Why are brokered leads so much cheaper than Acquiri appointments?

Because brokers sell the same lead multiple times and do no qualification. The upfront unit cost is lower but the close rate is much lower too, so the true cost per sale is typically higher than buying exclusive booked appointments.

Are Acquiri appointments really exclusive?

Yes. Every appointment booked under your account belongs only to your business. We also cap how many partners we take per service area so we are never competing inside our own client list.

What if I am already buying from a broker?

Most partners run both for the first month to compare. Within a few weeks the true cost per sale on Acquiri appointments tends to make the broker spend hard to justify.

Do broker leads ever close well?

Occasionally, when your sales team calls within minutes and the lead has not been contacted by competitors first. That combination is rare, which is why average broker close rates sit at 3-10%.

What about exclusive lead brokers?

A few exist and are more expensive per lead. They typically still lack the phone-qualification and appointment-setting layer, so effective cost per install remains higher than Acquiri.

Acquiri vs buying senior-services leads from a broker.

A brokered lead is a name and a number that has been sold to three to five competitors at the same time. An Acquiri appointment is a phone-qualified, confirmed booking that belongs only to you. The cost-per-sale gap is usually enormous once you do the maths.

Claims and measurement note

Performance figures on this page are planning scenarios, not observed Acquiri partner results. Observed figures will only be published after the cohort, period and denominator have been reviewed.

Status: Illustrative planning range
Market: United Kingdom and United States
Date range: Planning assumptions reviewed 14 August 2026
Sample size: Not applicable. No measured partner cohort is represented.
Booked vs attended: A booked appointment is not counted as attended until the prospect actually meets the provider.
Conversion basis: Conversion means attended appointment to quote, sale or completed install, as stated for the service.
Cost basis: Planning figures are not a quote. Media spend and Acquiri fees are shown separately in commercial proposals.
Method: Ranges are scenario inputs, not averages, medians, guarantees or audited performance claims.
Operational target: 72 hours: Setup target after required access and approvals. This is not a promise of a first lead, appointment or sale. Campaign launch and appointment timing depend on approvals, market demand and prospect availability.

Criterion

Acquiri

Lead Brokers

Exclusivity

Exclusive to your business

Usually sold to 3 to 5 competing companies

Lead form to first call

Minutes (Acquiri team calls)

You call, often after competitors

Qualification

Phone-qualified before booking

Anyone who clicked an ad

Typical close rate

20% to 35%

3% to 10%

Show rate on appointment

80% to 90%

N/A (form fill, not appointment)

Confirmed appointment in calendar

Yes, with reminders

No, you chase

Upfront unit cost

Higher per lead

Lower per lead

True cost per sale

Lower (better conversion)

Higher (price wars, low close)

When to choose which

Choose Acquiri if

You sell a considered purchase, want exclusive pipeline, and your team's time on the phone or in the home is expensive.

Choose lead brokers if

You have a high-volume call centre that can hammer cold lists at speed and your unit economics work at very low close rates.

The broker economics that get quietly missed

A $20 shared broker lead looks like a bargain until you build out the full unit economics. On a typical shared broker lead in stairlifts or walk-in baths, roughly one in ten answers the phone (because 3-5 competitors called first), roughly one in three of those agrees to a survey, roughly half of those show up, and roughly one in three of those closes.

That is $20 × 10 × 3 × 2 × 3 = $3,600 in leads to produce one install. Compare with an Acquiri appointment at $130, an 85% show rate and a 33% close = $130 × (1/0.85) × (1/0.33) = $463 per install. The broker lead is 7-8x more expensive per install despite being 85% cheaper per lead.

Cost-per-sale math by category

Illustrative comparison across three verticals:

Stairlift dealer, $20 broker lead vs $140 Acquiri appointment: broker CPI $3,600 vs Acquiri CPI $500 on a $4,500 straight install (broker CoS 80%; Acquiri CoS 11%).
Walk-in bath installer, $32 broker vs $180 Acquiri: broker CPI $3,200 vs Acquiri CPI $535 on a $11,000 install (broker CoS 29%; Acquiri CoS 5%).
Pre-need funeral, $40 broker vs $130 Acquiri: broker CPI $2,600 vs Acquiri CPI $430 on a $6,000 plan (broker CoS 43%; Acquiri CoS 7%).

What actually changes when you switch

Partners who move from broker leads to Acquiri report three consistent changes in the first 60 days:

Sales team morale rises. Phones ring with booked appointments instead of angry no-answers.
Cost per install drops 50% to 75% on like-for-like install rates.
Close rate on attended surveys rises 10 to 20 percentage points because prospects arrive already qualified.
Van time is spent installing, not chasing.

When brokered leads still make sense

Brokered lead volume can still be useful for two operator profiles:

High-volume call centres with unit economics that work at 3-5% close rates.
National operators using broker volume as top-of-funnel fill alongside exclusive channels.
Businesses whose sales team hunts hard on cold lists and can outperform benchmark connect rates.

A framework for phasing the transition

Most partners do not rip broker leads out on day one. A pragmatic four-week transition:

Week 1-2: Acquiri live alongside existing broker spend. Measure both channels on same close.
Week 3-4: cut broker spend 50%, redirect to Acquiri.
Week 5-8: full cut of shared broker leads. Retain only exclusive-lead relationships if any.
Week 8+: reallocate saved spend to expanding geo-coverage or curved-only stream.