TreyMarkel

With the Internet take over of social media and social networking, the world-wide-web has everyone’s attention.  The Internet has allowed for a whole new way of doing business. From marketing, to managing customers and employees, to accounting, and research, etc.  Marketing however, has become business owners number one use for the Internet.  I can reach targeted customers faster, easier, and with little cost.  Buying leads as a marketing strategy over the Internet has become a very successful tactic in growing many small businesses.  Instead of creating marketing efforts that will attract every human being under the sun, many which will not qualify to be your customer, you can create targeted campaigns and have lead generation organizations push you new potential customers lowering your cost of acquisition per customer.  It’s beautiful………if it’s done right!!  Here are a few tips on what to look for before buying leads over the Internet:

Company – Take a look at the company before you make a purchase.  What kind of company is it?  How are they aggregating their leads?  If you are a small business loan broker and you need small business borrowers as customers, does the company aggregate small business loan leads or do they aggregate business insurance leads and they are selling them to as a small business loan lead.  Make sure the company you are buying the leads off of has a business focus on what you are looking for.  If the company aggregates leads there is probably a form somewhere on the website.  Do a test application on the website and see what you think about it.  Call the phone number on the website and see if someone answers the phone.

Verification – In the end you, the lead buyer, is getting the data of a new potential customer from a lead generation company.  As a lead buyer you want that data to be as correct as possible.  It’s a terrible experience when you buy leads and the phone number doesn’t work, or the email address bounces back.  Find out if your lead source performs any kind of verification of their leads.  iBank.com the company I work for, calls every single customer in real-time while the customer is still on the website.  iBank offers a warm hello to the customer, asks the customer if they have any questions, and then verifies the customer’s phone number, email address, and if they are serious about receiving a business loan.  This could make a big difference in the lead quality.

Filters – The whole point of buying leads from a lead aggregation company is to find targeted customers and lower your cost of aquisition per customer.  Many lead aggregation companies offer filters that allow you to really hone down a perfect case customer.  Now, depending on what kind of lead aggregation company it is, they might charge you per filter.  Ask the sales rep about the filters.  What kind of filters does the company offer?  Are they the right kind of filters I need to offer my particular program?  Ask for a demo of the filtering software.

Pricing – Some will say that buying leads over the Internet is expensive.  I would have to agree however, your closing rate is much higher than if you were to participate in a marketing effort that attracts everyone under the sun.  You most definitely want to perform some research on lead pricing.  How much do the leads cost?  How does the lead company price their leads?  Does the lead company require you to buy a certain amount of leads the first time on board as a lead buyer?  Do you get a better rate per lead if you buy in volume?  is there a setup cost or a hosting fee?  If so what do you get for those fees?  Ask all the questions you can.  You’re the lead buyer.

Benchmarking – If you are going out to the market to buy leads don’t just make a purchase from one lead source.  Try a few different lead sources.  Each lead agregation company aggregate their leads a certain way.  They all have different filters and they offer a different experience to the customer.  Depending on your product or service the lead generation company you thought was going to work didnt and the one that only generates a few per week is returning more revenue per purchase.  Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  Try a few different companies and see what your return is.

Investment – Buying leads over the Internet is an investment.  You CAN’T buy one or two leads and then complain to the lead company that their leads are no good.  Not every lead is going to close.  Not every lead is going to be a good experience for you, the lead buyer.  Ask the sales rep at the lead generation company what their average customer closing rate is.  Is it one and ten?  Is it one and twenty?  This will give you a good feel for what kind of investment you need to make.  If the sale rep tells you their closing rate is one and fifteen and you go and buy 10 leads you are more than likely going to be disappointed.  If a sales rep tells you their closing rate is one and ten then buy twenty or thirty leads.  You have to give the lead company a fair chance.  Once you have purchased the amount of leads you think would be a good test, try to find a common denominator.  Try to find a common problem with leads that you are not closing.  If you can in fact find this profile, go back to your sales rep at the lead company and adjust your filters so those kinds of lead are no longer apart of your lead buying program.  I had a customer one time that bought forty leads and didn’t close a single deal.  We adjusted her filters and the next 20 leads she bought she closed 9 deals.  Not bad!!

It’s all about experimenting with a Internet marketing.  Ask all the questions you can, make a proper investment, and make sure you are receiving a return on your investment that you are happy with.