Ran appointment-setting for residential roofers for years, and the #1 mistake I see $1M-$5M roofing companies make: they buy "leads" instead of buying booked, qualified appointments.

Here's the difference that actually moves revenue:

A lead is a name and a phone number. Someone filled out a form at 11pm because a Facebook ad promised a free inspection. Your sales rep calls, it goes to voicemail, they call again tomorrow, the homeowner has forgotten they even filled it out. Close rate on cold leads like this: 5-10% if you're good.

A qualified appointment is a homeowner who has been called, vetted for intent (do they actually have storm damage / are they actually replacing this year), had their questions answered, and is sitting on their couch expecting your rep at a specific time. Close rate: 30-45%.

The math most roofing owners miss: paying $150 for a raw lead with a 7% close rate costs you ~$2,140 per closed job in acquisition cost alone. Paying $400 for a set, qualified appointment with a 35% close rate costs you ~$1,140 per closed job — and your reps aren't burning half their week dialing dead numbers.

If you're scaling past $2M/year, the constraint usually isn't ad spend — it's the qualifying and scheduling layer between the ad and your rep's calendar. That's the part worth paying someone else to own.

Happy to answer questions on this if anyone's evaluating lead gen vs. appointment setting for their crew.