Internet Lead Intelligence

moonlightandmargaritas

Guru
5000 Post Club
In between working with clients, going to Spring Training games and working on my tan, I've been writing an e-book on individual health insurance marketing methods and plans.

If you do it by buying internet leads...my hat's off to you. I don't know how anybody could possibly stand it!

So I decide to do a little "internet lead intelligence", by requesting a quote for me on a "dummy" basis (not me, the lead). The vendor will remain nameless to protect the innocent.

Here's what I found:
  • They sold the lead to four different agents.
  • They also sold the lead to another lead site, who in turn sold it to two more agents.
  • They provided a direct link to BOTH ehealth and HBD, should I want an "immediate quote".
  • I received calls and emails from all the agents. One guy ("Bob") was calling about the "health insurance application" I filled out.
  • Got a call from some woman who BARELY SPOKE English. Brutal. She wanted to do a warm transfer to some other jabroni...
  • Also got a call from a discount plan ($119 a month for the whole family!).
I don't know how you guys do it...
 
Considering you just had 6 agents buy a lead for someone who had no interest in buying coverage, not to bad at all.

I'm curious, the company you used, do they have a limit on the number of times a lead is sold? Did this limit get crossed? 6 isn't terrible (not good), but every lead company I talk to states something like 'we only average 2 agents in the area', never 'we sell it 3 times, than farm it out to be sold 18 more times'.

I know its expensive for lead companies to develop leads, and they deserve to make some money. They have a tough gig, but when they get greedy, it gets really tough on agents.

Dan
 
Wow, that is crazy. I am new to the business and really trying to look for ways to market. I would love any suggestions you have, or if your e-book is done I would love to read it. Thanks for the great info.
 
Don't know how many they say they'll sell to. I don't use/buy internet leads, so I just picked one out at random I read about on the forum to test.

I did contact the agents by email to let them know I was an agent so they can request a credit. I'm not totally heartless.

My theory was confirmed.

People buying these leads are subsidizing outfits like ehealth and HBD. Two thoughts:

1) You better figure out why they go there.
2) Figure out how to get to them before they do.

E-book is not ready/available yet. Will advise when it is...
 
I'm an affiliate for several of the companies that sell leads to agents. I am also an individual health insurance agent. I make about half of my income from each role.

The leads that I sell are generated using the same system that I use to generate leads for my agency. I own, design, program and promote the websites that send leads to my agency. We still get bogus leads. We still get people who have spoken with several agents. So some percentage of bogus leads is probably unavoidable.

However, the percentage of bogus leads that I received when I was buying leads is far beyond what I get when I generate my own. There are ways to attenuate the percentages of bad leads. We do what we can in this department. However, many of the other companies that sell leads to agents do much less than they should.

Some companies are scrubbing the leads by checking them with the postal database and that is a step forward, however a lot more should be done from a programming standpoint. But the real problem is integrity, not programming. Lead sellers who sell the lead to more agents than promised and who won't credit your account for bogus leads are responsible for more of the problem than their programming is.

Another problem is where they advertise and where they allow their affiliates to advertise. A person who types "health insurance quote" into a search engine is probably a good prospect. A person who fills out a questionnaire after getting a piece of spam may just want to make compare the cost with what their employer charges them and may have no intention of making any changes.

The bottom line is the bottom line. Regardless of how the leads are generated and how many times they are sold, you should buy them if you get the right ROI. If you are not making enough sales, do something else or try to do the same thing in a better way.
 
Well there's a lot more to it than that. Part of which is building a business and reputation in your locality so one day you're not using any leads. 8 months of hard work and I'm just now getting to the point where I could (if I wanted) stop generating leads - I'm at $2,000+ a week commish now for new biz sales just off my phone ringing after all the local stuff I've done.

So while buying leads might be a short-term solution, even successful agents will be sitting at their computers 5 years from now waiting for the next lead to hit their in-box.

Also left out of the picture is WHO the prospects are. I'm marketing to small biz owners - average age 45+ - almost all families - almost all with current coverage. Now....we all know who the average internet lead prospect is.

So it's a matter of looking ahead a few years from now and asking yourself if you want your phone ringing or if you want to be still fighting off other agents.

85% of my clients.....couldn't pay them to get on the net and troll for quotes.

I'm sorry - I don't see it as a successful business model when I see senior agents, 10+ years in the biz waiting for their next shared lead so they can put in a deal that week.
 
Alston -

I know from past posts you sell to HTQ. Do you sell the same lead to multiple lead vendors?
 
Here's the reason I quit buying internet leads. Hard to compete with agents selling junk plans for cheap.

Here's the email I got from Prospect Zone....notice the testimonial:

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Email only sale : For the next 7 days - get up to $300 in complimentary leads.

pzone-temp-header.jpg

"$150 in Extra Leads When You Buy $300"
"$150 in Extra Leads When You Buy $300"

(Yes... We wrote that twice so you'd know
you weren't imagining it.)
Dear Insurance Broker,
For the next 7 business days, ending March 31, we're increasing our most generous offer to date, and letting you walk away with:
$150 in complimentary insurance leads for every $300 in leads purchased from ProspectZone.

This is the best way ever to try ProspectZone leads. And we're not skimping on quality. These are our Top-Tier prospects, generated by search engine marketing and sent to you instantly in real time.
Here's how it works:
Purchase $300 in leads, and we'll credit your account an additional $150. You can even sweeten the pot by purchasing $600 and getting an extra $300 in leads. That's $900 in leads for just $600.
This offer is only good for 7 days! There's more. Visit us online to learn the rest of the details:
http://www.prospectzone.com/promotions/150-for-300.html
Here's what one agent said about our lead quality:
"I'm talking to serious people who are actually looking for insurance. The closing rate has gone up. Because of that, of the ones I talk to, it's probably 30 - 40%. I made $1,000 at least, maybe more than that."
A. Carriere, Mega Health & Life
And for our valued current customers, add $300 to your account before 5PM March 31st and we'll thrown in $150 in leads (Max $300 in credits). No catch.
Sincerely,
Andrew Wallach
Smart Leads Select Division
1-866-466-7829 ext. 1
[email protected]
PS - **Due to HIGH demand, the line may be busy. Please leave a message with your desired state(s) and we will note your place in the queue. Call now! 1-877-561-9663 ext. 1
 
Alston -

I know from past posts you sell to HTQ. Do you sell the same lead to multiple lead vendors?

No. I never sell the same lead twice. Each affiliate contract you sign prohibits you from reselling a lead. I'm sure that other affiliates resell them and hope not to get caught, but it is unethical.

It would be a pretty easy way to double or triple my income for the short-term, but I wouldn't do it for both moral and practical reasons. Getting caught would be about as bad as having my insurance license suspended. I'd have to find a different buyer, reprogram my site and adjust the marketing. I'd lose money until I got all that done.

I work with multiple lead vendors because different ones pay better for different lines of insurance. For example one may give me a better price for auto and another may give me a better price for life.
 
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