LOS ANGELES, June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — CyberDefender Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: CYDE), an award-winning provider of PC security, Antispyware/Antivirus Software, PC Optimization, PC Support, and Identity Theft Prevention solutions, announced today the hiring of Mr. Steven R. Okun as Senior Vice President of Marketing, a new position at CyberDefender. Mr. Okun will report to the CEO and the Board of Directors.

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Irvine and Brentwood, Calif. (April 23, 2009) –LeadPoint, Inc. and Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq: ABTL) today announced that, along with Internet Brands and Insweb Corporation., they have entered into a settlement agreement resolving Autobytel’s lawsuit filed against LeadPoint, Internet Brands and Insweb in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, relating to Autobytel’s U.S. Patent Number 6,282,517 for lead technology.

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There has been change brewing at the first online lead exchange and it has little to do with their website. Rumors have it that there are a couple of key team members leaving the company.

Steve Horton, VP and General Manager  has been rumored to have put in his notice. Steve, who has been very influential in a number of companies including XSell, LowerMyBills and Insweb. He will no doubt be missed at LeadPoint.

Even more startling are the rumors of the exodus of co-founder Marc Diana.

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Frankly, LeadPoint’s new site design might have been launched weeks or even months ago, but being that I don’t visit the company websites as frequently has you may suspect, I just came across it last week.

Nonetheless, the site is a very nice upgrade from their previously stale and outdated design. lol, I am kidding, their previous design was not stale or out dated, but the new design is a very nice. Digging through the new site you will come across a new “beta” product call LeadPoint Connect. What is LeadPoint Connect? It is a slight shift in the core fundamentals at LeadPoint.

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Let’s have a little fun with this one. Recently, a “hot” new position was posted by industry head hunter NeoHire for the lead exchange LeadPoint. The position is for a Direct Response Optimization Director. For starters, in your best Paris Hilton voice lets all say, “thats Hot”. lol

Okay, all joking aside, what is this position all about?

Primary Function
Director, DRO delivers high-converting web forms and ad creative (banners, email, etc.) to our seller
customers across all LeadPoint products. The Director, DRO is responsible for form and ad development
(from idea generation through final testing and release) as well as optimization and management within
the LeadPoint platform. The Director, DRO is the center of form and ad performance and conversion for
LeadPoint.

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LeadPoint successfully closes $6 million in funding according to Private Equity Hub (If you are not a member you can view Google results here), however their assumed goal of keeping it private was unsuccessful.

This reiterates the fact that ALL companies no matter what the model is, are having a difficult times. It also points to the faith and in the lead generation and more specifically with LeadPoint, the faith in the lead exchange model from private equity and VC firms.

The question remains if lead companies or exchanges will be able to weather the storm.

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According to a recent press release LeadPoint is now offering FHA leads to the mortgage mix. These leads are scrubbed against the FHA max loan amount data base and our qualifiedly with two additional questions.

LeadPoint’s new FHA product will use even more conservative loan-to-value (LTV) ratios than required for FHA eligibility. Pre-screened HUD county by county maximum loan limits are also included as a targeting feature for lenders. Unlike many competitive offerings, the questions on LeadPoints’ seller forms will not be pre-populated to “yes” or “no,” thereby requiring consumer selections and generating a more precise match between consumers and lenders. LeadPoint’s more thorough consumer inquiry process provides a better experience for borrowers and lenders, since borrowers will not be contacted by lenders that cannot service them.

I am not sure about his claim that competitors have yes and no questions already populated in the form, however it wouldn’t surprise me. This would be something to research when you are buying FHA leads. It is very important to also find out which questions they are asking and how they are qualified as FHA leads. I noticed that most providers simply give the consumer the option to inquire about FHA loans without asking them qualifying questions. This is fine for determining if a consumer is interested in an FHA loan, however if you are strictly focused on closing FHA leads then these types of leads will do you no good.

“Our FHA product is the most robust in the industry,” said LeadPoint CEO Marc Diana. “Our dynamic forms go beyond other products that don’t tell the whole story, asking questions such as ‘Have you ever had a late mortgage payment?’ or ‘Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?’ We’re attempting to go much deeper with the information to provide the most effective consumer experience, generate highly qualified leads and ultimately help our mortgage lending clients add new customers.”

The companies currently offering “Qualified” FHA leads now include, but not limited too:

1. Low.com
2. QuinStreet
3. LeadPoint
4. Zipsearch

These companies properly qualify the leads based on loan amount and specific FHA related questions.

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Is the exchange model dead? No, then why is LeadPoint making flat rate deals outside of the exchange? Is there a reason why they have to attract buyers by not making them bid on leads?

Another ad from Root Exchange popped up on my radar the other day. Why is a lead exchange trying to generate leads? I have wrote about their efforts in the past here and criticized the creative. I hate to do this, but it is the truth. They claimed early in their life that they were not a lead generator and that they were a neutral third party.

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There is no secret that the whole industry is in a spin and companies that reaped incredible growth and profits are now reading a different story. Both lead sellers and buyers are feeling the common industry pain that many of us are all feeling. Many companies have re-focused and are finding ways to grind through these tough times. Aside from all that Jazz there are a few companies that I have noticed recently that are focused on the up keep of their public perception. The question is if it is spin or a winning match?

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This popped up in my Alerts the other day and it came unannounced. What is it? It is the listing of LeadPoint as one of Attenunit investments. Anttenunit is a VC firm located in Austin Texas, however the domain name was registered by one of the founders who is located in Santa Barbara, CA. Which according to LeadPoints founder’s Linkedin profile is the same location of where he lives. Anttenunit helping out an old friend in need? Maybe this is simply a coincidence.

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