Irrigation leads you own, not leads you share with four other contractors.

Playbook

What shared sprinkler leads really cost

A marketplace lead is a homeowner request sent to several irrigation companies at once. The first to call, or the lowest bidder, usually wins. A sprinkler contractor can pay thirty to eighty dollars for each such lead and close one in four. On a visit worth a hundred and fifty dollars, much of the margin goes to the platform before a technician arrives.

A mailed lead is different in two ways. It is exclusive, because the owner scanned your card and no one else's. And it is better informed, because the card already stated the price, the checklist, and your license. Owners who scan are comparing you with doing nothing, not with four rivals.

Licensing is a selling point. In many states, irrigation work requires a licensed irrigator, and owners increasingly know it. Putting your license number on the card signals legitimacy and separates you from handymen who advertise startups at low prices.

Cost per job is the number that matters. A thousand cards at about a dollar each cost a thousand dollars. If forty owners scan and twenty book visits, you spent about fifty dollars per visit and kept every relationship, and each customer is a candidate for an annual plan.

You don't have to quit marketplaces on day one. Run Spur alongside them for a quarter, track cost per job for each, and shift budget toward what wins. Most contractors find mail wins on margin and marketplaces win on speed, and use both until the mailed pipeline carries the route.