The First Thing Agents Need to Demand From Lead Vendors

[VolAgent]

Hometown Quotes just added themselves to the list of vendors to avoid.

Just because Lending Tree sticks it to their customers is no excuse for you to do so as well. And here I thought you were an upstanding vendor.

 

[Bob Klee]

Hometown Quotes just added themselves to the list of vendors to avoid.

Just because Lending Tree sticks it to their customers is no excuse for you to do so as well. And here I thought you were an upstanding vendor.

VolAgent.

This is NOT HometownQuotes.com's policy! I said it was Lending Tree's Policy.

We give credit for leads with BOGUS phone numbers, "no one lives here with that name" & many other reasons.

I was asking the question of what folks on the Forum thought. Anyone on this Forum that buys leads from me can/will confirm that I'm sure.

But for many here, it is true that they only want leads with good phone numbers.

For others, they are good with Name, Address, email.

Anyone here besides me send "Snail Mail" to their leads as a strategy for more lead conversions?

 

[VolAgent]

Question: Currently we give credit if the phone number is bad. I am thinking about changing our policy. Lending Tree says if you can't reach them by phone, put them in your email campaign. No refund on those $100 mortgage leads! What do you all think?

Sounds like you are giving it some serious thought.

There is nothing wrong with emailing or mailing the leads you can reach by via phone. Who knows, it may turn out to be valid and reachable. But for any vendor to charge $12.50 (your price for leads I believe) or even more for an email address an affiliate generated for half a cent, it is pure robbery.

That you are even thinking about it is a bad mark in my book.

The problem I have noticed with lead vendors, and why I steer clear of them, is that they believe they are the only one who should profit from leads. You are quickly moving to step into that camp if you implement your new policy.

 

[YouGotMyMoney]

C. Johnny. One of the Best posts in this thread. [Bold is my addition]

I still don't get agents that cancel because "I need more leads than you can supply." We ask: how to you like the Quality? Agent: "Great, but I need more Quantity. If you can't give me more leads I'll have to cancel." This just does not make sense to me.

I'm sure it doesn't. But the fact is an agent needs volume. Now we could get 100 leads a day from BankRate if we so choose, but the consensus on this forum is their leads suck.

If you want to snag the agents that are still buying 30-50 health internet leads per day, your going to have to let up on your quality filters.

That doesn't mean to let everything through, but there are about 2 vendors that supply volume and give agents a good ROI, and in the mix are the good and the bad.

Just like an agent's book of business. Not every client is your picture perfect customer, some of them pay late, ask questions all the time on small premium policies, etc etc. But they all add up, especially for bonuses.

 

[djs]

I still don't get agents that cancel because "I need more leads than you can supply." We ask: how to you like the Quality? Agent: "Great, but I need more Quantity. If you can't give me more leads I'll have to cancel." This just does not make sense to me.

Makes perfect sense to me.
If you are going to work internet leads, you need a reasonable quantity of reasonable leads. Its a false choice always presented about 1 or 2 'quality' leads or 20 'bogus' leads. You need a certain level of quality leads on a regular basis to make the marketing method work, or the efficiencies just aren't there.

This year more than any year I've been in the business, the industry is beset with FAKE leads. Larry & I have communicated frequently as well as several others. Challenge to Anyone here: If you can invent a filter for "FAKE" leads you will be an instant Millionaire!

I guess I'm an instant Millionaire. Lead vendors would never implement the system though. All you have to do is have them reply to an email to confirm their email address is valid. If they don't reply, assume its invalid. Of course, now you are back to the quantity problem. (Alternatively, you could call them).

Question: Currently we give credit if the phone number is bad. I am thinking about changing our policy. Lending Tree says if you can't reach them by phone, put them in your email campaign. No refund on those $100 mortgage leads! What do you all think?

Yet the author of this thread says the lead is bogus with no phone number. Is that how Most of the Forum members feel? I'd really like to know.

