Neither shared nor exclusive cleaning leads automatically cost less per contract. The better option for your commercial cleaning business depends on the price paid, the work needed to pursue each enquiry and the number of suitable contracts you acquire. Compare results for similar jobs rather than choosing on the lead price alone.
What shared and exclusive actually mean
A shared lead is supplied to more than one contractor. An exclusive lead is supplied to one contractor under the provider’s agreed terms. Ask how many businesses receive a shared enquiry, when it was collected and what exclusivity covers before comparing offers.
Exclusive supply does not mean the prospect is speaking only to you. They may request quotes independently or already have a preferred contractor. Likewise, a shared enquiry is not automatically unsuitable. Its value still depends on location, scope, timing and your capacity to deliver the work.
Compare the whole sales workload
A lower purchase price can be offset by time spent contacting prospects, travelling to sites and preparing quotes. A higher purchase price needs to earn its place through suitable opportunities and worthwhile results. Neither outcome follows from the label on the lead.
Before purchasing, ask what information is checked, whether your service area and job requirements are applied, and how duplicate or incorrect enquiries are handled. Understanding what phone verification can and cannot establish helps separate a checked enquiry from a promise of work.
Measure comparable groups of enquiries
Track each source separately from delivery through contact, site visit, quote and final decision. Include unsuccessful enquiries in your costs, not just the ones you win. Record staff time consistently, including owner time spent selling rather than cleaning.
- Keep site types, service areas and minimum job requirements comparable.
- Record lead fees alongside sales labour, travel and quote administration.
- Allow time for open quotes to reach a decision before judging the results.
- Compare the expected contribution from won work, not contract count alone.
Use the cost per won contract calculation to put these costs on the same basis. A source that wins fewer but more suitable contracts may be preferable to one that generates more work your team cannot service profitably.
Choose for your capacity, then review
If your team has limited time for site visits, the workload attached to each opportunity matters. If you have spare sales capacity, a different balance may suit you. Set a spending limit, keep your follow-up approach consistent and review the evidence once enough enquiries have reached an outcome. Continue, adjust or stop based on those results, not an assumption that either model is universally cheaper.
