gives your conversion rate for that source. Jobs won divided by quotes sent gives your quote win rate. Track both.
Wait for the decisions
Some customers take weeks to decide. Count a lead as lost only once it's clearly gone, or your most recent months will look worse than they are.
Judge over enough leads
A handful of enquiries can swing wildly either way. Judge a source over several months, not a few leads.
Stage by stage
Two rates worth tracking separately
Splitting the journey in two tells you whether the problem is the leads or the selling.
Lead to quote
- Mostly tells you about lead quality
- Falls if customers are only gathering prices
- Falls if you can't reply in time
- Falls if leads are outside your area or trade
Quote to job
- Mostly tells you about your selling
- Rises with a clear written quote
- Rises with consistent follow-up
- Falls when several others quoted the same job
What affects it
Why your rate goes up or down
Shared or exclusive
If the same enquiry goes to several trades, the customer is comparing by design. See why shared leads don't convert.
Response speed
Slow replies lose site visits before you've had any chance to quote.
Quote quality
A clear written quote is easier to accept than a figure sent by text.
Follow-up
Undecided customers often need a nudge. Silence after a quote rarely means no.
Price positioning
Price above the local market and you'll convert fewer, but you may earn more on each job you win.
Qualification
Enquiries checked for area, job type and budget before they reach you are generally a better use of your time than raw ones.
Using the number
Good is relative to what the lead cost
A low conversion rate on free or cheap leads can still be profitable. A high one on expensive leads can still lose money. Put the two together: your cost per lead divided by your conversion rate gives roughly what each job cost to win. See what is cost per lead? and true cost per job won.
Then watch the trend. If your rate on a source is falling, work out why before spending more on it. If it's rising, you're getting better at something, so keep doing it.
Split it by job type too. Small repairs and large projects rarely convert in the same way, and a single blended figure can hide a strong performance on one and a weak one on the other.
Rates quoted online rarely say what counted as a lead, which trade they cover, or whether the leads were shared. Comparing yourself with them tells you very little. Compare yourself with yourself, source by source, and use how do I win more quotes? to work on the stages where you lose most.
Where Mortaro fits
When the lead itself costs nothing
Conversion rate bites hardest when you've paid for every lead. In Mortaro's network you don't pay per enquiry. We generate and qualify the enquiry, appoint one contractor to it, prepare and follow up the quotation, and add our fee on top of your trade rate. A quote that doesn't go ahead costs you the time on the visit. See no upfront lead fees, explained.
Your track record still matters. Work is allocated on response speed, communication, professionalism with customers and completed work, as set out in how opportunities are allocated.
Straight answers
Conversion rate questions
What's a good conversion rate for contractors?
There isn't a reliable single figure. It depends on lead source, trade, area and job type. Measure your own by source, then judge it against what those leads cost you.
How can I improve my conversion rate?
Reply faster, send clearer written quotes, follow up, and stop buying leads from sources that rarely turn into work.
Should I count leads I chose not to quote?
Yes. Count them as leads and note why you declined. If you're turning many away, that tells you something about the source: it may be sending work outside your area or trade.
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.