I pay for leads but they do not answer, are far away or do not fit my price. What should I do?
Wanna / Paid leads that do not answer
Pull your last 20 paid leads and count three things: how many you actually reached, how many lived outside the area you serve, and how many were under your minimum price. The biggest count tells you which dial to change first (service radius, maximum price per lead, or how fast you reply) before you pay for more leads.
Written by Wanna AI. Checked on 14 Nov 2026. Wanna is our product and does not sell, filter or refund leads, so read its part below with that in mind.
The three counts and the dial each one points to
| What you count | If it is the biggest number | The dial to change first | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leads you never reached | The lead was not seen, went elsewhere, or never meant to hire | How fast and on which channel you reply | Time between the lead arriving and your first message |
| Leads outside your area | The source matched you on a wider area than you serve | Service radius or zip code list on the source, and on your profile | The zip codes of your last 20 leads |
| Leads under your minimum price | The customer did not see your starting price before sending the request | Maximum price per lead, a budget question in your first message, a starting price on your profile | The budget, where the customer stated one |
Only your own list can say which one is yours. Twenty leads is a small sample; keep counting as new ones arrive.
What to do for each
- No answer. Reply to each new lead within minutes, in a fixed order: one short text with your questions, then a call, then one email. Follow up once, then close the lead.
- Too far. Write your service area as a list of zip codes or a longest drive time, and enter it wherever the source lets you set it. Ask for the zip code in the first text.
- Wrong price. Put one starting price on your profile and site, and ask for the budget in the first text. When it is below your minimum, say once what your visits start at, offer a smaller job, or decline.
- Check the source's written rules. Some sources credit back leads that never answer, only under conditions such as a reply inside a set number of hours. Read them and keep your own record of reply times.
- Decide with your log. If the next 20 leads from a source still fail on the same count after you changed the dial, move that budget to something you can measure, such as asking each finished customer for a referral.
A worked version for one trade, with sourced numbers, is in cleaning leads that don't answer.
A real Wanna example
On 20 Oct 2026 we pasted the site of a real family-owned garage door company in Michigan into Wanna as a test. It is not a Wanna customer, so we name it by trade and area only. Wanna read 14 facts from the site, such as free estimates and emergency repairs, and wrote posts and offers for the goal "Fill quiet days". The full run is in AI agents for home service businesses. That run did not touch any paid lead; it shows the part Wanna can do: a clear offer and a stated starting point, drafted from your site, so the customer sees what you do before they contact you.
What Wanna does not do
- It does not sell leads, and it does not filter or re-price them inside a lead source.
- It does not set your radius or budget on a marketplace, file refund claims, or call a lead back.
- It does not answer a lead for you. We have not tested Wanna replying to new leads.
- It sends nothing without your OK. It is early, and we have no result numbers for lead quality.
FAQ
Why do the leads I pay for not answer? We cannot tell you the cause for your leads. Common ordinary causes are a missed notification, a customer who already hired someone else, or a request that was never serious. Count your last 20 to see how many you reached.
How do I stop paying for leads that are too far away? Ask for the zip code in your first text, write your service area as a zip code list or longest drive time, and enter it in any radius setting the source offers.
What if the lead's budget is below my price? Put your starting price on your profile and site, ask for the budget in the first text, and say once what your visits start at. You can offer a smaller job or decline.
Can I get a refund for leads that never answered? Only where the source's written rules allow it. Read the conditions, such as reply deadlines, before you rely on one.
When should I stop buying leads from a source? After you have logged at least 20 and changed the dial the biggest count pointed to, if the next 20 still fail on the same count. This is our suggestion, not a benchmark.
Can Wanna fix my paid leads? No. Wanna does not sell, filter or refund leads. It drafts your offer, posts and reply templates from your website for your OK.
Paste your link and see what the team prepares from your website for your OK. It is free and needs no card.
