Somebody offered you a few thousand solar leads for a fraction of what fresh ones cost. The spreadsheet has names, phone numbers, addresses, maybe a power bill amount. On paper it's the cheapest pipeline you'll ever buy.
Before you pay for it, it helps to know what you're actually getting. I sold over 250 residential deals as a rep before I ran marketing, and now we run ads and follow-up for solar companies and consultants. We don't work aged leads at all. I'll explain why, and I'll also tell you when they can still make sense, because for some reps they do.
One thing up front. I won't quote prices for aged leads. We don't sell them, and I can't verify what other people charge.
What are aged solar leads?
Aged solar leads are homeowners who asked about solar a while ago, weeks or months back, and whose details are being sold again. The lead was fresh once. Somebody already bought it, or tried to work it, and now it's on a list.
The homeowner did raise a hand at some point. That part is real. What you don't know is how long ago, what they were shown, and who has called them since.
Why are aged solar leads so cheap?
They're cheap because most of a lead's value is gone after the first few hours. A homeowner who filled in a form ten minutes ago is thinking about their power bill right now. A homeowner who filled it in last spring is thinking about something else.
The seller has often been paid for that lead once already. Anything they get for it a second or third time is extra, so the price can drop a long way and still be worth their while.
So a low price on an aged lead isn't a discount. It reflects what's left in it.
What goes wrong with aged solar leads?
Three things, mostly: the homeowner has moved on, other companies got there first, and the consent behind the lead is old and hard to see.
They've moved on. Some already went solar. Some got a quote, didn't like it and decided against the whole idea. Some sold the house. Plenty just don't remember filling in anything, so your call lands as a cold call from a stranger.
They've been called already. A lead that has been sold before has been dialed before, often by several companies. By the time you reach the homeowner, you're paying for the mood the last few callers left behind. I get into how that works in exclusive vs shared solar leads.
The consent is old, and you usually can't see it. When a homeowner fills in a form, they agree to be contacted by someone, in some way, at that moment. With an aged list you often can't see what the form said, which company it named, or when they ticked the box. You're calling and texting on the strength of a permission you've never read.
I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice. The rules on calling and texting consumers are strict and they change, so check any purchased list with whoever handles your compliance before you load it into a dialer. Ask the seller for the consent record for each lead. If they can't produce it, that tells you something.
Are aged solar leads worth buying?
They can be, for a rep who has more time than budget, a dialer, and the patience to hear "who is this?" all afternoon. They're a poor fit for a team that wants a steady calendar.
Think of an aged list as a numbers job. Most of the list goes nowhere. A few homeowners never got a proper quote the first time and are still open to one. If your hours are free and the list is cheap enough, those few can pay for the rest.
The cost is your time and your phone number. Low answer rates mean a lot of dials for every real conversation, and numbers that get ignored or flagged over and over get harder to reach people with. That hurts your fresh leads too.
Run the same math on any lead source: what does one shown appointment cost, and how many of those do you close? I walk through it in how much solar leads cost. The price of a lead by itself tells you very little.
If you do buy a list, ask a few things first:
- How old is each lead, by date and not by "bucket"?
- How many companies has it been sold to?
- Can I see the form the homeowner filled in and the consent wording?
- Have these numbers been checked against do-not-call lists recently?
If a seller can't answer all four plainly, that's worth knowing before you pay.
Why does Solarfunnels only work real-time leads?
For compliance, first. We only work leads that come in live from your own campaign, where we know what the homeowner saw, what they agreed to, and when.
It's a hard line. If you hand us a list of old leads, we'll say no. That's a real limitation if you're sitting on a few thousand of them, and I'd rather you hear it now than on a call.
The second reason is the numbers. On our own campaigns, a real-time lead from a calculator funnel costs $18 to $25 on a new campaign, and about 15% to 20% of those leads book an appointment. Of the appointments that get booked, about 65% of virtual ones and about 80% of in-person ones show. Those are past results from our campaigns. They aren't promises, and your market will move them.
Fresh doesn't always mean good, though. Instant form leads are the cheapest real-time leads there are, and on the cheapest ones hardly anyone picks up. Think 5% contact rates, on a lead that's minutes old. A homeowner who barely meant to send the form is close to worthless at any age. Age makes that worse. A bad lead costs you a drive and an evening with a homeowner who was never going to buy, and a stale one adds weeks of distance on top.
What should you do instead of buying aged leads?
Generate your own, and call them fast. A lead from your own ad is exclusive to you, you know what the homeowner agreed to, and you can reach the homeowner while the question is still on their mind.
That costs more per lead than a list does. Compare the two on cost per kept appointment, because that's the number that pays you. If you're weighing the options, should you buy solar leads covers buying against building, and how to get solar leads for free covers the routes that cost hours instead of dollars.
It's also the work we do. We run the ads and the funnel, call and text every new lead within minutes, and book them on your calendar. It's a flat monthly fee with ad spend separate, and the details are on the pricing page. We don't sell lists, we don't guarantee a number, and we only do residential solar.
If you want to compare your current lead source against your own campaign, book a 15-minute call and bring your numbers.