Many contractors obsess over cost per lead. But a cheap lead that doesn't close is more expensive than an expensive lead that does. The metric you should check every week is cost per signed job, by channel.
The simple formula
Cost per signed job = Total channel spend ÷ Number of signed jobs attributed to that channel. It sounds obvious, but most companies don't attribute the signed job back to the original channel.
Channel cost-per-signed-job example
| Channel | Monthly spend | Leads | Signed jobs | Cost/job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | $5,000 | 22 | 3 | $1,667 |
| LSA | $3,000 | 18 | 4 | $750 |
| $2,000 | 25 | 1 | $2,000 | |
| Referrals | $500 | 8 | 5 | $100 |
In this example, Facebook looks cheap per lead but expensive per signed job. LSA and referrals are the best channels. Without this metric, you'd keep investing in Facebook on impulse.
How to attribute correctly
- Every lead must enter with its source (UTM, integration, or tag).
- The CRM must keep the source throughout the entire pipeline.
- When the job is signed, the original source is reported as won.
- Review monthly; don't copy last month's budget without data.
"Don't scale a channel until you know what a signed job costs there."
Complementary metrics
- Contact rate by channel.
- Cost per inspection by channel.
- Average close time by channel.
- Cancellation or non-approval rate by channel.
With these metrics, you stop making marketing decisions based on gut feelings and start making them based on math.
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