Calculator
Marketing Budget and Required Estimate Calculator
Start with the revenue you want and work backward to the estimates, leads and budget it takes to get there. Run your numbers below.
To reach $500,000 at a $12,000 average job, you need about 42 jobs — which means roughly 119 estimates and 397 leads, for an estimated ad budget near $29,762. The fastest way to lower that budget is to raise your close rate or your average job value, not to find cheaper leads.
Planning estimate based on your inputs. Real cost per lead and close rates vary by market, channel and season.
Plan backward from the goal
Most contractors set a marketing budget by feel. A better way is to start with a revenue goal and work backward: how many booked jobs that takes at your average job value, how many estimates that takes at your close rate, how many leads that takes at your booking rate, and what that many leads costs at your cost per lead. The calculator does the chain for you.
Use it as a reality check
The output is a planning estimate, not a promise — real markets vary. But it turns "we should spend more on marketing" into a concrete, testable plan, and it exposes the two levers that change everything: your close rate and your average job value. Improving either lowers the budget the same goal requires.
Want this applied to your business, specifically? The Free Custom Ad Campaign is a written plan for your market — competitor scan, offer, one ad concept, landing page and follow-up. See the offer →
Questions
Is the budget it produces guaranteed to work?
No. It is a directional plan based on your inputs, and real cost per lead and close rates move. Use it to size a starting budget and a target, then measure and adjust against reality.
What if I don’t know my cost per lead?
Use a benchmark range for your trade as a placeholder, then replace it with your real number once you are running and measuring. The calculator is most useful with your own data.
Related insights
Contractor Lead Cost and Break-Even Calculator
Cost per lead is the wrong number. What matters is cost per booked job and whether the maths works. Run yours below.
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