Hometown Quotes Offer

[somarco]

I don't use internet leads but have purchased lists of aged leads from time to time to supplement my lead generation process. When I did purchase leads, HTQ was tops in my mind.

I know Bob and Hunter and know they are honest, hard working guys who strive to deliver the best product available.

If I were to purchase leads again, HTQ is the first one I would contact. They are truly in a class by themselves in my book.

 

[LGilmore]

A good internet lead is just an opportunity for someone you've never met to tell you yes or no after your offer.

Some here think they are crap because the prospects don't roll over and immediately purchase from them or they buy from somebody else.

This is the wrong business to be in if you can't handle competition as there will always be competition. If you can't look at internet leads as an opportunity to sell to someone you've never met before or possibly never have to see, maybe you shouldn't do them.

I've done Ok over the years with internet leads simply because I view them for what they are, another form of marketing that introduces me to people I would never meet elsewhere.

HTQ has been consistently good people to work with. Perfect? no, but very good for this type of business.

 

[bcbroker]

I don't know what you guys are banging on about. There was no bait and switch. A bait and switch is when someone tells you that if you pay $100 you will get $225 in leads and the after you pay $100, you only get $100 in leads.

The email offer said that you would get $125 in free leads, and you will, you just need to get more information on how to qualify. This is no different than any advertising on the net. Google insurance leads and you will see plenty of free offers, they are giving free leads, just not without some kind of purchase.

As an aside, when you get completely free leads, with no buy in, they do not get worked the same way as when you have money invested in them. This is a simple psychological fact, the mind values something you paid for more than something completely free, and you will do a better job of following up on leads that you pay for, even if they are paid for with an effective discount because of the free leads.

As far as Peeler goes, he has a system that works well for him, he generates his own leads. He is a smart businessman and has built a client base and websites that can support him even oversees. But anyone who would generalize a billion dollar industry as entirely pond scum, has a very warped perspective. That is like saying that All Bobby Flay restaurants are garbage, because I twice I had a piece of tuna there that was a little too fishy.

I can vouch that Bob and Hunter are good people and their intention is to provide a service that makes agents money, because that will make them money. Try them out, get $125 or $150 in free, yes free leads, after a purchase of $100 and see how they work for you.

I can't promise you will make money, maybe you get too small a batch, maybe you get some bogus leads, maybe you don't know how to work them, maybe you do just fine with them. But in all cases, Hometown Quotes will be honest, and live up to their word, including giving credits according to their policy.

I have been using internet leads for 15 years, HTQ has to be the worst company I have ever dealt.

 

[Pangaea]

I have been using internet leads for 15 years, HTQ has to be the worst company I have ever dealt.

The worst? Maybe you just bought a small bad batch?

 

[LGilmore]

"I have been using internet leads for 15 years, HTQ has to be the worst company I have ever dealt. "

Please expand your comment. How were they the worst? What were you buying?


Over the years I too have dealt with internet lead companies that truly sucked. HTQ was never one of them. What made them bad to you?

For me, for an interent lead company to suck the following things had to happen.

1. spending a large amount of time in heated debate with the lead rep that "slim jim" was not a real person but a beef snack (3 separate times with same company) or Mike Hunt wasn't a real person but a dirty word when you said it aloud.

2. credit limits. Any company that states they will only honor 10% of the bad leads isn't worth the time or money spent on them.

3. Any that use incentive selling to gather leads.

What has HTQ done that make them a bad company to you?

Maybe I'm overlooking something about them, please detail.

 

[Bob Klee]

So Bob Klee,

Lets put this out in the open....

THX for the offer but we want to know.....

for P&C agents, how many agents are sold your leads?
Tell me what state, what Zip & at a given moment I can tell you. We give that # to agents when they call us. Of course at any moment an agent could Pause their account, hit a CAP they put in place on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Too many without more specifics. I don't have any nationwide average but most areas, most leads 3-5 times
FYI: It could be

For Life how many?

For Health How many?

Is there a difference in how you sell them to IA vs captive agents? Such as do you sell the same lead to an IA and a captive or do you sell the same lead to all captives and different leads to IA's?

Also, are the leads all sold at the exact same time? I once had a lead, I called him within 10 secinds of receiving it and the guy said he already bought insurance......well, how old was that lead before I got it?

Hey RBA!

Good questions. See above in color for my response.

Absolutely no difference between a lead sold to Captive or IA. We only sell the same lead to ONE captive as they only have one market to get a price from.

EXACTLY the same time on distribution. What can slow the lead delivery to you? Internet speed, Email server, line "noise," and more. But we Email all leads at the same time. Some leads go to a comparative rating company before going to the agent. That would delay the time of course. But we have nothing built into OUR system to favor one agents email or another.

I always encourage agents to monitor our Admin site as we also post the leads for them there.

RBA: did that answer your questions?


