THE SHORT ANSWER
Exclusive painting and plastering leads run about EUR 40 to EUR 70 each in the Benelux baseline, and 5 to 8 exclusive leads normally produce one signed customer. That puts your cost per acquired customer at roughly EUR 200 to EUR 560 against a typical project value of EUR 1,500 to EUR 4,000, so the lead cost is around 5 to 37 percent of revenue. Volume is rarely the problem; response speed and qualification depth are.
The economics of a painting and plastering lead
Exclusive lead price: EUR 40 to EUR 70 in the Benelux baseline, before any country multiplier
Exclusive leads per signed customer: 5 to 8
Cost per acquired customer: EUR 200 to EUR 560
Typical project value: EUR 1,500 to EUR 4,000
Acquisition cost as a share of revenue: 5 to 37 percent
That last line is the one to argue about internally. If paying 37 percent of a EUR 2,750 job to win it looks expensive, compare it against what an idle installation team costs for the same week.
These figures are a benchmark model, not a survey. They combine an industry base range observed across Western European home-improvement campaigns with a country multiplier for local auction pressure. Treat them as a band to negotiate against, not a quote.
Seasonality you have to plan around
Demand for painting and plastering work peaks spring and troughs December. Two consequences follow. First, your cost per lead rises in the peak because every competitor is bidding at once, so the cheapest leads of the year are the ones you buy just before the peak, not during it. Second, a flat monthly budget across the year over-buys in the trough and under-buys exactly when the money is available.
The practical fix is a two-tier budget: a base volume you take every month to keep the pipeline warm, plus a surge you switch on four to six weeks ahead of the peak.
Landlords and agents are a different, better customer
Rental turnover work is repetitive, specified simply, scheduled around tenancy dates and repeats several times a year from one relationship. It pays somewhat less per day than private work and costs almost nothing to win after the first job. A decorator with three agent relationships has a base load that makes the private enquiries optional rather than essential, which is the strongest position to negotiate from.
Speed of quoting decides most of these jobs
Painting and plastering enquiries are usually tied to a fixed date: a move, a tenancy change, a room being emptied for one week only. The homeowner is not running a considered three-quote comparison, they are looking for somebody available. A quote inside twenty-four hours wins a large share of this work outright, and a quote that arrives on day five is frequently reading an already-filled slot.
A worked monthly plan for four extra jobs
Suppose you want four additional painting and plastering jobs a month. At 5 to 8 exclusive leads per customer you need 20 to 32 leads, which costs roughly EUR 800 to EUR 2,240. Those four jobs are worth EUR 6,000 to EUR 16,000 in revenue.
Work backwards from your own close rate rather than ours. If you close better than one in 8, buy fewer leads. If you close worse, fix the follow-up before you increase the budget, because buying more leads multiplies a follow-up problem rather than solving it.
Where to spend your attention first
Speed. Call inside five minutes. On painting and plastering work the homeowner is usually contacting more than one company in the same sitting, even on an exclusive lead, because they will search independently too.
Qualification depth. Every field the supplier verifies is a field you do not have to establish on the call, which raises your quote-to-close rate without touching lead volume.
Volume. Last, not first. Volume amplifies whatever your process already does, in both directions.
Photographs are your marketing, if you take them
These trades produce dramatic before-and-after evidence and almost nobody captures it. Two photographs per job, from the same position, cost a minute and build an asset that wins work for years across your website, your listing profiles and every quote you send. Decorators who cannot show finished work compete purely on day rate, which is the one comparison where the cheapest bidder always wins.
How Flock Leads prices this
Flock Leads sells painting and plastering leads exclusively, in fixed volume packages with no retainer and no contract term.
Starter - 10 leads for EUR 750, which is EUR 75 per lead
Growth - 25 leads for EUR 1,750, which is EUR 70 per lead
Scale - 45 leads for EUR 2,925, which is EUR 65 per lead
Pro - 70 leads for EUR 4,340, which is EUR 62 per lead
Max - 90 leads for EUR 5,400, which is EUR 60 per lead
No retainer, no contract term, and no lead sent to a second business. Unused volume rolls over under the Flock Lead Promise.
Related answers
Frequently asked questions
How much does a painting and plastering lead cost?
Exclusive painting and plastering leads run about EUR 40 to EUR 70 in the Benelux baseline. Shared leads are cheaper per unit but are sold to three to five companies at once, so the cost per acquired customer is usually higher.
How many painting and plastering leads do I need to win one customer?
Between 5 and 8 exclusive leads, assuming you call inside five minutes and quote within two days. Slower follow-up pushes that number up quickly.
What is a reasonable acquisition cost for a painting and plastering job?
EUR 200 to EUR 560 per signed customer, against a typical project value of EUR 1,500 to EUR 4,000. That is 5 to 37 percent of revenue.
Is it better to buy painting and plastering leads or run my own ads?
Running your own ads is cheaper per lead once the account is mature, but it takes a few months and a few thousand euro of learning budget to get there. Buying exclusive leads costs more per unit and starts producing this week. Most painters and plasterers do both: bought leads for baseline volume, own ads for margin.
Do I need a bigger budget in the painting and plastering peak?
Yes, and you should commit it four to six weeks early. Demand peaks spring, and by the time the peak is visible in your enquiry count the auction has already repriced.
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