Estimate capacity before choosing a lead cap
Count the people available to respond, collect quoting information, prepare proposals, and follow up. Existing customers and open opportunities still need service. A producer’s theoretical capacity is different from the time left after those commitments.
Choose a weekly number of new conversations your team can work consistently. Use it to discuss a monthly cap with the provider. Treat the cap as a spending control, not a promise that the provider will deliver that exact volume.
Separate lead spending and internal work
Homefield’s published home insurance rates are $35 per qualified lead for Starter at 60–99 leads per month, $30 for Elite Growth at 100–199, and $25 for Scale at 200+. The minimum is 60 leads and $2,100 per month. See the pricing page and confirm the applicable plan and order details before forecasting an invoice.
Keep internal labor, software, and other marketing costs in separate lines. They matter to the agency’s economics even when a provider does not invoice for them. Do not compare one channel’s all-in cost with another channel’s lead-only cost.
- 200 qualified leads at the $25 Scale rate: $5,000.
- Provider spending for this illustration: $5,000.
- Producer labor and other agency costs: add your own amounts.
This is a planning example, not a delivery commitment or a prediction of sales.
Put billing dates into your cash-flow plan
Homefield bills twice monthly, on the 1st and 15th, in advance for qualified leads in the upcoming billing period (approximately two weeks). If either falls on a weekend, billing moves to the next business day. Invoices are based on the agreed lead volume and rates, itemized by lead quantity and rate, and due on receipt. Each lead and its reply thread are provided as the lead is delivered. Twice monthly is different from an every-14-days schedule.
Forecast when lead charges may be due and when your agency actually receives revenue. A policy written this month does not necessarily mean cash arrives on the invoice date. Use your own commission arrangements and accounting records for that timing.
Use more than one conversion scenario
For 200 leads at the $25 Scale rate, a 12% planning close rate implies 24 written policies and $208.33 of lead spend per policy. At 6%, the same spend produces a projected $416.67 per policy. The $25 rate applies to 200+ leads per month. These are assumptions, not Homefield performance averages. Agency labor and other operating costs are separate.
Use the cost-per-policy calculator to test assumptions before setting the cap. Include a scenario that would make you pause the program and another that would justify considering an increase.
Define the review before the campaign starts
Pick a review point that allows for launch preparation and the normal quoting cycle. Homefield typically takes about 21 days to first leads. Assess whether your team handled the opportunities as planned before attributing every outcome to the source.
Review spending, valid replies, completed quotes, written policies, and unresolved conversations together. A small initial cohort can identify a workflow problem without proving a stable long-term conversion rate. Homefield is month-to-month; the existing terms require 30 days’ written cancellation notice. Factor that notice into spending decisions.