Part 1
The Shared Lead Is a Tax on Your Trade (and you already paid it)
“You didn't buy a job. You bought a name three other guys also bought.”
The portal pinged at 6:14 a.m. A kitchen. You paid for the name. You called. She was polite. Then she said three other guys already came by, and she was still waiting on two more.
That's not a lead. That's a tax.
Angi, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor. They sell you a name. Same name they sold the HVAC guy, the handyman, and the GC two towns over. You didn't buy a job. You bought a seat in a lineup. The homeowner is shopping your bid against three other invoices you helped fund.
Here's the napkin. Not the portal dashboard.
Say last month the invoices added up to fourteen hundred dollars. That's not the story. The story is how many of those names became a job you actually ran. Four names. One yes. Two went with the cheaper guy. One never picked up. You didn't buy leads. You bought a month of other people's estimates.
Do this on paper:
- Dollars out. Every portal invoice last month. Add them. That's the tax.
- Names in. How many contacts they sent. Don't dress it up.
- Jobs booked. The ones that landed on the calendar and you showed up.
- Cost per booked job. Dollars out divided by jobs booked. Not cost per “lead.” Cost per job.
If that last number makes your stomach drop, good. That's the number hiding behind “we're getting leads.”
The shared-lead tax
Portal pings a name at 6:14 a.m.
Three other guys already bought that name
You write a bid for a house shopping four invoices
Cost per booked job hides behind “we're getting leads”
A plan you own still works when the check stops
A shared lead has a second cost nobody puts on the invoice: the afternoon you spent writing a bid for a house that was never going to pick you. That's crew time. That's gas. That's the job you didn't chase because you were busy competing for one you already paid to lose.
This isn't never-buy-a-name-again. Slow month, indoor work, a new town. A shared lead can fill a hole. Just stop calling the hole a marketing plan. A plan you own still works on the day you stop writing the check. A shared name does not.
This week: log into the portal. Pull last month's invoices. Count booked jobs against dollars out. Write the four numbers on a scrap of paper and stick it on the visor. If you can't find the invoices, that's the finding. You're paying a tax you aren't even tracking.
Key Takeaways
| Takeaway | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A shared lead is a tax, not a job. | You bought a seat in a lineup — the same name three other guys also paid for. |
| Count booked jobs, not “leads.” | Dollars out divided by jobs that landed is the number hiding behind the dashboard. |
| The afternoon is a second invoice. | Crew time and gas spent bidding a house that was never going to pick you. |
| A hole is not a plan. | Shared names can fill a slow month. They don't own the answer when the check stops. |
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Isn't a shared lead still better than no lead?
Slow month, indoor work, a new town — a shared name can fill a hole. Just stop calling the hole a marketing plan. A plan you own still works on the day you stop writing the check.
What numbers do I write down?
Dollars out, names in, jobs booked, cost per booked job. Not cost per “lead.” If you can't find last month's invoices, that's the finding.
Do I have to cancel Angi this week?
This isn't never-buy-a-name-again. It's stop pretending a shared name is a plan you own. Write the four numbers. Then decide what that tax is worth.
Wondering what you already own versus what you're renting? Tell us the trade, the jobs you want more of, and how you like to work. We'll look at what's there and give you a straight answer. No pitch. Just the picture.
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Run the free review — we inspect your live site and tell you where it's losing ground. Or tell us what you do and where you work, and we'll look at what's there.