There’s a lot to think about when it comes to buying sales leads for your business. Who to buy from? Are they accurate? What is my return on investment going to be? What is the guarantee? These are all valid questions. The first step, though, is to understand the type of leads that are available. We have it boiled down to four types:
These leads are normally in the form of a list. It’s a list of contacts that match the demographics (if you target households) of your best customers, such as annual income, age, home value, etc. If you sell to businesses, we would do the same, and mirror your best customers based on firmographics, such as size of business, industry type, years in business and more.
Pros:
This is normally the cheapest of all lead options. The average cost is anywhere from 5 to 30 cents per name. Ideal for direct mail, telemarketing, sales leads, etc.
Gives you plenty of prospects to contact.
Cons:
Since this is a list, turning these leads into customers is all on you – from finding the ones that may be interested in your product to actually closing. You and/or
your team do all the work.
These leads are similar to Targeted, except with Niche the leads provide more in-depth information about the person or business. An example would be a Farmer & Rancher database. In a Targeted Leads list the information may be name, address and phone. But in a Niche Leads list, information may include crop type, number of acres, size of operation, livestock type, number of head, number of farms owned and much more.
Pros:
More in-depth information on each record – gives you a more complete picture of your prospect.
Cons:
Similar to targeted leads, you have to find those prospects who are interested in your product and want to learn more. Also, more expensive than a targeted leads
list. Avg price per record is closer to 30 cents vs. 10 cents.
Think of Qualified Leads as “Hand Raisers”. These are the ones who say: “Yes, I am interested in learning more about product X. Please have someone contact me.” It’s important to understand the age of these leads. Prior to ordering, you will want to know when the contact expressed interest. Usually these leads are sold 30-60-90. Meaning, interest was expressed less than 30 days ago, or 31-60 days ago or 61 to 90 days ago or 90 days or more. A good idea is to test multiple time-frames. Recency doesn’t always mean the best.
Pros:
Handled correctly, you should experience a higher close rate than with traditional Targeted or Niche leads.
Cons:
Sometimes close rates don’t increase. These names are normally sold to numerous other callers – not just you (see Exclusive Qualified Leads below). Even then, price
is still in the dollars per record vs. cents/record. For instance, most of these leads range from $3/lead to $50/lead depending upon product and recency.
Exclusive Qualified Leads or EQLs are qualified leads that only you get. In other words, they are not shared with your competitors, and you receive them in real time. There are a number of ways companies generate EQLs. For instance, in the telemarketing world, call center companies call them “hot transfers”. In the online or digital space, they are called CTAs or Call to Action forms.
Pros:
Leads are specifically for you. These leads can be good to find prospects who are early in their decision-making. It allows you to form a relationship with them early
on as they decide which direction to take. Trust is formed when a lead does close, which can lead to a life-long customer.
Cons:
For the most part, this is a long play. Meaning, it can take time to generate your own leads. Plus, these leads can be expensive as well, so it’s important that your
sales infrastructure can handle leads like these.
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