A paid request for a panel upgrade and a referral asking for an outlet repair are not the same opportunity. Count the type of work, whether it fits your area, and whether the person can approve it. A cheap contact is not necessarily a cheap booked job.
Read the lead contract before judging the channel
Check when a charge applies, whether other contractors receive the request, which job types and areas are included, and how a wrong number or duplicate is handled. Keep the actual terms with the bill. Do not assume every provider sells leads in the same way.
The FTC's January 2023 proposed order against HomeAdvisor would require up to $7.2 million in redress over deceptive lead-marketing claims. That is a specific enforcement action. It does not measure the return an electrical shop will get from every paid channel today.
Use a cost per booked job you can repeat
Made-up example, not market data: an electrician pays $600 for 20 requests and spends $100 of staff time answering them. Four become booked jobs. The cost is $700 divided by four, or $175 per booked job.
In the same example, direct calls bring four booked jobs after $300 in website and local marketing costs plus $100 in reply time. That is $100 per booked job. If only two direct jobs book, the cost becomes $200 each. Changing the booking result changes which channel looks better.
Choose one period, one definition of a booking, and one fair way to allocate shared costs. Track cancellations and completed-job margin separately. Panel work and short service visits can contribute very different amounts after labor and materials.
Find the actual point where requests fail
- Outside area or wrong job type: review the provider's targeting and your service information.
- Duplicate request: check the bill and keep one job record.
- No useful reply sent: fix your intake and callback process.
- Estimate sent but no booking: review scope, timing, and the customer's reason if they give one.
- Booked work at poor margin: review pricing and job fit, not just lead volume.
Do not label every no-answer request fake. The person may have changed plans, used another channel, or stopped looking. Record what you know and leave the reason unknown when you cannot establish it.
When more leads make sense
Paid leads may suit a shop with open capacity and a measured cost it can support. Direct marketing may suit a shop building repeat work and local awareness. Both still need someone to answer and follow through. Review the callback steps before adding more volume to a broken process.
SvarKlar handles the lead work and channels for your shop. It does not create demand or guarantee bookings. Add its agreed cost to your comparison alongside the work it replaces. The missed-call cost guide explains how to keep assumptions visible.
Bring one period of lead costs and bookings to a call, or return to the electrical guides.