The Numbers Nobody Shows You

Contractor
Marketing Math

Plug in your numbers. See exactly where the money is leaking — and what fixing it is worth.

Choose Your Trade

Core Marketing Math

Works for any trade. Five inputs. Eight numbers that tell you more than any agency report.

Your Numbers
$
$
%
$
What the Math Says
Cost Per Lead$38
Cost Per Booked Job$94
Booked Jobs This Month48
Budget Check
Marketing % of Revenue3.6%
ACCA 10% Growth Target / Month$12,500/mo
Monthly Budget Gap$8,000 under
Revenue Impact
Monthly Revenue from Marketing$38,400
Return on Marketing Spend8.5x
Revenue Left on Table (Unclosed Leads)$57,600
The Rule

If your agency can't tell you your cost per booked job by channel, they're reporting on their metrics — not your revenue. That's the gap this tool is built to close.

Industry Benchmarks

What Good Looks Like

2026 benchmarks from ACCA, Jobber, WebFX, and Housecall Pro. Use these to grade your own numbers.

HVAC

Residential + Light Commercial

Growth Marketing Budget8–12% revenue
Avg Cost Per Lead (LSA)$75–$150
Install Close Rate40–60%
Avg System Replacement$6K–$12K
Maintenance Plan LTV Multiplier2.4x–3.1x
Speed to Lead to WinUnder 5 min

Plumbing

Emergency + Project Work

Growth Marketing Budget7–10% revenue
Avg Emergency Ticket$350–$600
Avg Project (Repipe / Sewer)$3.5K–$12K
Project Close Rate30–50%
Speed to Answer (Emergency)Under 3 min
Database Reactivation ROI$8–$12 per $1

Roofing

Storm + Retail Replacement

Growth Marketing Budget8–12% revenue
Avg Cost Per Lead$350–$500
Storm Inspection Close Rate40–65%
Retail Close Rate25–40%
Avg Replacement Job$9K–$18K
Word of Mouth Influence73% of buyers

Electrical

Service + High-Ticket Installs

Growth Marketing Budget7–10% revenue
EV Charger Install$2.5K–$4K
Panel Upgrade$4K–$8K
High-Ticket Close Rate35–55%
Avg Cost Per Lead$80–$180
Electrician Job Growth (10yr)+11% (BLS)

Landscaping

Maintenance + Design / Install

Growth Marketing Budget6–10% revenue
Avg Monthly Contract Value$250–$500
Avg Install / Design Project$5K–$25K
Install Close Rate30–50%
Contract Retention Rate75–90%
Referral Influence on Buying60–70%
The Operating System

Nine Metrics. One Page. Every Monday.

This is the scoreboard that replaces the agency report stack. If you can't answer all nine in 15 minutes, your scoreboard isn't built yet. That's the first thing to fix.

  • 01
    Total Leads — By Channel
    Not aggregate. Every channel gets its own row. Google, LSA, organic, referral — separated.
  • 02
    Cost Per Lead — By Channel
    Monthly spend ÷ leads. Track week over week. Direction matters more than the number.
  • 03
    Jobs Booked — By Channel
    Not leads. Not estimates. Booked jobs. The number your agency should track and almost never does.
  • 04
    Cost Per Booked Job
    The number nobody calculates for you by default. Spend ÷ jobs booked. By channel. The anchor metric.
  • 05
    Close Rate — This Week
    Booked ÷ estimates sent. Compare to prior 4-week average. A drop here is the first sign of a process problem.
  • 06
    Average Job Value
    Rising average means your upsell or offer is working. Falling average means a pricing or job-mix issue worth investigating.
  • 07
    Revenue from Marketing
    Booked jobs × avg job value. By channel. The number that tells you which channel is actually earning.
  • 08
    Return on Spend — By Channel
    Revenue ÷ spend. Target: 4x minimum per channel. Below 3x needs a fix plan. Below 2x for 60 days needs a cut conversation.
  • 09
    Channel Direction — One Word
    Scale / Fix / Cut / Investigate. One decision per channel. Every week. This is how you stop having the same vendor conversation on a loop.
The Four-Word Decision Framework
Scale
CPBJ dropping or stable. ROMS above 4x. Add budget now.
Fix
CPBJ rising but still producing jobs. Assign an owner. 14 days to show movement.
Cut
60 days underperforming. No fix working. Reallocate budget to what's earning.
Investigate
Numbers don't reconcile across systems. No decisions until the math agrees.
The Formulas

Marketing Math Reference

The eight calculations every contractor should be able to run in under five minutes every Monday.

Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Monthly Ad Spend ÷ Total Leads
Track by channel. Your Google CPL and LSA CPL are different numbers. Average them and you're flying blind.
Cost Per Booked Job (CPBJ)
Monthly Ad Spend ÷ Jobs Booked
The single most important number in contractor marketing. If you only track one thing, track this — by channel, weekly.
Close Rate
Jobs Booked ÷ Estimates Sent × 100
Below 35% is a conversion problem, not a lead problem. Fix the process before adding spend.
Return on Marketing Spend (ROMS)
Revenue from Marketing ÷ Total Spend
Target: 4x minimum. 6x or higher means the channel earns the right to scale.
Revenue Left on Table
Unclosed Leads × Average Job Value
Most contractors have never run this number. Run it monthly. It changes how you think about close rate vs. lead volume.
Marketing % of Revenue
(Annual Spend ÷ Annual Revenue) × 100
3–5% = maintenance. 7–10% = moderate growth. 10–12% = aggressive growth. (ACCA 2026)
Customer Lifetime Value
Avg Job Value × Jobs/Year × Lifespan
Maintenance plan customers deliver 2.4x–3.1x the CLV of one-time customers. (ACCA / BDR 2026)
Database Reactivation ROI
Reactivated Rev ÷ Outreach Cost
$8–$12 return per $1 spent vs. $3–$4 for new customer acquisition. Highest ROI channel most contractors ignore.

Not sure which number is costing you the most?

The Revenue Band Assessment takes four minutes. Twelve questions. You get a score, a diagnosis, and a matched playbook. No email wall. No pitch.

Take the Free Assessment

Or read the full essay: Contractor Marketing Math — the long-form breakdown

Sources: ACCA 2026 · WebFX 2026 · Jobber 2026 Trends · Housecall Pro 2026 · BLS · JCHS Harvard