How Much Do Lead Generation Companies Make? 5 Examples Of Students Making Passive Income Right Now

November 27, 2023

Lead generation companies make $5-$1,000+ for every lead or $500-$2,000+ per lead gen site per month. The value of each lead differs in price depending on the quality, niche or industry, target market, acquisition costs, and volume. A site like Thumbtack sells its leads to five different contractors. While platforms like HomeAdvisor charge for leads even if the contractor doesn't contact the homeowner.

Insider Intelligence reports that "the cost for one lead on Google Ads has increased in 91% of niches year over year according to Wordstream's' Industry Benchmarks Report". Data shared by Zoominfo states that "the average cost of generating a B2B sales lead falls within the range of $31 to $60". Further research by the experts at Detorres Group reports that "the average cost per lead is $198, and the average price per appointment ranges from $150 to $250". 

A lead generation company like Houzz or Angi can help a business grow its brand, broaden its reach, and attract more paying customers. Data from Startupbonsai says that "61% of marketers list lead generation as their biggest challenge". Read on to learn how much a lead generation company makes in 2024 and examples of five students earning passive income with local lead generation.

How Much Does HomeAdvisor Make?

HomeAdvisor makes $15-$100+ per lead plus a $300 annual membership fee and is an example of a national lead generation company. Ruleranalytics suggests that "over half of marketers and their sales team spend at least 50% of their budget on lead generation". HomeAdvisor is a lead generation outsourcing option connecting homeowners to a local contractor.

But HomeAdvisor shares that information with 5-10 other businesses who all pay for the same lead. So, if a lead costs $50, HomeAdvisor makes $300 for that lead. As a result, it's not the best choice as a service provider for business owners trying to get more buyers. Your outcomes aren't guaranteed, and using the site can get pricey. However, data reveals that in 2024, Home Advisor is one of the leading websites and has "over 4 million unique visitors per month".

How Much Does Yelp Make?

Yelp makes $7-$20+ per click and runs on an aggregator-style lead generation model. Yelp makes money through lead generation in three ways:

  • CPC Advertising: Yelp generates a quality lead for a local contractor. Business owners set their ad budget and pay each time their ad gets a click.
  • Transactions (interactive consumer tools): Subscriptions and partner commissions.
  • Data Licensing: Yelp Fusion offers flexible data delivery strategies, including API and syndicated data feed files.

In 2024, most of Yelp's revenue is earned by its lead generation strategy that uses paid advertising to land a B2B lead. StatusBrew states that Yelp has "over 178 million people visit its platform every month and is active in over 500,000 cities worldwide". 

5 Examples Of Students Making Passive Income With Lead Generation

1. Kyle Quits His 9-5 In 14 Months With Local Lead Generation

Kyle joined our local lead generation coaching program in 2019. After scouring the Internet for a way to make money online, Kyle was willing to trust the process. Kyle locked in a $6,000 deal in October 2019. (One month after he started our local lead generation training). By 2021, Kyle had scaled his lead generation company and had created over 100 sites.

Kyle leveraged our Done-4-You site builds and connected with other members in our private Facebook group. In 2020, Kyle quit his 9-5, and he told us that he made even more money during the pandemic than when he worked full-time in television production. Kyle continues to make passive income because of the local lead generation skills he learned and his willingness to take massive action.

2. Peter Earns Over $4,000/Hour In Passive Income As A Stay At Home Dad With Local Lead Generation

Peter joined our lead gen program in the fall of 2016 but admits that he didn't "dig in" until nearly three months later. He had some early failures but landed his first lead gen deal during our Vegas Reload event while our mentor Dan was speaking on stage. By 2017, Peter was making a passive income of over $10K/month. Peter cites the mentorship and ongoing training in our coaching program for his tremendous success with lead generation.

3. Kathy Increased Her Annual Income By $33K Using Lead Generation

Kathy joined our lead gen program in September 2018 and began taking imperfect action. Kathy scaled fast. Because of the high-quality leads her company was producing, she gave herself a $33K-a-year raise with one client in December 2020.

Kathy advises new members to "not to get mad at your money." Instead, follow the training and leverage the lead generation services offered in the group. By August 2021, Kathy was earning a monthly revenue of $787,443. In 2023, she makes over six figures a year in passive income.

