Getting Work

Shared leads vs exclusive leads

If you feel like you are always undercutting just to win the job, the lead model is probably why. Here is the difference - and how to get off the price treadmill.

A shared lead is sold to several tradies at once, so you compete on price from the first contact. An exclusive lead comes to you alone, so you can quote on value. The model you use largely decides whether you race to the bottom or get paid what the work is worth.

What is a shared lead?

A shared lead is a customer enquiry that the platform sells to several tradies simultaneously. The job lands in three, four, sometimes more inboxes at once. Everyone quotes, the customer sees a row of prices, and the cheapest usually wins. You are competing before you have even said hello.

The structural problem is that this rewards low-ballers and punishes anyone trying to charge what the work is actually worth. It is not a bug in one platform - it is how every shared-bidding marketplace works.

What is an exclusive lead?

An exclusive lead comes to one provider only. No row of competing quotes, no instant price war. You win or lose on whether you are the right fit and whether the customer trusts you - which is a game you can actually control by doing good work and building a reputation.

Why shared leads keep you stuck on price

When the customer is handed five quotes side by side, price becomes the easiest thing to compare. Your reviews, your quality, your reliability all get flattened into one number. So you drop your price to compete, your margin shrinks, and the platform still charges you the same per-lead fee whether you win or not.

Run the maths and it stings: at $30 to $80 a lead with roughly 1-in-5 converting, you are paying $150 to $400 per booked job - to compete on price. That is the pay-per-lead trap in full.

How to stop competing on price

Two moves. First, get your leads from channels you own - profile, reviews, website - where no one is handed your enquiry to underbid. Second, when you do use a platform, choose one that gives you the enquiry exclusively and charges membership rather than per resold lead. That is exactly how CoYoTrade is built: your enquiry is yours, and you keep what you earn.