What cleaning leads cost, and what sets the number

The model, in one paragraph

You pay a set price for each qualified lead we deliver. There is no retainer, no monthly minimum, no setup commitment to a term, and no notice period. If a lead does not meet the standard we agreed in writing, you tell us within five business days and we replace it or refund it — your choice, not ours.

What moves your rate

There is no single public number, and any provider quoting one before asking where you work is quoting an average rather than your price. Four things move it.

1. How dense your market isA metro with a lot of qualifying building stock inside a short radius costs less per lead to work than a thin one where the same criteria produce a fraction of the targets.
2. How high your minimum job size isEvery increase in your floor removes buildings from the addressable list. A high minimum is usually right for your margin, and it does raise the cost of finding each lead.
3. How narrow your building types areOffices only, in one submarket, above 50,000 square feet, is a much smaller pool than offices and medical across a metro. Narrower is often better for you and more expensive to source.
4. How specialised the work isLeads that require protocol credentials — healthcare, controlled environments — take longer to qualify because more of the conversation is about whether you fit.

We work all four out on the first call and quote you a number before you commit to anything. If the number does not work for your economics, that is a useful thing to establish in twenty minutes rather than three months.

The number you should actually be comparing

Cost per lead is the wrong metric and it is the one every provider leads with, including the ones whose leads you should not buy. Work out cost per contract won instead, then set it against what a contract is worth over its life.

1. Average contract valueMonthly billing multiplied by how many months your contracts genuinely last — not the term written on paper.
2. Close rate, tracked per sourceSeparately for referrals, bought leads and outbound. Most operators have never separated them, which is exactly why the cheapest source looks best.
3. DivideCost per lead divided by close rate is cost per contract won. A $200 lead closed one in four costs $800 a contract; a $60 shared lead closed one in twenty costs $1,200.
4. Compare against lifetime value, not month oneA janitorial contract that runs three years should be judged over three years. Comparing an acquisition cost to a single month's billing is how operators talk themselves out of sources that were working.

What you are not charged for

• Leads that fail the agreed standard. They are replaced or refunded and you decide which.
• Months where volume is low. There is no minimum and no retainer to keep paying.
• Cancelling. There is no term and no notice period, and every lead already delivered stays yours.
• The brief, the targeting work, or changes to your criteria as you learn what you win.

Two things worth being straight about, because they are where per-lead providers usually get vague. There may be an onboarding step depending on how your CRM receives leads, and we will tell you before you commit whether that applies to you. And your rate is fixed for your market at the point we quote it — if market conditions change enough to move it, that is a conversation before a change, not an adjusted invoice.