Is Buying Leads Ever a Good Idea?Buying leads is something that can be very tempting once you have run through all of your friends, family and other so called “warm leads.” I can well remember desperately wondering where in the world my next leads were going to come from. I sure wasn’t getting anywhere cold calling on strangers and requesting their contact information.
Lead companies put together lists of addresses and/or telephone numbers of people who are supposedly “prequalified.” This means that the people on the list have been prescreened and have in some way already expressed an interest in a particular product or service. Or, maybe they just gave their contact information for a chance to win a free toaster! Of course, there is a fee for this service. I did a search and found lists for sale ranging from $9.95 a month to $250.00. I couldn’t get any details, because entering these sites required entering my contact information and I didn’t want to wind up on one of their lists! My mlm sponsor was telling me just this morning that he purchased 100 leads from a lead company once and wound up making exactly zero sales! He is a career salesman and was stunned by his failure until he realized that his "qualified leads" were actually cold as ice!
The problem with buying leads this way is that the leads are not likely to be exclusive. The same list may be sold to several different people. Now imagine you call one of those leads to offer your landscape services. This person may have already heard from three other landscapers and a pool cleaner. Not only that, but these other salespeople may not have been trained, as you will be, in proper marketing techniques. They may have badgered the people on the lead list with pushy sales tactics. By the time you reach a prospect, they are already annoyed and you may well be on the receiving end of their irritation. I do have to say that I have never personally purchased leads in this way. I haven’t gotten good feedback from other networkers and what I do hear isn’t encouraging. Still, I’m open to anyone who has a different point of view. If you have had a good experience buying leads, I invite you to share that information via the contact page. Don’t worry. I won’t put your information on a list and sell it to a buying leads company!
You may be fortunate enough to associate with someone whose business is so successful they are unable to handle all of their leads personally. Buying leads under those circumstances from someone you know and trust may be a good option. You will be in a much better position to know that the leads are people who have requested to be contacted and will not be contacted by more than one person. If you come by leads in this manner, give these people the time and attention they deserve. In this case, not only do you want to promote yourself in a positive way, but you are also responsible to represent your associate in a professional manner as well. return from buying leads to prospects cold leads mlm recruiting methods
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