Home : Blogs : Kelly Sibilsky : Lake Zurich...and Beyond

What happens when you pay for leads?

I've often felt that paying for leads is generally a bad idea simply because I know many agents who subscribed (and paid big bucks) to lead generation companies without positive results. I think I Everybody reads your blog! understand why.

When you buy leads directly from a lead generation site, does the consumer expect contact from a real estate professional? Probably not, and most likely they will be offended when you contact them. Similarly, I know agents who had a real estate information hotline or toll free number for their listings with the idea that they would capture the caller's phone number and be able to follow up with them; and they soon discovered that not only was the consumer annoyed, they were downright angry to have been contacted.

Paying for advertising, such as paying for banner ads on realtor.com or other sites, is generally perceived by the consumer as advertising, pure and simple. Since the consumer knows that it is an ad, there is a very low click through rate. If you pay-per-click, you may find that the consumer does click through to your website, but will they stay once they get there?

Another lead generation technique is the requirement for consumers to register for information on real estate websites. While you may not be directly paying for these leads (although some companies do charge their agents a referral fee for company website generated leads), you are most likely paying for the website itself. Many agents start drip email campaigns to work the lead. If the consumer gets too many canned emails or doesn't want to be bothered by a real estate agent, they will simply unsubscribe and seek out other ways to get the information they seek.

Psst...blogging gets you noticed! Real estate agents need to make a more concerted effort to engage the consumer without the dreaded sales pitch or unwanted contact. That's why blogging is a more effective lead generation tool than paying for leads will ever be. Through your blog, you will be developing a relationship with the consumer because you will be offering the consumer what they want most: information. If your blog is engaging enough, the consumer will bookmark your site and keep coming back for more.

In my opinion, paying for leads is a losing proposition for both the real estate agent and frustrated consumer. But blogging is a win-win for both. Stop throwing money down the drain on lead generation and turning off potential customers in the process. Instead, just start writing. A little hard work, time and effort are all it takes to connect with the consumer in the most effective way. And it's free. It doesn't get much better than that.

Posted by Kelly Sibilsky on 11/17/2008 10:34 AM

Comments (94)

Lead Generation That Works in the Sales Strategies / Tactics Channel

paying for leads, lead generation that works, blogging for business

Originally posted at: lake zurich...and beyond: What happens when you pay for leads?

Post is included in group: Blogging & SEO
Post is included in group: RE/MAX Active Rain Bloggers
Post is included in group: RE/MAX in Illinois

94 Comments on What happens when you pay for leads?

NOV

2008

I have paid for leads once and was very unhappy to find out that the prospect did not want to be contacted and was very upset just by an email. I think that blogging is a great tool and hopfully consumers will find us!

Kelly: There is only one thing that is for certain when an agent pays a company for leads. The company... makes money.

PS... where is the link to your website ? It was on your profile page before, but now I could not find it. ??

Kelly, I agree with you completely. Lead generation companies take your money and you get nothing of value in return.

Kelly,

Well stated argument. Blogging is great for getting noticed - so is just being aware of peole you meet. Paying someone for leads is just spending money. Don't do it. :)

Steve

Kelly, I just got a prospecting call from a lead generating company. I agree with Karen Anne that the company is the one who makes money on this stuff. By following up with people you meet during your day-to-day marketing activities, you can get them basically for free. And so many agents don't bother!

By the way, I like the new look!

MICHELLE: I've never paid a lead generation company, but from what I heard, sometimes the consumer is downright livid! Not a good way to build a relationship, is it?

KAREN: I agree. The company makes money and the real estate agent loses it. As for my website, changes are in the works...stay tuned!

SHIRLEY: I'm sure somebody out there will comment on how many leads were generated, but did they get enough bang for the buck to make it worthwhile? How many closed deals?

AR just started a new program last week. BTW

STEVE: I completely agree! Don't do it!

PATRICIA: Lead generation companies make a lot of false promises and many agents buy into it, but are often disappointed.