What's the point of buying internet leads if they aren't interested in getting a quote? An invalid phone number should be justification for a refund. Internet leads are sold as prospects actively shopping for insurance, not people who are trying to avoid talking to you. To me, its a bit of bait and switch to market the lead as contact information of someone who is interested in talking to you about insurance and then saying the lead is valid even if the contact information isn't.

Dan

 

[GeminiGroup]

As the tlmkg post states "Selling......is a contact sport" but I'm conflicted....
Bob Klee, myself and many other people in today's world may have some interest in whatever subject but will NOT leave a legit #.

I think many people online "just want the" #'s/info only....turning a new twist on the age old apathetic "just send me some info" stance and it's difficult if you don't have some human contact with that lead.

In person or phone I can rebut and work my way to REAL contact info but online your stuck with what a suspect wants to give...I don't know HOW you fix that.

Placing a value on these non-telephone leads is a nightmare, I only need to think of myself, when I research info online:
My interest levels vary from:
Mild
Slight
Comical
So-so
"let's see, it's free"
Open
Prices
future reference
dreaming
curiosity

How would you know the difference, the internet allow me (as a consumer) to "screw around" on line but am I really a "prospect" w/o leaving my #?

I wouldn't want to pay much, for ME as a lead, based on my own internet "curiosity" if I didn't leave a good phone number (or correct name for that matter) .....
it means don't me, I'll call you.


I will admit that's better than a cold email list (at .05) but only marginally (maybe .15) and no where near a legit lead with real contact info.

 

[Aram Fingal]

Always. I send a quote in the mail the day I get the lead if I don't reach them. As well as by email if it's provided. Unfortunately that doesn't verify whether the lead is valid or not either, but I have picked up a few sales by doing this. Which means at least SOME of the ones we can't get in touch with are valid. Although I haven't tracked how many of those sales are ones where I got a voice mail message that identified the prospect as opposed to generic voice mail messages... Of course if I call the phone number and no one is there or the person says they didn't request a quote I don't bother sending them anything (unless I can talk them in to it).

I've had leads where all the information was valid and the person insisted that they never filled anything out and were not interested in a quote. My suspicion is that it's people kids filling out the requests online to get Farmville dollars and the like.

Anyone here besides me send "Snail Mail" to their leads as a strategy for more lead conversions?

 

[moneymaker1]

I disagree...I buy leads online and sure, most are crap, but the one's that aren't pay for all the one's that are and then some. You just have to beat the hell out of them and recycle them. They can lead to lots of $$ if you work them right.

 

[GeminiGroup]

I disagree...I buy leads online and sure, most are crap, but the one's that aren't pay for all the one's that are and then some. You just have to beat the hell out of them and recycle them. They can lead to lots of $$ if you work them right.

I think you missed the point being discussed.....
You can't " beat the hell out of" a prospect you can't reach.
(Bad phone + email address bouncing to Mars = zero...you can "beat" that all you want )

The point is if a person gives bogus info online, they most certainly are NOT a lead with the same value as someone that actually wants to be quoted.

The discussion was about the value of leads vs getting credit, not if you can turn an overall profit.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

VolAgent.

This is NOT HometownQuotes.com's policy! I said it was Lending Tree's Policy.

We give credit for leads with BOGUS phone numbers, "no one lives here with that name" & many other reasons.

I was asking the question of what folks on the Forum thought. Anyone on this Forum that buys leads from me can/will confirm that I'm sure.

But for many here, it is true that they only want leads with good phone numbers.

For others, they are good with Name, Address, email.

Anyone here besides me send "Snail Mail" to their leads as a strategy for more lead conversions?

Bob,

Let's get a bit real here. You think it's Lending Tree's policy to not give credit for leads with bogus numbers? You and I both know their leads are scored - leads with working numbers go off to their best clients who have a great experience. You think their top buyers eat $100 leads with no credits? LOL!!!

The leads that score poorly (ie: no or bogus numbers) go over to the red-headed step children - the independent brokers who are likely to cancel regardless of quality.

No lead vendor stays in business longer than a week by charging $100 for a lead with no credit for bogus numbers.