The short answer
At ACE, we use intent data to find homeowners in your area who are actively researching roof repair or roofers. We clean that list, then reach each home by mail, text or email with an offer from your company. The homeowner watches your short video and earns a real gift card, and a bigger reward for the next step. You pay rewards only when someone actually takes the step. Every lead is yours alone, and so is the list.
The three models, in plain English
Before you compare prices, be clear on what you're actually buying.
Shared leads. A homeowner fills out a form on a lead website, and that lead is sold to several roofers. You get speed and volume. The catch: the homeowner hears from a handful of companies in the same hour, and the fastest caller or the lowest bid usually wins. You pay per lead whether it turns into a job or not.
Intent data. Instead of waiting for a form, intent data looks for homeowners showing signs they're in market, like researching roof repair, roofers or storm damage. You get a list of real people, scored by how likely they are to buy. The catch: a list is not a lead yet. Someone still has to reach those homeowners and give them a reason to respond.
Pay-per-action. You pay when a person completes a specific, verified action, like watching your video or booking an inspection. If nobody acts, you pay nothing for that step. The catch: you need a clear offer and a short video, and it takes a few weeks to set up.
How to compare roofing lead sources
Ask every lead source the same six questions. The answers will tell you more than the price per lead.
| Question | Shared leads | Intent data | Pay-per-action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is the lead mine alone? | Usually no | Yes, the list is yours | Yes |
| What am I paying for? | A name and number | A scored list | A verified action |
| Did the homeowner pick my company? | Not usually | Not yet | Yes, they watched your video |
| Can it reach no-soliciting and gated areas? | Only if they fill out a form | Yes, by mail, text and email | Yes |
| Who owns the data afterward? | Varies | You | You |
| What happens if nobody responds? | You still paid | You paid for the list | No rewards paid |
A cheap lead that five roofers are also calling can cost more per job than a pricier one you own outright. Always measure cost per booked inspection and cost per signed job, not cost per lead.
Where other lead sources fit
Most roofers use a mix. Here's how the common sources stack up next to the three above.
- Referrals and past customers. Often your best leads, because trust is already there. The problem is volume. A referral reward, where both the customer and their friend are rewarded when the friend activates, can turn this into a steady source.
- Door knocking. Great at making a personal connection, but costly to staff, hard to keep staffed, and shut out of no-soliciting and gated neighborhoods. With mail, text and email, many roofers can reach every home in a storm zone without a canvassing crew at all. If you keep knockers, have them leave ACE cards when nobody's home.
- Search ads and local listings. Good for catching people who search "roofer near me" right now. You're competing on bids with every roofer in town, and you pay for clicks whether they call or not.
- Direct mail on its own. Reaches every address. Without a strong reason to respond, though, most mail gets tossed.
How to test a lead source in 30 days
Don't sign a long contract on a promise. Run a short, clean test.
- Pick one area. Choose a set of zip codes or neighborhoods you know well, ideally one that just had a storm.
- Set your numbers before you start. Write down what a booked inspection and a signed job are worth to you, so you can judge the results honestly.
- Track every lead to its source. Use a unique phone number, link or code for each source. With ACE, each mailer or code can be unique and tied to one address.
- Call fast and the same way every time. A slow callback makes any lead source look bad. Use one call script so you're comparing the leads, not the callers.
- Measure cost per booked inspection and per signed job. Ignore cost per lead. At the end of 30 days, keep what produced jobs and cut what didn't.
- Keep the data. Whatever source you pick, make sure the contacts are yours to keep and follow up with later.
How ACE puts intent data and pay-per-action together
Here's the system we run for roofers, start to finish:
- Find. We build an intent data list for your service area, score each homeowner high, medium or low, and drop the low ones. The list can refresh daily.
- Clean. We scrub phone numbers against Do Not Call lists and verify phones and emails, so you only pay to reach real, reachable people.
- Reach. We send your offer by direct mail, text and email. Texts and emails go from your own accounts after you approve the contacts and the message.
- Reward. A typical roofing ladder works like this. The homeowner watches your short video and earns a real gift card, for example $20. Then a bigger reward unlocks when they book an inspection, for example another $30. The video can't be skipped, sound has to be on, and phone verification stops double claims.
- Close. Your team calls within minutes using a script we give you, and automatic follow-up reaches the people who watched but didn't book yet.
In Florida, the booking reward isn't used. Florida law (Fla. Stat. 489.147) bars roofing contractors from offering a gift card or anything of value in exchange for allowing a roof inspection or making an insurance claim. So in Florida, ACE campaigns reward only watching your video. The reward never depends on booking, allowing or completing an inspection, and it's never described as an inspection incentive.
Anywhere we work, rewards are never tied to an insurance claim and never touch a deductible. We review every campaign with each business, including outreach rules like the TCPA, Do Not Call and CAN-SPAM. This isn't legal advice, so check with your own attorney before you launch.
Want the full picture of how the steps fit? See how it works or read more about pay-per-action advertising.
What we've seen
- About 9% activation. In a typical ACE roofing campaign, roughly 9 in 100 homeowners who get the offer activate it. Across all our campaigns, engagement has ranged from about 5% to 28% across direct mail and digital.
- Fast response. In one roofing direct mail campaign, a homeowner booked a roof inspection 20 minutes after getting the offer.
- Strong where others can't reach. No-soliciting neighborhoods and gated communities have been some of our best roofing areas, and campaigns have also done well alongside door knocking.
These are past results, not a promise. Your market, your offer and how fast you call back all change the numbers.
When this isn't the right fit
- You want leads tomorrow. A campaign usually takes 2 to 3 weeks to launch and runs 2 weeks or more. Shared leads are faster to start.
- You can't call back quickly. Any lead source fails if nobody calls for two days.
- You won't record a short video. We write the script and your phone is enough, but the video is the heart of the offer.
- You're outside the U.S. ACE only works with U.S. businesses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best lead source for roofing companies?
There's no single winner, but the strongest sources give you leads that are yours alone and charge you for real results. Intent data paired with a pay-per-action offer does both. Referrals from past customers are also hard to beat.
Are shared roofing leads worth it?
They can be if you need volume fast and can call within minutes. Since several roofers often get the same lead, judge them by cost per signed job, not cost per lead.
What is intent data for roofers?
It's a list of homeowners showing signs they're shopping for roof help, like researching roof repair or roofers. ACE scores each one high, medium or low and drops the low ones. You still need an offer that gets them to respond.
How does pay-per-action roofing marketing work?
You pay when a homeowner completes a verified step, like watching your video or booking an inspection. If nobody takes the step, no reward is paid. In Florida, ACE rewards only the video, never the inspection.
How much do roofing leads cost?
It depends on the source, the market and the season. Instead of comparing price per lead, compare cost per booked inspection and per signed job across sources. ACE pricing is tailored to each business and month-to-month.
Can I get roofing leads without door knocking?
Yes. Mail, text and email reach every home in an area, including no-soliciting and gated neighborhoods. Many roofers won't need a door-knocking crew at all.
About the author
Jake Nicks is the founder of ACE (Actual Consumer Engagement), a customer acquisition firm in Frisco, Texas. He has 10 years in paid media and has directed more than $2 billion in ad spend. ACE's verified-action gift card technology is protected by U.S. Patent No. 11,847,634 B2.
See what intent data looks like in your area. On a free 15-minute call, we'll pull 50 homeowners in market for roofing in your service area, live while you watch, scrubbed against Do Not Call lists. You keep the list. Claim your free 50