Installer guide · 10 min read

Exclusive vs Shared Commercial Solar Leads (UK)

By Roman Steer-Love, co-founder of TNW Marketing · published 23 October 2026

Short answer: exclusive solar leads go to one installer; shared solar leads are sold to several installers at the same time (at one UK supplier, up to three or four, depending on the product). Shared leads cost less per lead, but every buyer is chasing the same prospect, so you race to call first and then compete on price. Are shared solar leads worth it? For high-volume domestic work with a fast phone team, sometimes. For commercial solar, where one survey costs a surveyor a day and the sale takes weeks, an exclusive lead or an exclusive booked appointment usually costs less per signed contract.

Exclusive vs shared solar leads at a glance

Both are a person or business that has asked about solar and agreed to be contacted. The difference is how many installers the supplier sells it to. Lead Pronto, for example, says on its commercial solar page that "Exclusive commercial solar leads are sold to one installer only and priced accordingly. Shared leads go to a small number of installers and cost less." Leads 2 Trade, whose solar leads cover homeowners and commercial businesses, publishes the number for each product: its Hot Key leads are "unique leads to 1 installer", Premium leads are "sent out to a maximum of 3 installers" and Qualified leads are "sent out up to 4 times" to network members.

What each costs, and why

A supplier spends the same on ads, calls and qualification whether it sells a lead once or four times. Sell it once and that cost sits with one buyer, so the price is higher. Sell it to several and each pays a share. That is why shared leads are cheaper: you pay for part of a lead other installers are also paying for.

The price per lead is therefore the wrong number to compare. What matters is the cost per signed contract: the price per lead divided by the share of leads that become a survey, then by the share of surveys that sign. Shared leads usually lose on both shares, because some prospects book with whoever rang first and others collect several quotes before deciding. The lead calculator works it through with your own rates, and what commercial solar leads cost covers the maths in more detail.

Installers who have bought shared commercial leads describe the same thing. Stephen James, who now buys exclusive leads for Luz Solar, on leads bought for a company he worked for before: "You're in competition, you paid for a lead, and suddenly you've got four other companies being sold that same lead."

Who carries the no-show risk

Exclusivity decides who else is calling. The pricing model decides who pays when nothing happens. Put the two together before you compare quotes.

The further along the chain a supplier is paid, the more of the risk it takes on. Get the replacement and refund terms in writing either way.

How to check a supplier's claim

"Exclusive" does not always mean the same thing. Some suppliers sell only exclusive leads; others sell exclusive and shared versions at different prices. Four checks tell you which you are getting:

• Read the contract, not the website. It should say how many buyers each lead goes to and that it will not be resold later.
• Check the invoice. If the supplier sells both kinds, each line should say which one you bought.
• Ask the prospect. On the first call, ask whether any other installers have been in touch about the same enquiry. Log the answer for every lead.
• Agree the remedy. Decide in advance what happens if a lead sold as exclusive turns out not to be: a refund, a replacement or a credit.

Our guide to buying solar leads in the UK has a fuller list of what "exclusive" should mean in writing, and the comparison of nine UK solar lead suppliers shows what each one says about exclusivity on its own website.

Questions to ask before you buy

1. How many installers receive each lead or appointment, and does the contract say so?
2. Is the lead ever resold later, for example if I turn it down or do not close it?
3. Whose name does the prospect hear when they are qualified and booked: yours, mine or another brand?
4. What checks are made before it reaches me: ownership or lease, energy spend, roof or land, decision-maker, timing?
5. What happens after a no-show, a cancellation or a lead that misses the brief: replaced, refunded, credited or nothing?
6. Am I paying per lead, per booked appointment or per attended appointment, and is there a retainer or minimum spend?

For the qualification side, use our commercial solar lead qualification checklist.

When shared leads can make sense

Shared leads are not a scam, and they suit some installers. They can make sense when:

• You install mostly domestic systems and win on volume, with a team that calls every lead within minutes.
• You are testing a new area or product and want a low cost per lead before committing more.
• Your price or lead time is genuinely better than most local competitors, so a straight quote-off suits you.
• You use them to top up a quiet week rather than as your main source of work.

They suit commercial work less well. Each commercial survey takes a surveyor out for most of a day, and the proposal takes longer still. If other installers are doing the same work for the same site, much of that effort is wasted, and the prospect learns to wait for the lowest price.

Pay per lead vs pay per appointment

Exclusivity is one question; what you pay for is another. Paying per lead buys contact details, and your team qualifies, books and confirms. Paying per appointment buys a meeting in your diary, with that work done first. A monthly retainer pays for activity, whatever it produces. See pay per lead vs retainer vs pay per appointment for the trade-offs side by side, and pay per appointment solar leads for how the model works in practice.