Businesses can also provide choices for their inside sales or field sale representatives to cherry pick leads available in the distribution queue. This is generally used in the Lead Pull method of the assignment process. Sales reps can pull the prospects when they are ready for next follow up. However, businesses have the option to specify if the reps can choose their prospects or accept without any choice. If the reps can review and accept or reject the prospects in the Lead Pull method, then the process is referred to as cherry picking leads.

When the term Cherry Picking is used in general by the Lead Generation industry, it refers to the usage in the Lead Selling scenarios rather than the internal distribution scenario within an organization.

Why Allow Cherry Picking Leads?

The process allows the lead buyers to evaluate the conversion probability of the prospect and then decide to purchase or reject the same. This helps the buyers to pick and choose the prospects suitable for their specific requirements. Hence this process is generally not feasible when hundreds or thousands of  leads are purchased at a time.

Also, Lead Filters used in the automated lead distribution processes (by setting up an order or profile) can only filter quantitative properties. Where as the Cherry Picking process allows the buyer to apply qualitative decision making based on the available lead parameters.

Lead Filters Vs Cherry Picking

Lead Filters and Cherry Picking are used as complimentary distribution procedures. For example, if thousands of prospects are generated daily and available in the sales / distribution queue, it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to cherry pick individual leads manually. In such a case, the potential buyers will specify one or more lead filters or criteria based on lead profile properties to zero in specific group of leads. This is carried out by setting up a Lead Order or Buyer Profile (depending on the database / software system that you use) and passing the leads through the criteria.

For instance, in the case of Mortgage Leads, the buyer could specify the basic criteria such as geography (i.e. State) and type of leads (mortgage, refinance, credit range, etc.). When the user (buyer) logs in, the system will filter the records and display only the leads meeting the specified criteria.

When to Allow Cherry Picking for Lead Sales

As a thumb rule, picking and choosing selectively works well in the scenarios where the individual lead prices are reasonably high. While there is no hard and fast rule to determine the threshold for the lead sales value, a per lead price of $50 or above will be suitable for allowing cherry picking.

It is also noticed that the number of leads purchased by individual buyer is quite low, when cherry picking is employed. As mentioned earlier, if the lead buying volume is very large, cherry picking leads is a cumbersome process and hence generally avoided.

For example, specialized financial services leads sold to investment / financial consultants are good candidates for this method. The buyer can look at the available lead properties and then decide to buy the lead.

Notice that the critical information such as prospect’s name, physical address, phone number or email address will never be revealed (or displayed) to the buyer looking to cherry pick. Other meaningful data which would be useful for the buyer’s decision making process will be displayed by the system in the pick list screen.

Each business has to weigh the pros and cons of allowing the freedom to the buyers to choose their records. What  works for one business may not be suitable for other businesses. Also, some high value verticals work well with this method leading to higher customer satisfaction, while other verticals do not.

Online Marketing professionals and businesses such as digital marketing agencies just getting into Lead Generation and Distribution business plan out their business strategies (i.e. lead generation and selling) very well. They are generally very good at picking the niches and lead verticals, lead generation sources and methods, affiliate and advertising tactics, etc. In other words, they get the “idea” part of it.

However one major area where they lack in planning is the executing the operations. This is where many startups and entrepreneurs in the lead business struggle and meet with significant difficulties. Though they are good in the “marketing” aspect, they struggle with the systems and processes. Unfortunately, in the leadgen industry unless you master the “operations” part of the business, there is no real business success.

Lead Generation Management

For example, you do not need to be a technology nerd to be a successful an online marketer. However, capturing, aggregating, distributing and delivering leads generated (on the internet) is a different ball game altogether. Every affiliate and lead supplier will demand a different specification for pushing leads; most buyers will also demand different delivery methods, systems and exception handling (for duplicate leads and other lead returns). For instance, using “ping” method for lead delivery means different things for different vendors and clients! While most systems and tasks can be outsourced, you should understand and differentiate different services, solutions and processes. If you are a large team, then you should have someone taking care of this serious stuff!

Though most lead distribution software providers will support HTTP Post, Real Time emails, SMS text messaging and SOAP / XML based delivery methods, these do not work by simple flipping of switches; it needs extensive assessment and technical support. Data transformation adds another level of complications and issues.

Wait, I am not suggesting that you have to go out and get a masters degree in database structures and computer science if you want to be successful in lead generation business! You need to pick and choose the right processes, people, software systems and tools.

