The math before you buy another legal lead

Start with the funnel your partner already knows

A click is not an inquiry, an inquiry is not a qualified consultation, and a consultation is not a signed matter. To compare acquisition channels, write down the stages the firm already uses: total channel cost, visits or clicks, inquiries, reached contacts, qualified intakes, consultations and signed matters. Include media, management, intake labor, tracking and any other cost that belongs in the comparison period.

Use one definition for each stage. For example, a qualified intake might require an approved case type, a target jurisdiction and a reachable person. If the firm's intake team uses a different definition, use that one consistently. A cheap form fill can look attractive until the partner asks how many were reached, appropriate and worth a consultation.

Analytics can show conversion results by source and campaign, but the firm's intake record decides whether an inquiry became a qualified conversation or a signed matter.

An illustrative calculation, not a benchmark

For illustration only, a fictional 30-day example uses $6,000 in total channel cost. It produces 48 inquiries. That is $125 per inquiry. The intake record shows that 30 people were reached, 12 met the firm's qualification rules, 6 completed consultations and 2 signed matters. The same example therefore costs $500 per qualified intake, $1,000 per consultation and $3,000 per signed matter.

Those figures are simple division, not a forecast or an industry benchmark. They do not say what a case is worth, whether the channel should be renewed, or whether the two signed matters will produce the same result. A partner can add the firm's own realized contribution or other approved business measure, then compare the result with the full $6,000 cost. If the intake definitions change, the comparison changes too.

The example also shows why raw lead volume can mislead. A second channel might produce more inquiries at a lower inquiry cost but fewer qualified consultations. A third might produce fewer inquiries that are easier for intake to reach. The fair comparison uses the same period, stages, cost categories and follow-up window for each channel.

The worksheet a partner can request

Before approving a program, ask for the measurement plan in writing. What counts as an inquiry, a reached contact, a qualified intake, a consultation and a signed matter? Which costs are included? How will calls and forms be tied to their source? Who checks duplicate inquiries? How long will intake follow up? When will the partner review the results, and what would make the firm improve, pause or stop the test? These questions protect the decision from attractive but incomplete numbers.

Owned local content belongs in the same measurement conversation. It may support discovery over time, but it still needs a defined page, source label, intake path and review period. The right comparison is not paid versus free. It is the cost and quality of each channel's qualified conversations, using evidence the partner can inspect.

Bring one month of intake numbers and the firm's own fee assumptions. We will map those stages to the site and intake records your team can verify, then agree what to maintain, improve or pause. The result is a shared baseline for a decision, not a promised case count.

Want a market-specific baseline?

We can map local queries, communities and conversion paths before recommending a build.