Lead services like Angi and HomeAdvisor can send inquiries quickly. Plenty of fence and deck contractors use them. Many also feel the pinch: you pay for each lead, and the same lead often goes to several companies.
This isn’t a case against them. It’s a way to compare them fairly with building your own lead system.
What shared leads do well
- They start working immediately, with no setup
- They can fill a slow week
- You pay per lead, not for a build-out
Where they hurt
- Shared inquiries. The homeowner may contact several companies at once, so speed and price decide it.
- You don’t own the audience. If you stop paying, the leads stop.
- Costs can climb. It’s hard to build a reputation that compounds when the platform sits between you and the customer.
What your own system looks like
- A website that converts, with your real projects
- A strong Google Business Profile and reviews
- Ads that you control and can measure
- Instant follow-up so every inquiry gets answered
These take longer to build, but they’re yours. Reviews, rankings and your website keep working for you.
A practical way to decide
- Work out your cost per sold job for each lead source
- Keep what’s profitable
- Put the first dollars you save into your own system
- Shift over gradually, not all at once
Many contractors run both for a while. The goal isn’t to drop everything, but to depend on it less. See how it fits into a complete marketing system.
