In the old days I would out lead providers for being scum bags, now I am a little more cautious, go figure! I guess I have also been a little naive in thinking that there were not as many shady companies in the industry has there once was.
The unfortunate news that they are still out there, cutting corners just to make a quick buck. There not using new tricks either and even worse they can be hard to catch. These companies sell leads more times then they claim, just enough not to raise too many flags. They don’t fire pixels on their affiliate programs to insure that they don’t have to pay for all the leads generated from the campaigns. Worst part is they they think they are successful businessmen, because they made few dollars or even sold their fraud for a company.
What do you do if you are a lead buyer? I don’t know, frankly. You can vet the hell out of them, but it may not be enough. My suggestion is to follow your gut, go with companies that have been around for a long time with the same name, check the CEO’s Linkedin profile and even ask another lead provider about the company. Just a thought, but if another lead provider recommends them as a trusted source I would think that is a good sign, if they have nothing to say and say “well, mmmm, not to sure” they are being professional and are not going to talk bad about the company. Lastly, ask the LMS companies like Kaleidico, Leads360, LeadROI or LeadMailbox. Anyone of those guys will be able to refer you to quality source and possibly steer you away from the bad ones.
The bad news is there is no silver bullet for vetting lead companies that I know of that is a sure shot for sniffing out the bad ones.
Do you have any tips??
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Make sure the company you are working with has agreements in writing, which should state; filters used, method of delivery, dispute/return policy, etc. you wouldn’t buy a $2000 tv without knowing these things, but you’ll plop that same amount down on a credit card with $ signs in your eyes. I’ve been burned, until I started demanding this in writing. If they’re not willing to offer it, they’re not willing to stand behind their product. This is not to say they’re aren’t strong providers out there, with comanies run by people with integrity, but it’s definitely buyer beware.
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We do a pretty extensive check on the lead providers ownership to make sure there were not shady dealings in the past. I have found a few where they had a legal issue (fraud) in another field and moved into the lead space. Of course we didn’t sign up with them. As Trobe99 said we have a contract that addresses the exact nature of the relationship and protects us legally. To date we haven’t had to enforce it in court…mostly because of our partner choices to date.
Lastly I take to heart what you said above. Look for partners and providers who come recommended from trusted industry sources. I find that my friends in the industry rarely mislead me…they may not want to say something bad about a competitor or a partner but you can always tell when they are less inclined to say something nice about them…and in these case I proceed with an abundance of caution.
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who is buying leads these days? lol
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I must say that some lead buyers spew things out that are not true in any way, shape or form. There happens to be some good lead companies out there but the lead buyers will never tell you that either themselves or sales reps call a lead 1-2 times and then retire it that is if they can find it because they will not even invest in a C.R.M. system because they want to run their business with no capital or started with none.They wont tell you about the sales reps they employ wearing flip-flops that are falling asleep at their desks from all the drugs they do, they wont tell you how they constantly lie to their clients and charge fees as if they were loan sharks.. They just blame the lead companies.. Lets talk about sales skills,professionalism,management?? Lets talk about writing bad checks as a constant practice. Let us be reminded of being just pure greedy and expecting miracles.. Lets talk about it?? Can it be every lead company is bad or do some take extreme pride and produce a quality product? Lets ralk about the stupid comment on top that says “who is buyinf leads these days.” I guarantee that person is a contributing factor of our 10% unemployment rate.. Sometimes it is not the lead companies that are the problem its that thing in between the keyboard and the chair.
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Michael,
Your absolutely right. It would be silly to think that its the only the lead companies fault. Very very silly, as a matter of fact.
50% of the lead buyers success is there process and employees. And of course there are shady lead buyers out there, in fact I would even argue their may be more, just because the sure magnitude of how many there are. There is not one lead company in the industry that hasn’t been stiffed or taken for a ride by a lead buyer.
But this was just a rant on lead providers and how disappointing it is to see companies rip lead buyers off.
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