LYNN: Yes, I know. I'm going to refrain from stating my opinion on that. ;)

Kelly: Still the absolute best way for getting leads... your referral base. Whenever leads slow down... it is is a good sign that we need to get out and meet with... in real live "face-to-face" time... and actually spend some "drop by" time with our previous customers, clients, those in our referral base. This is one of the facets of Buffini's teachings that I most agree with. Take care...

When we started our company we paid for leads, it was a disaster. Next we paid for google adwords, much better results but it became too expensive. So, learned to build websites, 45 and counting, the only way to go!!!

I think it's a matter of your business style. I know many, MANY very successful agents who use lead generating companies. However these agents have more of a transactional mindset rather than a relational one. I could never personally do business that way and tend to discourage my agents from adopting this mindset as well.

I love the new photo by the way!

KAREN: A warm, fuzzy referral lead from a current or past client is always the best!

FRANK & JODI: Wow, that's a lot of websites! How do you keep them all current?

COLLEEN: Would a consumer want to be just another transaction? I don't think so. Building relationships is the only way to go, in my opinion.

Kelly, glad to see your opinion...I'm going to be blogging on this very soon. Some I agree with here and some I have a slightly different view. I am always happy when real estate agents speak out in the open on this topic. Nothing can change unless people are open.

The only way to pay for leads is with PPC. That way, the lead comes directly to the advertiser. In the past, I did a lot of Google AdWords. Very expensive, but very productive.

No more. All my leads are now from my own web sites.

It's not just realtors who get solicited for leads. My husband and I have a home inspection company and have been approached numerous times about this. We tried one once, and it was a fiasco. None of the leads were good - not a single one was an actual client who was ready to have a home inspected. It was a complete waste of money and time. When I cancelled the service, they kept trying to get me to stay by attempting to "instruct" me on how to close the "sale". They couldn't seem to understand that it wasn't me that was the problem (I have a 95% close rate on anyone who calls from our website or a referral) but the supposed leads they were giving me.

Being personal and doing a great job for people is the only way to go in my opinion.

Kelly, well said. Blogging has brought me a few clients. My only means of advertising is through blogging. I don't even advertise, I just have a call to action at the bottom of each post.

I've known agents who are very successful with buying leads from these companies. They do spend big money on the leads, and would rather spend the money then invest in the time to blog. To each their own.

Times are changing. Things that used to work don't anymore. I have read that blogging is soon to be passe'. The challenge is to keep up on whatever is the "in" thing.

I'm with you it seems it is a waste of money to pay for leads. Thanks for sharing.

I've bought leads before without success, and you are absolutely correct that the majority of them don't want to be contacted by an agent - that's why they are trying to get listings and what their house is worth online! The clients I have attracted via blogging have been some of the best of my entire career - people I can be friends with, not just an agent to. I'm waiting to see what happens with the new lead programming that AR is touting - my hope is that we get honest feedback from the participants and not just a party line about how great everything is.

Great post my friend and full of facts! I hope all is well in your world and I hope you are rockin and rolling with your business!

HI KELLY!

I've finally given up on the notion of paying for leads. I have since learned (from AR), that with a little time and effort you can get the consumers to contact you. It's not an overnight process, but it's been proven to work. So, I'm with you on this one!

We agree with you -- paying for leads seems not the best use of money .

I've never paid for leads but do allocate marketing funds to promotion. In my mind, the quality of the leads is what's questionable. Lots of companies get their leads through back-door methods or forcing a consumer to sign-up for their site to get more information. In fact, some unscrupulous firms paw through MLS to find expired listings and then sell that data back to the agents. I believe the truly motivated clients find their own agents through web searches, open houses, referrals. And you don't have to pay for that of business.

I almost cut loose a real-life client the other day. He called and said, "We're looking for a Sacramento real estate agent. Are you still accepting clients?" And I thought to myself: telemarketer scum. But it wasn't. Good thing I didn't say anything nasty, heh, heh.

