Appointment economics · UK & US

What should a qualified appointment cost you?

What a qualified appointment costs depends on the service, the market and the area: dense cities cost more, retirement-heavy regions less. This guide gives illustrative UK and US planning ranges, which are ad-cost scenarios and not Acquiri's fee. The number that matters most is cost per sale, because a cheaper appointment that rarely closes costs more overall.

Most senior-services businesses do not know what a qualified appointment should cost in their category, which makes it impossible to evaluate any agency, broker, or in-house effort. This guide publishes the 2026 cost-per-appointment ranges Acquiri sees across active partners in the UK and US.

By Femi Nwaojigba · Reviewed 14 August 2026

Acquiri planning model · not an observed cohort

In 2026, cost per qualified appointment (illustrative planning figures, not Acquiri's fee) across senior services runs: stairlift home survey £70-£160 / $90-$190; walk-in bath design £80-£170 / $110-$210; pre-need funeral £60-£130 / $80-$180; hearing aid clinic test £90-£180 / $100-$200; care home tour £100-£200 / $120-$220; equity release consultation £80-£160 (UK). Costs sit at the top of ranges in dense metros and the bottom in retirement-heavy regions. What matters more than CPL is cost-per-sale, which depends on close rate; a cheaper appointment that closes at 15% is worse than a pricier one that closes at 33%.

Stairlifts
£70-£160 / $90-$190
Walk-in baths
£80-£170 / $110-$210
Pre-need funeral
£60-£130 / $80-$180
Care home / hearing
£90-£180 / $100-$200

2026 benchmark ranges

These are illustrative planning ranges for what a qualified appointment costs to generate. They are not Acquiri's fee. "Qualified" means a confirmed appointment that has passed the phone-qualification step (age, geography, decision-maker, budget posture, funding readiness).

  • Stairlift home survey: £70 to £160 in the UK, $90 to $200 in the US.
  • Walk-in bath / wet room design consultation: £80 to £200 in the UK, $110 to $250 in the US.
  • Pre-need funeral appointment: £60 to £140 in the UK, $80 to $180 in the US.
  • Hearing aid in-clinic test: £90 to £180 in the UK, $100 to $200 in the US.
  • Care home tour: £100 to £200 in the UK, $120 to $220 in the US.
  • Equity release / estate planning consultation: £80 to £160 in the UK.

What moves the number inside the range

Five factors explain almost all of the variance within a category:

  • Geography: dense metros and London / NYC / SF / LA trend toward the top of the range; retirement-heavy regions trend toward the bottom.
  • Offer strength: clear "free in-home survey", on-the-day pricing, and finance available beat vague "request a quote" offers by 20% to 40%.
  • Speed to call: form fills called within 5 minutes connect 3 to 5x more often than next-day call-backs.
  • Creative refresh cadence: weekly creative refresh keeps Meta CPMs in check; monthly refresh cycles drift up over time.
  • Seasonality: stairlifts and bathrooms peak Jan-Mar and Sep-Nov; pre-need is steadier year-round; hearing tests dip in mid-summer.

Cost per appointment vs cost per sale

Cost per appointment is a useful operating metric but it is not the final number that matters. The final number is cost per sale, which depends on close rate.

Example: a stairlift dealer paying £100 per survey at a 33% close rate has a cost per sale of £300. The same dealer paying £140 per survey at a 40% close rate has a cost per sale of £350. The cheaper survey is the better deal only if you can hold close rate.

Acquiri reports both numbers every week so partners can see the trade-off clearly.

Regional CPL patterns across categories

The same regional patterns apply across most senior-services categories:

  • Cheapest regions (UK): Midlands, North West, Yorkshire.
  • Cheapest regions (US): Florida, Arizona, Carolinas, Texas.
  • Priciest regions (UK): Greater London, South East, Edinburgh.
  • Priciest regions (US): NYC metro, SF Bay Area, LA metro.

How to sanity-check a quoted cost per appointment

If an agency or in-house team is quoting a number outside the ranges above, ask three questions:

  • "Is that ad spend only, or in the planning scenario; media spend and Acquiri fees are quoted separately?" Many quoted numbers exclude management fees.
  • "Is the appointment phone-qualified, or just a form fill?" A form-fill cost of £30 looks great until you measure show-rate (often below 20%).
  • "Is the lead exclusive, or shared?" Broker leads at £20 each are often sold to 3 to 5 competitors, materially worse than they look on paper.

Common misinterpretations

Recurring mistakes buyers make when comparing CPL numbers:

  • Comparing form-fill cost to phone-qualified appointment cost. Not the same unit.
  • Ignoring show-rate. A £50 appointment that shows 50% of the time is worse than a £120 one that shows 90%.
  • Missing management fees in the comparison. Acquiri numbers are in the illustrative planning scenario.
  • Comparing shared broker leads to exclusive appointments.

Frequently asked questions

A broker £15 lead is typically a non-exclusive form fill, sold to 3 to 5 competitors, with no phone qualification and often a sub-20% show rate. Acquiri appointments are exclusive, phone-qualified, calendared, and reminded. The like-for-like cost per sale on broker leads is usually higher despite the lower headline price.

No. They are illustrative planning ranges for what a qualified appointment costs to generate. Acquiri charges a service fee for a three-month engagement, quoted on the qualification call. Ad spend is paid directly to Meta and is separate from our service fee. If the sales from our appointments haven't covered our fee by day 90, you don't pay again until they have.

Most partners settle inside the middle of the range within 3 to 6 weeks as creative testing converges. The top performers in each category sit at or below the bottom of the range within 60 to 90 days.

No. UAE benchmarks are different and currently shared with partners directly during onboarding. UAE retail finance and care budgets do not map neatly to UK or US ranges.

Acquiri charges a service fee for a three-month engagement, quoted on the qualification call. Ad spend is paid directly to Meta and is separate from our service fee. If the sales from our appointments haven't covered our fee by day 90, you don't pay again until they have.

Related reading

How to respond to Meta leads in under ten minutesMobility leads (UK)Funeral pre-need close rate benchmarksHow to qualify a walk-in bath lead

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