Evaluating a lead provider takes at least 90 days and requires tracking different metrics at each stage. At 30 days, you are measuring contact and dispute rates for auto insurance leads or home services leads. At 60 days, you are measuring pipeline quality. At 90 days, you are measuring cost per acquisition. TopTop Leads buyers who run this evaluation consistently find the 30-day numbers rarely predict the 90-day outcome without that full cycle of data.
This guide gives you the exact metrics to track at each milestone, with benchmark ranges for both verticals.
Why 30 days is not enough for a final verdict
Most buyers make a go/no-go decision at 30 days. That is the wrong time for a final verdict.
Thirty days gives you enough data on operational quality: contact rate, dispute rate, and data accuracy. It does not give you enough closed sales to calculate a reliable CPA. CPA, or cost per acquisition, is defined as total lead spend divided by total sales in the same cohort. Auto insurance buyers may need 45 to 60 days for a meaningful bind rate to accumulate. Home services buyers with longer project cycles, particularly bath remodel, may not have a representative close rate until day 75 or later.
Use 30-day data to make adjustments. Use 90-day data to make investment decisions.
What to measure at 30 days
At the 30-day mark, you are answering one question: is the operational quality of these leads acceptable?
Track these five metrics:
| Metric | Auto insurance (shared) | Home services (exclusive) |
|---|---|---|
| Contact rate | 22 to 35% | 35 to 55% |
| Dispute rate | Below 8% | Below 8% |
| Data completeness | All required fields present | All required fields, including homeowner status |
| TCPA documentation rate | 100% per lead | 100% per lead |
| Call speed (your team) | Calls made within 5 minutes | Calls made within 5 minutes |
A few definitions. Contact rate is live conversations divided by leads received. Dispute rate is invalid leads divided by total received; disputes typically include disconnected numbers, incorrect information, and leads outside your agreed filters. TCPA stands for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which governs consent requirements for outbound calls to consumers.
Auto insurance leads from TopTop Leads are shared, meaning each lead is sold to multiple buyers simultaneously, typically three to five. That competition is one reason contact rates for shared auto insurance leads run lower than for exclusive home services leads, which go to one buyer only.
If your 30-day contact rate is below the lower end of these ranges, investigate call speed before drawing conclusions about lead quality. Research from XANT on lead response behavior shows contact rates fall by more than half after the first hour and approach zero by the following day. Slow follow-up accounts for most underperformance in month one.
What to measure at 60 days
At 60 days, you have enough pipeline activity to move beyond operational metrics. Now you are asking: are these leads converting into real sales opportunities?
Add these metrics to your tracking:
- Quote rate or appointment rate: contacts who agreed to a quote (auto insurance) or booked an appointment (home services). A quote rate below 40% on auto insurance or an appointment set rate below 30% on home services suggests either a lead quality issue or a pitch problem. Distinguish the two by reviewing call recordings.
- Pipeline stage progression: what share of leads who entered your pipeline have advanced past initial contact? If leads consistently stall after the first call, the issue is usually follow-up frequency, not consumer intent.
- Provider comparison: if you are running more than one provider, rank them by 60-day quote rate and pipeline progression, not just contact rate. Contact rate differences of 5 to 8 percentage points are not always meaningful at this sample size. Quote rate differences are.
At 60 days you can also run an early CPA estimate using your first two weeks of leads, since those contacts have had time to close or stall. Flag these as directional estimates rather than final conclusions.
What to measure at 90 days
Ninety days is where you get your answer. Your first cohort of leads has had enough time to close. Pull these four numbers:
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| CPA (cost per acquisition) | Whether the economics work at your margin |
| Close rate on contacted leads | Whether your sales process is efficient |
| Provider rank by CPA | Which source delivers the best return |
| Dispute rate trend over three months | Whether quality is consistent or degrading |
CPA is the only metric that answers whether a lead program is worth running at current prices. If your 90-day CPA is inside the range your revenue model supports, keep buying and consider increasing volume. If it is outside that range, you need to either retarget your filters, improve close rate by addressing your sales process, or negotiate pricing with the provider.