I agree Kelly. I won't pay for any leads at all. I get them for free through Active Rain :)

Thanks

Don

I agree also Kelly. I participated with one of those companies and never got any decent leads. I finally canceled my agreement with them and started spending those dollars elsewhere.

I have never paid for leads per se, but have paid for websites and visitors that they they bring and some of them are worthless just shoppers. I decided long ago to just spend my money where I know clients will be.

Hi Kelly. Great new picture.

Interesting post. I have recently particiapted with the growthleader experiment. I certainly like more leads to talk to.

We will see how it goes.

Ken

In these tough times I suspect lead companies are doing well. I suspect you are correct that these leeds are cold at best. No subusute for getting out and seeing folks face to face!

When you have so many FREE options available that are SO EFFECTIVE...why pay? Just makes sense to me. I think that many in our industry are still skeptical about the benefits of blogging. They'll catch on eventually...I hope. GBU~

Kelly, You are absolutely right. Paying for "leads" is downright dumb in my opinion. Blogging is incredible and I'm finally beginning to reap the rewards without an awful lot of effort and no money wasted!

Kelly, I couldn't agree more. The lead companies don't do any 'hand holding' before passing it along to you AND you have NO IDEA how they captured the lead. I do have several buyer agents that I send leads to when I am really busy, but they don't pay me for them until the deal actually closes. It's been a win-win for all of us.

this is so true.

Great post Kelly,

However I don't know that i fully agree with it. I'm new to blogging and although I DEFINITELY agree that it is a fantastic way to build a relationship, I don't know that I'll ever give up advertising, or paying for traffic. Rather than a long-winded comment, I think you just inspired my next blog post. I'll be sure to trackback this post when I write it!

Definitely do NOT pay for leads unless you can pay as a referral when the deal closes! There are too many slick companies out there with great sales pitches. The one I tried was supposed to provide exclusive leads and when I contacted the leads, each time they told me multiple people had called them.

You will do much better by staying in touch with your sphere and continue to grow it everytime you meet someone new.

That's my two cents!
Yours in Real Estate,Carol

Carol Moson,CRS,ABR,e-Pro,GREEN
Certified Course Instructor/Trainer Associate Broker
RE/MAX Greater Atlanta
"The Moson Group"
678-414-0760
Carol@CarolMoson.com

I have never paid for leads yet but have heard stories about the leads which were not worth anything...not something I'm interested in.

Hey Kelly ... Great post! I have received leads through both blogging and paying for them. I use my blog posts to email them information about specific things they are interested in.

Pippa

Kelly,

I'd rather just stick to the game plan I've used for years...I won't pay for leads...the last time I tried it...I threw money away. That's just my humble opinion.

I agree that blogging can help draw in a prospective buyer or seller but I disagree about the website. If you have a well constructed website that offers what the buyers want they will sign in and they will return over and over again. My website has produced 5 closings and counting this year. Some of those leads started on my blog but the website sealed the deal.

Nothing. I subscribed for a year to a lead company. Won't do THAT again! I wouldn't call what I had very qualified leads, and they know that when they sign you up, saying "the proof is in the numbers, it's a small conversion ratio, you have to give it time and work them." Most of the 'sellers' were upside down in the house, even before the housing bubble and all, and the 'buyers' may as well have been anonymous, with huge gaps in the information. Funny thing is when I called to fire them when the contract was about to be renewed, they didn't even attempt to retain my business. Never Never Never again!

Beware, you are right. You need to find out how these leads are being generated before you get involved with this company. If the collection source seems reasonable then you might want to try it.

Congrats on the feature!

At the recent CAR convention at the Broadmoor (Colorado Springs) I heard the key note speaker say would you rather have 1000 contacts or 10 warm leads? That struck home with me. I have a bunch of e-mail contacts for campaigns - but one good lead is worth their weight in chocolate!

