IMOs creating their own leads / owning their own lead company

[damadcrapper]

My current IMO has been through several lead companies in the last year and the quality continues to deteriorate. Does anyone know of an IMO who generates their own leads or owns their own lead company? I am hoping that there is an option with higher consistency and quality.

 

[Newby]

My current IMO has been through several lead companies in the last year and the quality continues to deteriorate. Does anyone know of an IMO who generates their own leads or owns their own lead company? I am hoping that there is an option with higher consistency and quality.

EFES did for many years. But they went the route the rest of us do a couple years back.

 

[Baseball7]

quality continues to deteriorate.

For example

 

[titeye]

My current IMO has been through several lead companies in the last year and the quality continues to deteriorate. Does anyone know of an IMO who generates their own leads or owns their own lead company? I am hoping that there is an option with higher consistency and quality.

I will give you what I think to be a direct and objective answer to your question. My disclaimer is that my response should in no way be misconstrued as an endorsement of either.
EFES, FEXContracting, and Senior Life Ins. Co. answers your question. I think 360 also uses the same source for leads as EFES and FEX. Hopefully, I am corrected if wrong.
Once again, this is just a direct answer to your question. Proceed at your own risk. (That sounds negative, but not intended.)
You may also want to consider working directly with a lead company. That is what they do, isn't it? Why do you feel the necessity to bundle the two or require a middle man to provide you leads? There is no right or wrong answer, just something to think about.

 

[damadcrapper]

Thanks for the candid response. I have tried a few lead companies and twice over the past five years gotten myself involved in TCPA issues from vendors who "guaranteed" TCPA compliance. I can't afford to get sued - I was hoping someone with more resources had "vetted" lead sources and enough bucks to go after the bad actors.

 

[Newby]

My current IMO has been through several lead companies in the last year and the quality continues to deteriorate. Does anyone know of an IMO who generates their own leads or owns their own lead company? I am hoping that there is an option with higher consistency and quality.

I guess you need to be clear what type of leads are you asking about. I think we are all assuming direct mail since that is the most popular for Final Expense and the hardest to generate. Direct mail leads are the only leads that you are usually better off going through your IMO but ONLY if your IMO treats them as YOUR leads not his after you buy them.

For Facebook or Tele-Leads I would think buying them through a vendor like Ryan Saridakis or any good Facebook vendor is as good as you need for commercial leads. Guys who make a Facebook their main lead source are generally going to learn to create them yourself.

What specifically has changed with the leads from your IMO? Why do they keep changing lead companies? And if their leads aren't great, why buy through them anyway. The only reason agents should ever buy leads through their IMO is if they can get better leads than they can get on their own.

 

[titeye]

Thanks for the candid response. I have tried a few lead companies and twice over the past five years gotten myself involved in TCPA issues from vendors who "guaranteed" TCPA compliance. I can't afford to get sued - I was hoping someone with more resources had "vetted" lead sources and enough bucks to go after the bad actors.

I don't believe IMO's have control over whether or not you have TCPA issues with your leads. They get their leads from the same vendors that are available to you. The most significant difference is, some vendors process small order requests, while other vendors require you to purchase in large quantities. In any event, I find newby to be a credible resource. I am not sure that representatives of the other companies I mentioned have posted yet. Good luck!

 

[theinsuranceman]

My current IMO has been through several lead companies in the last year and the quality continues to deteriorate. Does anyone know of an IMO who generates their own leads or owns their own lead company? I am hoping that there is an option with higher consistency and quality.

Here's a theory: In the last 10 years more and more FE agents have joined the arena as more and more recruiters are recruiting. DM response %'s continue to slowly shrink each year as people receive so many in the mail that now they already know what it's about (no curiosity factor in play anymore). Persistency continues to worsen a little each year?

The reasons for this could be that most of the quality FE business is already on the books with someone and are less likely to respond to a DM card. They've taken a plan out the last few years and are paying it on time.

But the serial mailers, and the ones who lapse every 6 months with a different carrier, are still mailing the DM cards back at the same pace as they always have. So now you have fewer responses (because less and less of the quality business is mailing the cards back), and still have the same number of serial mailers and lousy payors still mailing the cards back. This lowers the quality of DM as each year goes by because more of the responses from the FE DM is slowly spiraling down towards the bottom of the barrel.

That's why I say the TV leads are the new king of the hill when it comes to FE lead generation. No one ever says we thought this was something free from the gov't...lol. The TV commercials are very directly worded, there is no vagueness or misleading wording (FREE information, State Regulated Plans, It's your right as a US citizen...,etc.).

Here's a sample. Judge for yourself.....

Senior Life Insurance Company Affordable Life Plan TV Commercial, 'Important Message'

 

[Newby]

Here's a theory: In the last 10 years more and more FE agents have joined the arena as more and more recruiters are recruiting. DM response %'s continue to slowly shrink each year as people receive so many in the mail that now they already know what it's about (no curiosity factor in play anymore). Persistency continues to worsen a little each year?

The reasons for this could be that most of the quality FE business is already on the books with someone and are less likely to respond to a DM card. They've taken a plan out the last few years and are paying it on time.

But the serial mailers, and the ones who lapse every 6 months with a different carrier, are still mailing the DM cards back at the same pace as they always have. So now you have fewer responses (because less and less of the quality business is mailing the cards back), and still have the same number of serial mailers and lousy payors still mailing the cards back. This lowers the quality of DM as each year goes by because more of the responses from the FE DM is slowly spiraling down towards the bottom of the barrel.

That's why I say the TV leads are the new king of the hill when it comes to FE lead generation. No one ever says we thought this was something free from the gov't...lol. The TV commercials are very directly worded, there is no vagueness or misleading wording (FREE information, State Regulated Plans, It's your right as a US citizen...,etc.).

Here's a sample. Judge for yourself.....

Senior Life Insurance Company Affordable Life Plan TV Commercial, 'Important Message'

Greg I swear that exact same word for word theory has been pitched to ever since I started in 1996. Every Senior has been sold there are too many agents. The cost of postage is WAY too high. Insurance companies are pulling out of the biz. Everyone is going cremation. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Yet back then, those of us that were killing it were writing $3,000 to $4,000 in a week and thinking we were a special breed. Now it's not uncommon for agents getting 20 to 30 direct mail leads a week to put up $5,000 to $10,000 of premium in a week. And so many more are putting up the 2 to 4 grand that you could never count them all.

I'm sure TV leads can be good. Senior Life's look like they are good. But anyone that is struggling with direct mail isn't going to make it with any other lead.

Sometimes it's not the arrow, it's the archery enthusiast.

 

[Baseball7]

10,000 in 2 days off 6-7 month old DM in a market I've never been in. I'm not having any issued working or getting leads.