Blog /
Lead Gen
Cheap leads are expensive if nobody shows up. Here is the metric we track instead.
Ayesha Dune
·
·
6 min
read
Cheap leads are expensive
A $9 lead looks great in a report. It looks very different when only one in ten picks up the phone. Cost per lead is the easiest number to improve and one of the least useful to optimise for on its own.
The fix isn't to stop tracking it. It's to track what happens after the form fill as closely as what happens before it.
$22 cost per lead · 78% show rate · $140 cost per show
The metric we track instead
We report cost per qualified appointment: spend divided by the number of booked calls that actually happen with someone who fits. It's harder to hit, but it matches what your sales team feels.
What makes a lead qualified
They match the service area, budget and timeline you set
They answered at least two qualifying questions honestly
They booked a time, and didn't just ask for a callback
Add friction on purpose
Short forms bring in volume. Slightly longer forms bring in buyers. A quiz with three or four questions raises cost per lead by around 20 percent and often halves cost per show, because people who aren't serious drop out before they reach your calendar.
"Your sales team doesn't need more leads. They need fewer, better leads who know what happens next." — Ayesha Dune, Head of Lead Gen
Follow‑up decides the outcome
Most leads go cold in the first hour. An instant SMS confirmation, a reminder the day before and a short video from the person they'll speak to can lift show rates by 30 points or more.
The 60‑second sequence
SMS confirmation with the time and the name of the person they'll talk to
Email with what to prepare and a 40‑second intro video
Reminder at 24 hours and again at 1 hour
Putting it to work
Pull your last 90 days of leads and mark which ones became shows and which became sales. Work out cost per show by source. The cheapest channel is rarely the one you expected.
Key takeaway
Optimise for cost per qualified appointment, not cost per lead. A little friction up front and fast follow‑up afterwards beat a cheaper form every time.