Kelly - I paid for leads only once and after seeing the poor quality of the leads dropped it in a month and vowed never to buy into another program again. Concentrating on blogging and making your website sticky to draw people back to you is what builds that trust with the consumer.

Too many agents are not willing to do the work and make the commitment to blogging effectively to engage the consumer and would rather pay for a quick fix of leads hoping that one might turn into a sale or listing. The saddest part about these lead generators is that they're using our listings to generate these leads and then require us to pay them for that service.

Hey, Kelly -

I like your new pic as well!

I tried a couple of the leads sites - including Home Gain, and House Values.com, and was very disappointed about lead quality and high price net per lead.

Our Team got one convertable listng lead from one of these companies, but they had an unrealistc notion as to price, and we turned down the listing. It went to another local agent (in The Loop), apparently OUTSIDE of the referral company - and they never sold!

Indeed, these days, most good leads come from referrals, as usaual, although I'm beginning to get some better contacts from the Internet.

And you know how much I blog!

Take Care - call me if you're ever on the North Side - we'll have a coffee.

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

I have found that the leads who register on my site are generally good prospects, as they understand they will probably be contacted, but I allow them several clicks on the properties and MLS before I ask for their email. Kindof like saying "hey, I am glad you are here, and you are welcome to stay, but if you want to stay longer, please just let me know who you are so I can better serve you" I have, however, closed just as many transactions as a result of my blog this year as from my website. So, I agree with your post 100%.

This is a great post! I have paid for a lot of leads and none of them have panned out. It seems they must really like me and I get a call a week from them with a new company name pitching the same exact leads! I would rather spend time and effort networking with people that want to be contacted!

I tried it for a while when I was new, and it was an absolute waste of money.

Have tried paying for leads and it was a waste of money.

I have had success with generating leads through paid advertising like Google.

And I wouldn't be on AR if I didn't think it would help my business with not only generating leads but also with cultivating relationships with those leads.

I think you are a better evangelist for my SEO and content services than I am! You really put it on a street level and I can back up what you have written with years of data and study. Content rich and subject relevant blogging used in conjuction with a real SEO scientific techniqu -not just using keywords but actually working within a reverse matrix to make SURE the content is working AND driving people to a topic specific landing page that does give them the opportunity to request contact gives results that blow away lead purchasing or PPC campaigns. Great post and five stars - I wish we could still do that!

Kelly,

I'm so glad you tackled this topic as I've been contemplating whether to do any lead generation to pick up a few new sales. There are so many lead generation companies from Homegain to Realty Generator (not so expensive to really expensive) that it's hard to know if any are worth the time involvement and low conversion rates.... Blogging is a great way to establish repoire and trust without being intrusive and while I'm just getting started on the blogging, I'm a true believer!

Where have all the buyers gone? Do they call anymore, walk-in? No, they are online. To have success online requires a business process that includes the proper value propositions at your website, traffic, registration forms, lead notification for the ability to respond, calling process (first call within 3 minutes) 4 within 24 hours, proper phone techniques, a CRM tool for prompting and follow-up automation. If any of these processes are not met or optimized, you will not have success.

Our company understands that most agents will not be able to meet those standards due to "their personal and professional life". So we offer the service, with a money back guarantee that generates a qualified, live buyer directly to your cell phone. Our biggest challenge is getting the agent to answer their phone.

A lead, is a lead, is a lead. It is what you do with it that matters.

Kelly above did not leave her company info, I see. I advise all my friends and anyone that will listen.....NEVER EVER BUY LEADS, PERIOD.....I spent hundreds when I started with not one showing, let alone sale! Those so called vetted leads were nothing more than click thrus by lookie-lou's or very lonely people on the net that like a little attention.

Why don't these company's offer a referral instead of needing paid up front.....because the leads are worthless.....AR, blogging and your own website is the answer my friends!!!

First off - CUTE picture! Your hair looks adorable. No, I have never paid for leads, haven't heard of people having much success with that. I am looking into paying for leads for property management though. I heard of an individual who has much success w/those type of leads. KM

Two weeks ago I received calls from 5 LEAD COMPANIES! Must be hard up for business.

