Pay per appointment vs pay per lead.
Pay per appointment means you pay a lead company for each visit or meeting it books with a homeowner, rather than for each enquiry. What you're buying depends on what the company counts as an appointment: booked, confirmed or actually kept.
PreBuild charges per homeowner, not per appointment. Why is further down.
Today 9:14 am
New homeowner from PreBuild Sarah T. · Carindale QLD 4152 38 m Colorbond fence, side and rear When: Before the end of January Budget: About $7,000 We gave: $6,000 to $9,500 Ring within the hour: 04•• ••• 318 Full notes are in your email.
What we send: a checked homeowner for you to ring. Made-up homeowner.
Where each way of paying sends the bill.
Pay per lead bills when the enquiry arrives. Pay per appointment bills later, when a visit is booked or kept. Pay per homeowner, how we charge, sits in between: after the call and the checks, before any visit.
Sees an ad and clicks
Pay per clickYour own adsFills in a form or rings
Pay per leadPay per callMost lead sellersRung, checked and sent to one business
Pay per homeownerHow PreBuild chargesA visit or meeting is booked
Pay per appointmentBookedThe visit happens
Pay per appointmentKeptThe job is signed
Where you get paid
What counts as an appointment.
The word covers at least five different things. A price per appointment only means something once you know which one you're paying for.
- BookedA time has been put in the diary. The homeowner may not have confirmed it, and may not remember it.
- ConfirmedThe homeowner has said yes a second time, by text or call, closer to the day.
- KeptYou turned up and so did they. A no-show is not billed.
- QualifiedKept, and the homeowner met set conditions such as budget, timing and who decides. Ask who checks those, and against what.
- PaidThe homeowner paid a fee or deposit to book it, as with a paid design meeting or a preliminary agreement.
Per lead, per appointment and per homeowner.
Compare prices at the same step. An appointment is usually priced higher than a lead because fewer enquiries become one, so the two numbers can't be set side by side.
| Way to pay | What you pay for | When you're billed | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay per lead | Each enquiry the seller sends you | When the enquiry arrives | How many businesses get it, what counts as a lead, the refund rules |
| Pay per appointment | Each visit the seller books for you | When the visit is booked, or when it is kept | What counts as an appointment, and how no-shows are handled |
| Pay per homeownerHow PreBuild charges | Each homeowner rung, checked against six things and sent to you only | A deposit to start, the balance after your first quote | What is checked, and what happens when a check was wrong |
Why we charge per homeowner, not per appointment.
We charge per homeowner: someone we've rung, checked against six things and sent to one business only. We don't charge per appointment.
For trades that quote on site, the visit is where the job is won. You measure up, look at the access, talk it through and price it your way. That conversation should be yours from the first call.
So we hand you a checked homeowner and you book the visit yourself, in your own words. We ask one thing: ring them within the hour.
How we find and check homeownersYou ring them
What we replace
- Any of the six checks turns out wrong
- You tell us
- We replace them. No forms, no argument.
What we don't replace
- A homeowner who was exactly who we said
- and went with someone else.
- That one's yours to win.
If we charged on the jobs that landed, the businesses who quote well would end up paying for the ones who don't.
Common questions
What is pay per appointment?
A way of paying for work where a lead company books a visit or meeting with a homeowner for you, and charges you for each appointment instead of each enquiry. What you pay for depends on what counts as an appointment: booked, confirmed or kept.
What counts as an appointment?
It varies by company. It might be a time put in the diary, a visit the homeowner has confirmed, a visit that actually happened, or one where the homeowner met set conditions. Get the definition in writing before you compare prices.
What happens if the homeowner doesn't turn up?
That depends on the terms. If you pay for booked appointments, a no-show may still be billed. If you pay only for kept ones, the seller wears it. Ask how no-shows are counted, how you report one and how long you have.
Is pay per appointment better than pay per lead?
Neither is better on its own. An appointment is billed later and is usually priced higher, because fewer enquiries become one. Compare the two on cost per signed job, and decide who you want speaking to the homeowner first.
Does PreBuild charge per appointment?
No. We charge per homeowner: someone we've rung, checked against six things and sent to one business only. You ring them and book the visit yourself. You take 10, 15 or 20, at a price set by your trade and the size of the job, given in writing on a call.
Want homeowners for your business?
Tell us your trade and where you work. We'll ring you to talk it through and give you your price in writing. If it's not a fit, we'll say so.
No retainer, no lock-in, nothing monthly.
Thanks. We've got your application.
We'll call you to talk it through: your trade, where you work and how many homeowners you could take on. If it's a fit, you get your price in writing.