Quick answer: There is no single "good" close rate for contractors — it depends almost entirely on where the lead came from. Repeat customers and referrals close at 50–70%. Property-management work closes at 80%+. Competitive GC bids run around 50%. Hard-bid public work closes at 20–30%. And third-party platform leads (Angi, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor) close at just 10–20% (LevelCFO). If you're closing 1 in 8, the problem may not be your proposals — it may be your lead mix.
The benchmark table
| Lead source | Typical close rate |
|---|---|
| Property management / ongoing accounts | 80%+ |
| Repeat customers & referrals | 50–70% |
| GC competitive bids | ~50% |
| Hard-bid public work | 20–30% |
| Third-party platforms (Angi, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor) | 10–20% |
Source: LevelCFO, contractor quote-conversion analysis.
Two things jump out. First, the spread is enormous — the same contractor, with the same prices and the same craftsmanship, will close 5× better on a referral than on a shared platform lead. Second, most contractors judge themselves against a single mental number ("I should be closing half my bids") that only makes sense for one of these rows.
Why platform leads close so poorly
It's not that Angi customers are worse people. It's the structure:
- Every lead is sold to 3–8 contractors simultaneously (Hook Agency). You're in a speed-and-price footrace from the second the lead arrives.
- You're competing as a commodity. The customer didn't choose you — an algorithm did. There's no trust, no story, no referral halo. Price becomes the only differentiator.
- The economics compound against you. One published case study of an HVAC contractor buying 40 Angi leads/month at ~$50/lead: $2,000/month in lead costs, a 20% close rate on shared leads, 8 booked jobs — $250 per booked job and roughly 9% net margins after the platform takes its cut of your attention (UpMotion Media). The same contractor's owned channels (referrals, local presence) booked jobs at $160 each on a 38% close rate.
- Typical contractor spend on Angi runs $300–$2,500/month (LeadTruffle) — money spent renting customer relationships the platform keeps. Leave, and your reviews, history, and customer data stay behind.
What to do with these numbers
1. Measure your close rate by source, not overall. A 25% blended close rate could mean "healthy shop with a lot of platform leads" or "referral business in trouble." You can't know without splitting it. Track every proposal: source, sent date, outcome.
2. Spend where the close rates are. The math is lopsided: a referral lead is worth 3–5 platform leads before you account for margin. The highest-ROI "marketing" for most remodelers is systematically asking for reviews and referrals at project completion, and staying visible to past customers — not buying more shared leads.
3. Make every proposal earn the referral-level close rate. The reason referrals close at 50–70% is trust. You can't fake the referral, but you can close the trust gap on colder leads: respond fast (proposals sent within 24 hours win ~2× — Proposify, 2.6M proposals analyzed), look professional (polished, branded construction proposals win 10–25% more — BrandConstructors), and make saying yes effortless (mobile e-sign with deposit in one step).
4. If you use platforms, use them deliberately. Platform leads can fill gaps in the schedule. But treat them as paid-acquisition with thin margins — be fastest to respond, quote same-day, and don't let a $250-per-booked-job channel set the tone for your whole pipeline.
The long game is owning your pipeline: past customers, referrals, and a reputation that brings people to you. Sharp & Hired's role in that story is making every quote you send — even to a stone-cold lead — look and behave like the work of the professional shop the referral customers already know you are.
FAQ
What's a good overall close rate for a remodeling contractor? Against a healthy lead mix (mostly referrals/repeat, some cold), 40–50% blended is strong. If platform leads dominate your mix, 15–25% blended may be normal — which is a lead-mix problem, not a sales problem.
How many estimates should I expect to do per signed job? On referrals: roughly 1 signed per 2 proposals. On platform leads: 1 per 5–10. Budget your estimating time accordingly — and remember unpaid estimating time is a real cost of cheap leads.
Are Angi or Thumbtack leads ever worth it? They can be for filling schedule gaps or launching in a new market — if you respond within minutes, quote same-day, and track the true cost per booked job (lead fees + estimating hours) rather than just the lead price.
What's the fastest way to raise my close rate without buying anything? Speed. Sending the proposal within 24 hours of the site visit roughly doubles win rates in the largest proposal dataset published (Proposify, 2.6M proposals).
Sources: LevelCFO, UpMotion Media, LeadTruffle, Hook Agency, Proposify State of Proposals, BrandConstructors.