Judy

Thanks Kelly. I've never paid for leads but it hadn't occurred to me that the "leads" might not know they would be contacted. Something has always smelled fishy there, and now I know what it is! Keep on blogging it is!

I've been approached to buy lead generations. I agree it is not a good idea.

Hi Kelly, I haven't found anyone that has been happy with the lead generation programs paying for leads. The same lead is sold to multiple agents in many cases. I have found blogging to be a great way to create a following and gain unsolicited leads. Congrats on the feature, nice post.

No one can do our business as we ourselves do, and no one can generate leads or prospect the way an individual can. Some formulas work at some times, but the work and leads we generare ourselves are ours to keep

Kelly,

Well said ! I agree... I think those agents that pay for leads are just paying for leads that are already there as those leads are coming from our listings anyway....

Hi Kelly...I've said it before and I'll say it again, if REALTORS would stop paying for leads the lead generation companies would go out of business and the leads would go to the REALTORS directly.

That is the way I do business, directly with the consumer and you are so right...blogging is one of the greatest ways of doing that.

Kate

REBECCA: The reality is that everything works...but we need to be careful not to spend $2 to make $1.

LENN: It can get very expensive very fast, that's for sure.

LIZ: Your example seems to be the norm...thanks for telling your story!

MANA: I'm glad blogging is working for you!

MORGAN: Yes, to each his or her own. Everything works to some degree. I'd rather spend time than money, but that's just me.

JEAN: It will definitely be a challenge to keep up with what's new!

PAT: Thanks for stopping by to comment!

LISA: Through your blog, people get to know you and trust you...it makes for better relationships, don't you think?

GEORGE: So nice to hear from you and I hope things are well with you too!

YVETTE: Good for you! Keep writing!

BOB & CAROLIN: I think you have the right idea...save your money!

ELIZABETH: Everyone must allocate money to self-promotion, but we must do it in the most cost-effective manner. I can't believe you almost told off a real customer...oops!

DONALD: Free is good!

ERIKA: So you can say...don't do it with conviction!

DAVE: A great deal of my business comes from the internet, and others have the majority of their business come from farming, or their sphere or even their rotary club. Everyone needs to figure out what works for them, and then go for it.

KEN: It will be interesting to see how many feel the number and quality of the leads from the experiment are worth paying for.

JOHN: In my opinion, they aren't just cold...they are frozen! Ha ha.

ELIZABETH: I agree. Why pay for what you can get for free? Especially with the current market, when we need to be careful of the budget.

JEFF & LISA: Fantastic!

KERRY: Definitely a win-win. Pay when, and if, it closes. Don't pay for a name & email address.

MARSHALL: Thanks!

JOEL: Blogging is part of the overall puzzle. You still must take a multi-faceted approach to self promotion and advertising.

CAROL: Exclusive...hmmm. Scam is more like it!

SONJA: I agree.

PIPPA: Did the ones you paid for pay off?

NEAL: Might as well strike a match and burn it, in my opinion. I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.

Being in this business for less than a year....I've never been tempted to pay for a lead. I've been blessed to get my "leads" from people who send people my way. I also get leads from the web......great post!

MICHAEL: Hey, I've had great luck with my website as well. I never said a website wasn't good, but it needs to be sticky and give them a reason to come back. If the agent is intrusive or pushy, then they might not come back. I'm glad you are having success with your site...keep it up!

CHARLIE: Sounds like you learned the hard way.

MARK: I'd like just one of these companies to offer to sell you the leads...but not collect payment until you actually close on a deal.

DENA: 10 warm leads any day. And, I've been to the Broadmoor - gorgeous! We loved our stay there!

DONNA: I think you hit the nail on the head. Real estate agents are notorious for wanting to buy the next "magic bullet" that will somehow get them more business.

DEAN: It's the more relaxed, casual me. I've got some changes coming soon, so stay tuned!