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Bob... Your kidding right? If you spent about an horr searching post you would know where I get leads and know I think all lead co are pond scum ... Shoo go away... Your days are over... U make an offer.., screw it up and then backtrack. Typical bait and switch. Not these guys fault you screwed up your offer... Hope u go broke

Wow Mr. Peeler,

I don't have an hour to donate to you to find out why you have a love/hate relationship with anyone or any business. Personally I could care less unless my company was involved & if so, I'd love to know what we've done to you to make you such a Hater. Life is to short IMO to try to help folks that don't want or need my help. Thank God, my business does not rely on your approval to be successful. Since this is America, the land of the Free & the Brave, you are entitled to your own opinion, no matter how twisted that opinion may be.

Would you like to tell me & others here why in your opinion, I should go out of business and thus deprive the wonderful people & families that rely on their jobs at HometownQuotes.com, the thousands of small & large affiliates that support their families by selling leads to us & of course even Google/Bing/Yahoo, et al., who get a very small part of their income from HometownQuotes.com to go to Hell too?

Or the thousands of agents who over the years have grown their agencies by selling policies to these "pond scum" leads so they can feed their families?

Just checking to find out what you really think. I think over the years I've seen many, many advertisements that have a "re-do" published due to wrong prices/information/etc. Can't say I've ever read someone tell the company they hope they go broke because of it, so your post is a first in my 50+ years. You obviously have some deep emotional issues about Internet Lead companies that I personally could care less about.

I am glad you have found your way of running a successful Insurance agency. Like I've posted before, there are many, many ways to be successful as an insurance professional, thus one does not need to re-invent the wheel to do so. But what works for you & your personality/style may not work for the next agent.



Have a successful day & good luck in your endeavors.
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I have been using internet leads for 15 years, HTQ has to be the worst company I have ever dealt.

Hello BcBroker,

I don't think we've met?

I'd love to hear about your experience to find out what you feel we did wrong. We aren't perfect but we try our darnedest to make things right if we screw up.

You are welcome to air your grievance here or if you prefer, please email or call me. I'd would love to find out what we did wrong so I can fix whatever it is so we won't repeat the experience with someone else.

In my experience, the only way one get's better is by listening & trying to understand other's point of view. We may end up agreeing to disagree respectfully, but at least we communicate.

Personally, I'd much rather have a customer who is upset with me, call me to tell me why, than to quietly go away & "protest" by just stop doing business with me. The only way I or anyone can improve is by learning by our failures.

There is no road map on how to run an internet leads company like there is for an insurance agency. So we decided to operate HometownQuotes.com as we would our agencies. In the early days you would always deal with the same Agent Services Rep.

As we grew, it became impossible because while Somarco was talking to Ambrosha about her baby that was on the way, 10 other agents were leaving messages for Ambrosha! So we went to a team approach. Again, no road map..[Bob, she named her boy River & his first 8 months of life he spent here in the office with us! ]

Retention is as important to us as it is to you guys! That is why we offer Webinars & 1-1 coaching. It is Expensive to do this but again, we do it because we have the Expertise & desire to do it. By Agents, For Agents.

Call our competition up & ask: "How do I handle this objection when talking to an internet lead consumer?"
or "I'm not having any luck getting in touch with these leads. Here is the process I'm using, can you help me?"

I do it almost every day & so does my Sales Manager who sold his $4+ million book of business earlier this year. We offer our life experience of running an agency & the techniques we learn from other successful agents for free, every day. Our goal is help our agents become more successful at working insurance leads so hopefully they will buy more leads & tell others about their experience at HometownQuotes.com.

If that is "pond scum" as another member called us then I guess I'll accept that label with pride.

BcBroker, I hope you email or call me. [FYI: we sold our first lead in January 2005 so we're only 6+ years old.]

 

[MattMcWilliams]

So Bob Klee,

Lets put this out in the open....

THX for the offer but we want to know.....

for P&C agents, how many agents are sold your leads?

For Life how many?

For Health How many?

Is there a difference in how you sell them to IA vs captive agents? Such as do you sell the same lead to an IA and a captive or do you sell the same lead to all captives and different leads to IA's?

Also, are the leads all sold at the exact same time? I once had a lead, I called him within 10 secinds of receiving it and the guy said he already bought insurance......well, how old was that lead before I got it?

I stumbled on this thread and noticed that I don't think it was answered with all the subsequent posts.

These are the average number of times sold nationwide in the past 30 days.

Auto - 2.36 times
Homeowners - 1.79 times
Life - 1.58 times
Health - 2.27 times
Renters - 1.36 times

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

I can't speak for bc (he can do it quite well), but there are very few (if any) on this Board that know the health insurance lead business any better than him. He probably works with more leads in a day than most see in a year.

 

[Guest]

I stumbled on this thread and noticed that I don't think it was answered with all the subsequent posts.

These are the average number of times sold nationwide in the past 30 days.

Auto - 2.36 times
Homeowners - 1.79 times
Life - 1.58 times
Health - 2.27 times
Renters - 1.36 times

I am gonna have to call BS big time, if you only sold a lead less than twice, then you would be going belly up!

If I buy auto leads from you, I only have to beat one agent?
Home, I only have to beat another agent maybe half the time?

 

[djs]

He said nationwide. Your territory may be different.
It also doesn't subtract out bad numbers, price shoppers, etc. You won't get them all.

Dan