The Lead Aggregation Controversy (Why Contractors Either Love It or Hate It)

Networx casts a wide net across ~300 strategic partners (plus its own networx.com traffic) and 150+ categories, then optimizes down — going granular to sub-source level so it can cut what's not working without killing a whole partner.

The optimization runs on a 90-day / $10K-a-month enterprise arc: month one collects data (no knee-jerk cuts), month two optimizes for set rate, month three tunes the back end off credit declines and disposition reports.

Set realistic expectations: aggregated leads start around a 15% set rate and optimize into the low 20s (18% over a full year is very good) — nowhere near an organic lead's 60-80%, which is why undertrained small teams get frustrated.

Lead economics: exclusive roofing leads run ~$151-167 (shared to no more than 4 contractors at $70-90); exclusive sets ~5 points higher, and the ROI math lands around $2,400 per closed sale at a 33% close rate.

Reframe the cost objection with cost-of-marketing %: the goal is to drive clients under 15% (ideally 10-12%), at which point they're 'unloading budgets' and asking for more leads than can be supplied.

Shared can beat exclusive: it's cheaper and the homeowner is less likely to keep shopping other sites, reducing the 'got called 30 times' horror story that comes from a homeowner filling out five exclusive forms.

Networx integrates with ActiveProspect for de-duping (30-day reject window; a day-31 repeat signals the buyer re-entered the market) and is launching recorded 30-second live transfers — plumbing/electrical at $70-80, HVAC installs $80-95 in pilot.