The real question isn’t “can I get leads?”
In this YouTube monologue, Phil Risher warns service‑oriented businesses that chasing cheap leads can erode profitability. He illustrates the problem with a simple example: paying $200 for a service‑call lead that yields a $200 job results in a break‑even or loss on every acquisition. Risher argues that ad spend must be evaluated through a full‑funnel lens, focusing not on the sheer volume of leads but on the revenue each lead generates relative to its cost. He emphasizes the need for a clear return‑on‑ad‑spend (ROAS) target—typically 3x, 5x, or even 10x—to ensure that leads translate into higher‑ticket installations (e.g., $10,000 jobs). He cautions that marketing agencies may tout low cost‑per‑lead numbers while ignoring the downstream profitability, leading companies to keep spending on campaigns that ultimately make them poorer.
