Paying for Leads??

I've  been buying leads for over 3 years and it's a huge chunk of my business...

Yup I have tried maybe 3 or 4 different companies and will never do it again. I may have gotten 1 or 2 good deals from it but would have much rather put the money into branding me and selling my listings. It's a business and they are out to make money too.

You are better off blogging for free than paying for leads.  Most of the time they are either shopping and had many others already call them, wrong#, disconnected #, or have no idea why you are contacting them. 

I have found lead buying to be a waste of money and time that could have been better utilized in some other endeavor.

I have paid for leads in the past and seldom entertain the idea anymore. One of my biggest challenges was receiving leads (average cost of ~$4 to $50 each depending on the service and the commitment. Seller leads always seemed to cost more) that really weren't qualified in one way or another. A common issue was a buyer for a beachside home, looking for at least 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, pool and willing to pay up to $200,000. Another exlusive lead issue was potential relocation clients "thinking" about moving to the area. I discovered that although they may be exlusive to the service provide I subscribed to, I was buying the SAME lead from multiple sources, or seeing them listed as inquiries to Homes and Land or Real Estate book. These were serial tire-kickers. They went from site to site and source to source to look. Didn't cost them anything, and they provided some "junk" e-mail address, not the real one they checked every day. I'm against buying leads, but I am very skeptical and very diligent in my research prior to committing. At this time my only paid source for leads is HomeGain's Agent Evaluator for a flat $29.95 per month (Referral fees are due upon executed transaction)

I also think it is a better use of time and resources to create your own leads.  If you do want to pay some money, why not pay someone to work on your web presence and generate your own leads.

I've never tried it, but I have not heard any positive feedback from colleagues about it.  It seems pretty much like cold calling back in the day. I get a good response from referrals and my own advertising.

"I don't pay for leads."

Works for me. 

I would rather pay for advertising that builds my brand.

Very interesting subject, there are many ways to get quality leads without paying for them. Lance