TEAM CARROLL: You've got the right idea. 40% of my business came from the internet this year, from my blog or websites. Keep doing what you're doing!

JASON, BRENDA, MARK: Don't you all wish you could have that money back?

DOMINATE YOUR MARKET: Thank you.

EVA: After reading all this, I would guess that you won't be paying for any leads!

KELLY: All leads are not created equal. Some are worthless. Some are good. Why pay for what is at best a 50/50 shot?

DAVID: If she really believed in her company, wouldn't she have given her full name and company information?

KRISTIN: Thanks! Good luck with your property management leads!

JUDY: Lenn Harley had a great article today about phone calls from lead generation companies. It was really funny!

TERRI: Fishy is right.

DAWN: Trust your instincts.

GARY: Thanks. It seems that a lot of agents feel that the leads were sold to many agents. What a rip off.

JAMES: Generating business is hard work!

CHRISTOPHER & STEPHANIE: You are probably right.

KATE: Maybe that's why the lead generation companies are calling so often...because they are losing business as real estate agents say, NO MORE!

BARBARA: Fantastic! You must be doing everything right! Keep up the good work. :)

I haven't been terribly successful with purchased leads though I have closed a few and have a few more coming.

I love your new do! Will I be able to recognize you tomorrow! 9:00 at our favorite place- right?

NOV

2008

What happens when you pay for leads?

Good evening Kelly,

As with almost everything in life, there are two sides of the lead generation story. Bad things can happen, if you're not careful, and good things can happen. Here's just one example. This morning I received an email from one of my clients. He informed me that he had earned over $80K with our leads in 2007. He also referred a broker to me. Most of my new business comes from referrals. My client's total investment for leads in 2007 was under $6K. Many agents would be very happy to have that kind of substantial ROI from any of their marketing dollars.

I tell my clients to use everything that helps them increase their production, including ActiveRain, and get rid of things that don't work. Leads are leads. There are many ways to generate them. Gary Keller makes an interesting point when he says: "You say you are in real estate. I say you are in lead generation". I agree with Gary. However, some agents don't have the time, or the expertise, to generate all their own leads. That's where professional lead generation can help. In fact, some top producers buy leads. That's the beauty of real estate. You have the opportunity to build your business in any way you want.

Respectfully,

Bruce

CHRISTINE: I'm glad you have had some success with your leads.

JUDY: Yes, I'll be there at 9:00. :)

BRUCE: As I mentioned above in the comments section in response to someone else, every lead generation technique works to some degree. Each agent must discover what works for him or her and what is a good investment. I do find it interesting that very few agents report success with lead generation companies and most consider it a waste of money or a misrepresentation of the quantity or quality of the leads by the lead generation company.

I'm glad I read this post and the comments. I've been contacted by several of these companies and always wondered how helpful they are. Thanks for the info!

Kelly

I'm one of those agents that paid for "leads"...no luck and yes most of the "leads" where very unhappy with me conatacting them. Nice blog!

You had better get that link to your website back on this blog if you don't want to miss more business opportunities!!!

ANONYMOUS: You're very welcome. Good luck in all you do.

TIM: Thanks! It seems that many share your experience. What a bummer.

MICHAEL: See my latest blog...

Kelly - Well said. I've paid for leads in the past and didn't have good results. I guess I'm not the only one! :)

I do find it interesting that very few agents report success with lead generation companies and most consider it a waste of money or a misrepresentation of the quantity or quality of the leads by the lead generation company.

Hi again Kelly,

It's more than interesting. It's outrageous! It burns me up that some unscrupulous companies take advantage of trusting REALTORS®. I estimate that 90% of my clients have been burned at least once by some type of lead generation, or SEO, company. Based on the responses you have received here, it looks like ActiveRain members follow that same pattern.

How do you get more internet leads and still protect yourself? You do the same thing you would do before making any other type of marketing investment. Education! Conduct your own, thorough due diligence. Too many agents get sucked in by the hype of a slick salesperson and unfortunately regret their decision later.

