Key takeaways
- A shared lead is sold to 3–5 competing businesses simultaneously. An exclusive lead goes to one business only — and that difference drives everything else.
- Shared leads force a race: first to call wins, and everyone bids down the price. Typical close rates run 10–20%, and you pay for the lead whether or not you win it.
- Exclusive leads sourced from community recommendations close dramatically higher because the customer has already chosen to talk to you specifically.
- White Glove Leads delivers 100% exclusive leads from local Facebook group marketing, with one business per trade per zip code — competitors can't buy in.
If you have ever paid for leads from Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, or a similar marketplace, you know the drill: your phone buzzes with a new lead, you drop what you're doing to call — and the homeowner says, wearily, "You're the fourth company to call me in twenty minutes." That is a shared lead, and it is the default product of the lead-generation industry.
The distinction between shared and exclusive leads sounds like industry jargon, but it is the single biggest factor in whether paid lead generation makes you money or burns it. Let's walk through what each one actually is, the real economics, and how to tell what you're buying.
What is a shared lead?
A shared lead is a customer inquiry that a platform sells to multiple businesses at the same time — typically three to five, sometimes more. The homeowner fills out one form ("I need my roof repaired"), and the platform's business model is to sell that single form to as many contractors as possible. Every buyer pays full price. Only one can win the job.
- You pay for the lead whether or not you ever reach the customer, and whether or not they hire anyone at all.
- Speed becomes everything — studies of shared-lead platforms consistently show the first business to make contact wins a disproportionate share of jobs, which turns your day into a reaction game.
- Because the customer is talking to several companies at once, price becomes the main differentiator, compressing your margins on the jobs you do win.
- Close rates on shared leads typically land between 10% and 20%, which means you're paying for five to ten leads for every job you book.
What is an exclusive lead?
An exclusive lead is sold or delivered to exactly one business. When that customer raises their hand, no competitor is notified, no one else calls them, and the conversation is yours alone. The lead may cost more per unit — but the per-unit price is the wrong number to look at.
The math: cost per lead vs. cost per job
Here's a simplified but realistic comparison. Say a shared roofing lead costs $75 and closes at 15%, while an exclusive lead costs $150 and closes at 40%. The shared lead looks half as expensive — until you divide by close rate. The shared lead's real cost per booked job is $500. The exclusive lead's is $375, and the job likely comes in at a healthier margin because you were never in a four-way bidding war.
3–5
businesses buying each shared lead
10–20%
typical close rate on shared leads
1
business receiving an exclusive lead
Where exclusivity matters most: the source
Not all exclusive leads are equal, either. An "exclusive" lead scraped from a generic web form is still a cold stranger. The strongest leads come from warm, trust-based sources — and nothing is warmer than a neighbor's recommendation in a local Facebook group. When someone posts "looking for a good HVAC company" and your business is the name the community surfaces, that customer arrives pre-sold. They aren't comparing five bids; they're calling the company their neighbors vouched for. We cover the mechanics of that in how to get leads from local Facebook groups.
How White Glove Leads handles exclusivity
This math is the reason we built our entire model around hard exclusivity. White Glove Leads markets your business inside your community's Facebook groups — real storytelling, real engagement, real local presence — and every qualified lead that comes out of it is delivered to you alone, with a name, phone number, and project scope. We enforce one business per trade, per zip code: if you're our roofer in 30144, we will not take another roofer there at any price.
If you're in home services, see how this plays out for your specific trade: contractors, roofers, HVAC, plumbers, and electricians each have a dedicated breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between exclusive and shared leads?+
A shared lead is sold to multiple competing businesses at once — typically 3 to 5 — while an exclusive lead is delivered to one business only. Shared leads force a speed-and-price competition; exclusive leads give one business the entire conversation.
Are exclusive leads worth the higher price?+
Usually, yes. Because exclusive leads close at a much higher rate and aren't won through price-cutting, the cost per booked job is often lower than shared leads despite the higher cost per lead — and margins on the jobs are healthier.
Does Angi or Thumbtack sell the same lead to multiple contractors?+
Yes. Marketplace platforms like Angi, HomeAdvisor, and Thumbtack typically sell each homeowner inquiry to several businesses simultaneously, and each business pays for the lead regardless of who wins the job.
How can I tell if a lead provider sells exclusive leads?+
Ask directly whether each lead is sold to anyone else and how many businesses in your trade they serve in your zip code. Genuine exclusivity means one lead to one business — White Glove Leads, for example, works with only one business per trade per zip code.
What close rate should I expect from exclusive leads?+
It varies by industry and sales process, but exclusive leads sourced from warm channels like community recommendations routinely close at two to three times the rate of shared marketplace leads, where 10–20% is typical.
Stop splitting your leads with competitors
Every White Glove lead is 100% exclusive — one business per trade, per zip code. Check if your territory is still open.