4. Grandma's Local Lead Generation Business Pays Off Her Consumer Debt 

Brooke charged the cost of our program to her credit card in 2015. Brooke began prospecting to everyone while bed-bound and buried in consumer debt. She built, ranked, and pitched lead generation sites. But her grit and tenacity landed her a couple of substantial commercial deals that make her passive income. Brooke says that local lead gen changed her life. She has since paid off her consumer debt and, in 2024, continues to make recurring income on the Internet.

5. Jarret's Lead Generation Company Made $17K Per Month In 500 Days 

Jarret joined our lead generation coaching program on January 05, 2020. Jarret devoured the live streams and the archived videos with one goal: to quit his full-time job. He was able to quit his job on November 16, 2020. Jarret also leverages lead generation arbitrage to build a secondary stream of recurring income ($2,000-$4,000+/month). By May 2022, Jarret was making over $15K/month. He recently paid cash for a trip to Italy with his family.

Which Industry Pays The Most For Leads?

Industries that pay the most for leads are B2B businesses in niches such as the healthcare niche, which "can make $320-$401 per lead," according to research from First Pages. Further data from First Pages reports that "the financial sector earns $658-$761 per lead". In 2024, certain home improvement niches can also be lucrative. Plumbing lead generation companies can make $20 to $120 per lead, according to Service Direct. Research by WebFX suggests that HVAC earns $5-$1,000 for each lead.

  • Total lead value = total revenue ÷ total number of leads
  • Lead value = average sale value X the conversion rate
  • Average lead value = (total revenue ÷ number of leads) X percent profit

Of course, how much a lead is worth depends on lead generation methods and service factors like:

  • The lead generation niche
  • Lead quality
  • The business owner you sell your leads to
  • Lead generation cost
  • Acquisition expenses for each lead

In 2024, the average selling price of a lead from a B2B lead generation service is around 20% net profit per sale. According to Statista, "the majority of mid-sized companies generate fewer than 500 qualified leads every month". But business owners need leads to stay relevant and earn an income. So, the more leads you generate for them and the higher the quality of those leads, the more you can charge.

What Is A Lead Generation Company?

A lead generation company is a third-party platform that uses digital marketing strategies like lead scoring, lead nurturing, and paid ads on Google. The goal is to obtain the highest lead quality visitors to an offer and sell those leads to business owners for profit.

Research by APSIS International shares these lead generation statistics and reports that "quality leads are the primary goal of 67% of B2B marketers". In 2024, there are two types of lead generation companies:

Proprietary lead generators:

These lead gen companies provide leads to one local contractor and typically operate on a local scale. They use local SEO and other marketing methods to drive traffic to their digital real estate, like website, landing page, or funnel, and only sell a qualified lead to one contractor.

General lead generators:

These companies generally operate on a national scale. They focus on a broad market in various niches and sell their leads to multiple business owners like Thumbtack and Home Advisor.

Related Lead Generation Company Articles 

  • Is HomeAdvisor Pro Worth It?: Read more about if this lead generation platform is worth it, how much it costs, and eight alternatives to consider in 2024
  • HomeAdvisor Pro Reviews & Complaints: This article shares 3 important things to know before you sign up and includes testimonials from real business owners.
  • HomeAdvisor Vs. Thumbtack: Read how HomeAdvisor compares to other lead generation companies, including Thumbtack, Houzz, Porch, and more.

How Does Local Lead Generation Compare To A Lead Generation Company?

Local lead generation is similar to a lead generation company like Porch or Houzz, but the digital assets you create belong to you. With local lead generation, you own the website, the tracking number, and the leads. Unlike lead generation companies such as HomeAdvisor, you don't have to compete with 5-10 other contractors. 

You don't get charged for customers you don't even contact. Instead, you create lead gen websites that offer one service you provide and target locations where you do business. Then, you create a secondary stream of leads that you own. You can also sell those leads to a small business owner for profit margins as high as 85%-90%.

Local lead generation

Once a lead gen website is at the top of Google, it's in front of people looking for your service. As a result, it produces leads and can earn you a passive income of $500-$2,000+ every month. Take this site above. This site has been making me $2,000 a month since 2014.

That's more than $312,000 in passive income. (And it's only one website of over 80 I own). Each one ranks and produces leads I sell to small business owners. As a result, I've created a steady recurring income of over $52K/month. Check out our lead generation program to learn more about how over 7,000 students make money online in 2024

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Ippei Kanehara
Founder/CEO

$52K per month providing lead generation services to small businesses

Ippei.com is for digital hustlers, industry leaders and online business owners.

His #1 online business recommendation in 2024, is to build your own lead generation business.

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