Have a great day! Nice chatting with you.

Cordially,

Bruce

P.S. Here's one other quick point that might surprise you: Internet leads are NOT for everyone.

By the way, do you service Long Grove?

DEBI: You can say that again!

BRUCE: I work as a referral agent in Lake Zurich and the surrounding communities, including Long Grove.

Hey Kelly,

Yesterday I commented briefly saying I'd write a post expressing my opinion on paying for traffic and I uploaded that post just now. It ended up being a freakin novel, so I won't hijack your post by including a link. In summary, it's a post on why I think advertising (buying traffic) is a necessary facet that should be considered if you ever want to grow your income beyond how many hours you have in a day.

I definitely agree in terms of paying lead generation companies, and that you should definitely be careful. ESPECIALLY when they want a year agreement. That's almost always a tell-tale sign that you won't get your money's worth.

Thanks again for the thought-provoking post!

I work as a referral agent in Lake Zurich and the surrounding communities, including Long Grove.

Hi Kelly,

This guy lives on Sage Lane in Long Grove. He's interested in land. Would you be able to help him?

JOEL: Thanks for directing me to your post. Agents should definitely be careful how and where they choose to spend their money. There are many lead generation techniques, and they all work, in varying degrees, it's all in how each agent wants to develop his or her business.

BRUCE: Email me with the details using the link above right.

NOV

2008

Hi Kelly, LOVE your new photo!

I buy leads and have HUGE success. In fact this year I will have about $75,000 in my pocket just from those leads. Not too bad and those leads from happy buyers have given me referrals so I've exceeded my personal goad in transactions and income for 2008 and the year isn't over. In fact, I wrote an offer today at 4:00pm from one of those purchased leads. For me, I'm a believer!

NOV

2008

LANITA: Happily you seem to be the exception! Do tell...which lead generation company (or companies) do you use? Do you also pay-per-click? How much do you spend monthly on your lead generation efforts?

I agree. I think the only folks from the whole pay for leads scheme is the company who sold you the leads. I tried many different lead sources and have found nothing but disappointment. I did sell policies from these leads but not near what I would need to keep it going. I also try to seek out clients who like what I stand for so harvesting clients via my outreach has been far more successful. Thanks for the post.

Dean

DEAN: I'm always interested to hear the cost/value ratio. Some do have great success by paying for leads, but may pay $2 to make $1. I don't know, as I've never paid for them - I've heard too many stories like your own.

Resellers of leads are where you can get into trouble. I typically have to spend a few hundred bucks (each) with about 10 "traffic brokers" before I find one who is halfway decent. If you go straight to the source, (ie:adwords, yahoo, MSN) and just set up a PPC budget, there is no reason you can't make as much as 20 to 1. (This assumes you have a website that converts leads into opt-ins, that you follow up with those leads, and that you have a good back-end CRM tool.)

Oops. I wasn't logged in when I posted that last reply.

Ahh yes! Stop them all (REALTORS) from paying for leads. You are paying someone for your client. Go out and get them blog or whatever you do but when you pay you are helping your competition. I despise ALL lead generation sites and companies. You are helping put yourself out of business if you pay for leads.

NOV

2008

JOEL: Sounds like a lot of wasted cash on lead resellers!

STEVEN: Agents should develop a strong multi-faceted lead generation system, and not rely upon any one method. If the leads dry up from one source, there must be another source to keep them in business.

DEC

Enjoy reading your blogs. You make many good comments. i was once told by a websmaster with an excellent page ranking that

he never pays for leads. My wife is encouraging me to place my marketing budget into newspaper ads and i am not so sure, would tghat

be considered paying for a lead?

Joel: I personally wouldn't pay a dime for newspaper ads...they are by and large (my opinion) very ineffective.

Kelly - I agree on newspaper ads (but for the record, that wasn't me who posted about newspaper ads.)

In terms of lead resellers, you might be right.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?