For auto insurance shared leads, acceptable CPA typically ranges from $200 to $800, depending on first-year commission structure, based on benchmarks from the Insurance Information Institute. For exclusive home services leads, acceptable CPA ranges run from $200 to $900 depending on sub-vertical and average job value, with roofing and bath remodel commanding higher ranges given their job size.
How to compare providers on the same basis
If you are running more than one provider, rank them on a single normalized metric: CPA. Not cost per lead. Not contact rate. CPA.
A provider charging $22 per shared auto insurance lead who produces a $700 CPA is worse than one charging $18 per lead with a $450 CPA, even though the first is cheaper per lead. CPA is the number that connects lead buying to actual business outcomes.
One practical check before comparing providers: control for call speed. If one provider’s leads are being called back in two minutes and another’s in eight, you are measuring your own follow-up variation, not lead quality. Normalize call timing first, then compare.
Three adjustments to make at each milestone
At 30 days:
- If contact rate is below benchmark, run a call speed audit before cutting volume.
- If dispute rate exceeds 8%, open a conversation with the provider about credit policy.
- If required data fields are consistently missing, flag this directly and request a corrected sample.
At 60 days:
- If quote rate is below 40% on auto insurance, review call recordings to separate lead intent problems from sales execution problems.
- If home services appointment rate is below 30%, check your service area filters. Leads outside your actual coverage geography will not convert to booked jobs.
- Rerank providers by pipeline progression and adjust volume toward the better source.
At 90 days:
- Calculate final CPA for each provider and for each sub-vertical if you are running multiple.
- If CPA is above your acceptable range, decide whether volume increases, pricing negotiation, or filter changes could bring it into range. If none of those paths is viable, exit cleanly.
- Commit to your top performer with a firm monthly volume agreement. Providers allocate better inventory to buyers with consistent, predictable volume.
TopTop Leads is a lead generation company that operates owned consumer brands in auto insurance and home services, delivering all leads in real time via API. Buyers using the 30/60/90 evaluation framework consistently identify their best sources faster and reallocate budget more effectively than those making decisions on 30-day gut reads.
If you are ready to start or expand your lead program, see what is available on our buy leads page or review the auto insurance lead program for shared lead pricing and volume options.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to properly evaluate a lead provider? A complete evaluation takes 90 days. Thirty days gives you enough data on contact rate and dispute rate. Sixty days gives you pipeline conversion data. Ninety days gives you a real CPA number from your first cohort of leads.
What is a good contact rate for auto insurance leads? For real-time shared auto insurance leads, 22 to 35% is typical. If your contact rate is below 22%, check call speed before drawing conclusions about lead quality. Most underperformance at 30 days comes from follow-up delay, not the leads themselves.
What is a good contact rate for home services leads? For exclusive real-time home services leads, 35 to 55% is a reasonable benchmark. Exclusive leads carry no competing buyers calling the same consumer, which is why contact rates run higher than for shared auto insurance leads.
How should I compare two lead providers? Use 90-day CPA, not cost per lead. A cheaper lead that converts poorly will produce a higher CPA than a more expensive lead with a higher close rate. Rank providers by CPA and allocate more volume toward the top performer.
When is the right time to cut a lead provider? At 90 days, if CPA is outside your acceptable range and you have already controlled for call speed and sales process issues, that is the time to exit or restructure. Do not cut a provider at 30 days based on contact rate alone without first auditing your own follow-up speed.
What dispute rate should trigger a conversation with a provider? A dispute rate above 8% warrants a direct conversation. Disputes include disconnected numbers, leads outside your agreed geographic or project filters, and, in home services, contacts confirmed as renters rather than homeowners.
References
- Insurance Information Institute — auto insurance premium data and market benchmarks referenced in CPA range estimates for auto insurance buyers
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners — state-level auto insurance market data and regulatory context for buyer compliance
- XANT (formerly InsideSales.com) — lead response research on contact rate decay at 5-minute, 1-hour, and next-day intervals
- Angi — home services project cost data for roofing, windows, gutters, and bath remodel referenced in acceptable CPA ranges
- Federal Communications Commission — TCPA regulations governing consent requirements for outbound calls to consumers in lead generation