Hometown Quotes...what Would You Do???

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

OK...here's the situation. About 3-4 weeks ago, Hunter was kind enough to give me a $100 credit (10 free leads). No signup. No credit card info provided.

I received the 10 leads. I wrote one and may write another. No complaints from that standpoint.

But here's the issue:

As advertised, they only sell the lead to four agents. BUT...( a big BUT...but not a "big butt" if you know what I mean)...EHEALTH is mentioned prominently with the introduction email (see below):

Hi Chumps,
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thank you for visiting HometownQuotes.Com for your free Health Insurance quotes. Over the next 24 hours, we will help you find the best local agents for all of insurance needs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]To view the agents you were matched with just click here. These agents will contact you shortly with accurate quotes. eHealth Insurance, one of our partners, can provide you with instant, online quotes. To view online quotes click this link to visit eHealth Insurance. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If you want to increase your savings even more, you may wish to apply for local quotes for Life Insurance Quotes as well.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Simply click here to save even more money today.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks again,[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]HometownQuotes.Com Customer Service As you can see....the EHEALTH link is immediately provided for an instant quote.[/FONT]

And then...LESS THAN ONE DAY LATER....Netquote enters the picture with this email:

You've Been Matched!

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For Your Records: [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Your Application ID is 30193667[/FONT]

Dear Chumps,
Thank you for choosing NetQuote to assist you with your insurance needs.

Application Type: Health

Your Application ID: 30193667

I NEVER gave my information to Netquote, but HOMETOWN gave them my name LESS THAN 24 hours after they contacted me.

So every Hometown lead I buy...their name is going to NetQuote as well.

Would this concern you?

 

[J.R.]

Not if the leads were less than $5!

 

[somarco]

Ed -

Competition is everywhere. There is no such thing as an exclusive lead.

I have been using HTQ for about a year and have been pleased. There are some rough spots but that is to be expected with any lead source.

eHealth is everywhere so it doesn't take someone like HTQ to alert consumers to the source. My feeling is, if a prospect wants to buy "direct" they will do so without encouragement from HTQ.

I cannot tell you definitively, but my guess is eHealth converts less than 2% of quotes and their retention after the sale is far below anything you or I would achieve.

Agents that consider eHealth or direct selling links competition are weak marketers. At least 3 of my carriers (and possibly more) have DTC advertising (BX, KP & GR) and BX is the only one that really makes a dent in scarfing up clients on a direct basis.

I figure anyone who buys from BX, especially direct, deserves what they get.

Then there is NQ. A mass retailer of leads. Who cares? I don't as long as they don't get any of my money.

Let's face it. Anyone who goes online and searches even one site that is a data mining site is going to get inundated for the next 72 hours with calls & spam, almost from the first.

That's why I wait 3 - 4 days before making my first phone call. By then they are either resigned to doing it themselves or have bought from some *** who sweet talks them into submitting an application on the spot.

I use HTQ and will continue for the following reasons.

Their leads are reasonably priced even when adding filters. The days of getting fresh $5 leads are gone. The filters I use with HTQ are enough to keep out most of the junk.

HTQ has the most liberal credit policy of anyone. I can even get credit for leads that never answer the phone or return my phone call.

I use the HTQ autoresponder to warm up a prospect and prepare them for what is to come. This is the best $0.25 I will ever spend.

HTQ is not paying me to script this. I have nothing to gain. I will continue using HTQ until something better comes along and I am constantly looking for quality sources.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I think you should just focus on cost/profit/time spent. Even if you're closing 1 out of 20 at $7 a pop then a deal is costing you $140. I'm sure you'll return at least $600 and most business owners would take that return all day long. You'll also do better than 1 out of 20 if you're diligent, local and simply good on the phone.

Somarco's also right about there being no such thing as an exclusive lead. People who want to shop will shop. I remember buying $18 exclusive leads in early '05. This is what I'd hear:

"Well thank you but we're still shopping around."

 

[somarco]

Got this from Vimo. Interesting comments.

http://www.vimo.com/blogs/brokers/?p=71

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Great article. The legitimate competition has really stepped up with shared leads. I remember the days when it was me, a Mega agent and a discount rep calling the client. I had a fantastic chance of getting the deal. Now great ethical agents are up against other great ethical agents. Makes it a lot harder however there's still plenty of business to go around.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

My main concern is that now 8-10 agents are in the mix instead of a more palatable 4-5. I was shocked that they will sell the name to NetQuote...and so quickly as well!

To me, they should not advertise that 4-5 agents will contact the consumer.

 

[djs]

I doubt, though don't know for sure, that it was HTQ that sold your lead to NetQuote. It was probably one of the agents who got your info from HTQ that turned around and sold the lead to NetQuote to help offset his lead cost. This is not allowed by most lead companies, but it appears to happen.

Bottom line is that 10 leads is enough of a 'taste' so you can order the meal. But it was only a taste.... you did well enough to try actually ordering more leads, and see how it goes.

I always have mixed feelings about 'online' health quotes. It has the advantage of convincing people that they don't have any idea what they are getting themselves into, and that a little guidance is a good thing. It has the disadvantage of letting people select the low cost plan and apply on the spot, without any idea of what they are getting themselves into.

Dan

 

[somarco]

Perhaps Hunter will address your concerns.

 

[somarco]

Got this note from HTQ. Just one more reason why I continue to use them.

Over the last 2 weeks, our quality control department has intensified its focus on maintaining and improving the quality of our health leads.

On Friday afternoon, we became very suspicious of one particular advertiser. After some long hours over the weekend, we quickly got rid of this advertiser and began a thorough review of their leads.

After talking with another leads service, we found out that this advertiser has developed quite the reputation in our business for sending bogus leads and incentivized leads.

I wanted to let you know about this and also let you know that we are crediting your account for ALL of the leads that were sent from this advertiser, even though some of the leads were actually good leads.

You received X leads worth $XX.00 from this advertiser. Your account balance has been updated to reflect all of these credits.

We do apologize for any troubles this may have caused you and appreciate your continued business.

As always, if you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!


Best Regards,

Paul Cuiffo
Director of Quality Control
HometownQuotes