How to calculate LTV to buy leads wisely
Knowing how much a customer is worth over time (their LTV) is what tells you how much you can pay per lead. Without that number, you buy blind.
Many people decide how much to pay per lead looking only at the first sale. Mistake. The number that really rules is LTV (customer lifetime value): how much a customer leaves you across the whole relationship. With a good LTV, you can pay more per lead than your competition and still profit.
What LTV is
It's the total margin a customer leaves you over the time they're a customer. Simple formula: average ticket × margin × number of purchases (or months) of customer life. A one-purchase €100 customer isn't the same as a monthly-fee one for three years.
LTV changes the game: if your customer is worth €3,000 over their life and not €300 on the first purchase, you can invest far more to acquire them and still be profitable.
From LTV to maximum price per lead
- Calculate your average LTV.
- Decide what % of LTV you invest in acquisition (many healthy businesses, 10–30%).
- Divide by the leads you need per sale. That's your maximum viable price per lead.
It's the long-term version of the calculation we saw in how much a lead costs.
Why your competition pays more (and wins)
Whoever knows their LTV can bid higher for the same leads and still win, because they know they'll recover the investment through recurrence. If you look only at the first sale, you're left out of the best leads.
You don't buy leads at the price of the first sale: you buy them at the value of the whole relationship.
Invest with your numbers
At CompraLeads we help you size your lead investment by your real LTV. Write to contacto@compraleads.es.