Roofing Leads UK: Where Roofers Actually Get Work
Short answer
Many roofing jobs come from Google, past customers and vans, not from buying leads. Buying leads can help, but only once you know what a lead is worth to you and your free routes are already working.
A lot of roofing work in the UK does not come from buying leads. It comes from people finding you on Google, hearing your name from a neighbour, or seeing your van outside a job down the road. Buying leads can fill gaps after a storm, but only once you know what a lead is actually worth to you, and only once your free routes are already working.
Where do roofing jobs actually come from?
Before you spend anything on a lead, look at where your last ten jobs actually came from. For many roofers it is a mix of these:
- Someone searching Google or Google Maps for a roofer near them
- A past customer or a neighbour passing on your number
- Your van, a board outside a finished job, or a sign at the end of a drive
- A storm or heavy rain pushing someone to search urgently for a fix
- A lead seller or trade directory, where you pay for the introduction
The first four routes cost you time rather than money, and a bought lead is always more expensive than a free one that found you anyway. We cover the free routes properly in our guides on setting up a Google Business Profile and getting into the map results as a roofer, and it is worth sorting those before you spend a penny on a lead.
What is a roofing lead actually worth to you?
Here is a simple sum to run before you pay anyone for a lead, using your own numbers rather than a seller's promise.
Say a re-roof is worth £8,500 and your profit on that job works out at around £2,975 once materials and labour are paid for. Say your win rate on enquiries is one in four, so you need four enquiries to land one booked job. Divide your profit by the enquiries needed: £2,975 divided by four is about £744. That is roughly the most a single enquiry is worth to your business, so compare that figure against whatever a lead seller is charging before you hand over any money.
Run that sum again with your own job value and your own win rate. If a seller's price per lead sits close to or above the figure you get, the maths does not work, however good the pitch sounds on the phone.
What to check before paying a lead generation company
Lead sellers price themselves in different ways: a flat fee per lead, a monthly membership, or a bidding system where you pay to win an enquiry against other roofers. Before you hand over any money, check these things:
- Is the lead sold only to you, or to several roofers at the same time
- What happens if the lead turns out fake, unanswered, or a wrong number, and is there a refund
- How did the homeowner actually agree to be contacted, and by how many trades
- Is there a minimum contract, or can you stop paying any time you like
Ask the seller these questions directly before you pay, and get the answer in writing. A seller who will not say clearly how a lead is sourced or shared is telling you something.
Set up your free routes before you pay for anything
Claim and fully fill in your Google Business Profile: correct trading hours, your service area, and photos of finished roofs rather than stock images. This free listing is what shows up on Google Maps and in search results next to your reviews, and homeowners increasingly check it, along with reviews, before they pick up the phone.
Ask happy customers for a Google review once the job is signed off, but never offer money off or a free extra in return for one. Google treats paying for reviews as fake engagement, and it can get your whole profile restricted.
When a homeowner is deciding between roofers, Which? Trusted Traders advises getting at least three quotes and arranging a site visit rather than relying on a phone estimate, and being wary of any cash or VAT free deal. Make a site visit easy to book, and never suggest a cash discount yourself, it costs you more trust than it ever saves.
Storm week and the shared lead trap
After a storm the phone does not stop, and you cannot answer every call while you are up on a ridge. That gap is exactly where the next roofer on Google picks up the job you missed.
Some lead sellers share the same enquiry with several roofers at once, so a handful of you can end up quoting the identical job on the same afternoon. That drags your win rate down and turns the quote into a price fight, which eats straight into the margin you need for a bought lead to be worth it at all.
Ask a seller directly whether a lead is exclusive to you before you pay for it, and treat a vague answer as a no.
Get insurance and safety right before you take the job
A lead only matters once it turns into a roof you can actually get on safely and get paid for. Public liability insurance should already be in place before you take on any job, paid lead or not: check with your insurer what cover you need for working at height, and check with your accountant on anything to do with tax and how you record income from leads.
The HSE names work at height as the single biggest cause of fatal and serious injury in construction, particularly on smaller projects, with over 60 percent of those deaths involving falls from ladders, scaffolds, roof edges or through fragile roofing. That risk is the same whether the job came from a bought lead or a referral, so the same edge protection, the same ladder checks and the same care apply every single time.
Buying leads can work, but treat it as a top up to routes that already cost you nothing. Get your Google Business Profile right, keep asking past customers for reviews the proper way, and know your own numbers before you pay for a single enquiry.
Questions people ask
How much do roofing leads cost in the UK?
It varies by seller and how they charge, whether that is a flat fee per lead, a monthly membership, or a bidding system, so check their current pricing page and work out what a lead is worth to your business before you commit to anything.
Are paid roofing leads worth it for a one man roofing business?
It depends on your win rate and your margin on a job, so run the sum with your own numbers before you decide, rather than taking a seller's pitch at face value.
How can I get roofing jobs without paying for leads?
Keep your Google Business Profile fully filled in with photos and the right service area, ask every happy customer for a review, and make sure your van and job boards clearly show your name and number.
Do I need public liability insurance before I take on leads?
Yes, you should have public liability cover in place before you take on any roofing job, paid lead or not, and check with your insurer that it covers working at height.
Is Checkatrade or MyBuilder better for a roofer?
They work differently, one is a membership you pay regardless of leads, the other varies by how they charge per enquiry, so check their current pricing pages and compare against what a lead is worth to you using your own job value and win rate.
How do roofers get work without a website?
A fully filled in Google Business Profile acts like a mini website on Google Maps and search, showing your photos, reviews and service area, and for many roofers that is enough without a separate site.
Why hasn't anyone replied?
Homeowners ask why nobody replied. We answer every call in a minute, day or night, and chase every quote to a yes or no. Imagine two more re-roofs a month at £8,500 each: £17,000 on the diary. Book the free 20-minute call: we'll look at how you win work now and tell you straight if we can help.
Prefer to talk now? Call Sam: 07407 610646
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