When jobs slow down, the first instinct is to buy more leads. But if your pipeline leaks, more leads just leak out faster. You're pouring water into a bucket with holes in it.
The bucket, not the tap
Imagine two roofers who each get 100 leads. One closes 14 percent, the other closes 28 percent. Same ads, same spend, same market. One books twice as many jobs as the other, purely on what happens after the lead comes in.
Conversion is cheaper than traffic
Doubling your leads means doubling your ad budget. Doubling your close rate costs you nothing extra, it's just plugging the holes you already have. One of those is a much better use of money than the other.
Fix the bucket first
Get fast, get consistent, and follow up every time. Then, when you do buy more leads, every one of them is worth more. Patch the holes before you turn up the tap.