Lead Distribution Software

Assessment and selection of Lead Distribution Software cannot be carried out with a checklist. As I mentioned earlier, most lead distribution systems will meet the criteria, at least on “feature list”. Hence, schedule some time with the prospective software providers and discuss in detail about your specific business requirements and ask them how (in detail) their solution can meet the same. Better yet, request them to show it to you after plugging in your lead data and distribution rules from a sample source.

If you cannot or not willing to spend time with lead system provider initially, then probably you will regret it later. Remember that the industry, technology and practices change so fast, there is not a single “perfect” solution. Similarly, if your perspective lead distribution technology vendor cannot spend time with you, in all likelihood, it will not be a suitable solution for your lead generation business.

Email Lead Distribution

I added this phrase in the topic title for simple reason that most business owners use “Email Leads Distribution” for capturing internet leads (from landing pages or emails) and delivering prospect information via real time email alerts. Unfortunately, email is the least dependable method from both your and your client’s perspective. Try to educate the clients and leverage other reliable delivery methods (such as HTTP/ SOAP / XML / CRM interfaces, SMS Texting, etc.); better yet, post the leads to your lead back office system and request them to access it online. Another advantage of using a back office system is that your clients can use the system as a their Lead Management (CRM) and Tracking solution with minimal incremental fee.

Note: If you are a SMB and looking for a lead distribution and management software system to assign sales leads within your inside sales or field sales organization (not to third parties or buyers), then try the sales lead tracking system version of LeadPro247 (i.e. LeadPro247 has 2 system versions catering to (1) lead distributors and (2) SMBs for lead tracking).

Home Care Leads Generation

Since cold calling is not allowed for sales promotion, lead generation services providers still depend on traditional marketing and leadgen channels such television, radio and print advertisement. Once the potential customers see the advertisement and call the telephone number advertised, the agents carefully screen the calls and then pass on the leads to the  service providers and product suppliers.

Home care leads fall into two major categories: Home care equipment and Home care services. The lead generation companies have to wade through lot of legal issues and make sure that they are following rules such as HIPAA regulations, state rules, Medicare regulations and other privacy regulations.

Lead Distribution and Management

The home care providers also exercise great caution when buying leads from third parties, as they are ultimately responsible for the issues, if any. For example, a consumer could have called a lead generation service and the leadgen company could have passed on the contact information to the service provider. The service provider must have clear record of the entire conversation / communication, so that they can defend themselves in case of issues; the buyer also will have the right to inspect the processes of the lead generation company.

Home care lead generation firms have started using advanced lead generation management system software such as LeadPro247 for distribution, delivery and tracking of leads. The lead distribution systems supports recording of telephone conversation and tracking entire lead movement from end to end.

Home Medical Equipment (HME) companies have to make sure that they are buying from established lead suppliers and foolproof systems and procedures are used by the firms concerned.

The lead generation companies should make sure that express consent is obtained from the prospective customers. Internet lead generation is to be carefully planned and executed. For instance, the lead company should specifically inform them that they will be passing on the contact and related information to another third party (i.e equipment / service provider). Even in such cases, the communication is considered as marketing and hence payment is not a referral fee. Hence the lead generation firms and the lead buying home care companies enter into a business associate relationship.

The lead companies are not allowed to discuss medical conditions or prescription information with the potential customer, while they might check the insurance eligibility.

In such a scenario with highly regulated business environment, it is essential to follow the rules by the book. Automation will certainly reduce some manual efforts, so that more critical business tasks can be focused.

Automated lead generation management systems can help lead companies operating at regional or national levels gain maximum benefits by reducing the manual process errors and increasing the efficiency of the lead distribution and tracking process.

It is well known that Lending Tree started its mortgage lead generation operation long time back and provided opportunities for the consumers to chose from multiple mortgage companies. The banks and mortgage brokers competed and provided quotes to match the loan requirements. While it was a pioneering initiative those days, it is pretty straight forward like a basic math operation nowadays.

No doubt, long legal battles will be fought in the court to decide the merits of the case. I am not a lawyer and have no knowledge about how the patent system works through the courts. In my personal opinion, Lending Tree has been weakened, not by these competitors, but but by the maturity of the internet and applications; the natural withering process has started. I don’t see this action any thing different than that of the reactions of the traditional telecom service providers for the introduction of VOIP. Probably the company is trying to reduce the competition and make some money in the process. Recollect how these smartphone manufacturers are fighting each other over minor patents; and finally settle without much noise. Let us wait and see what happens!

Will the Google Instant change the way Search Engine Optimization is carried out nowadays. We have to wait for sometime and see how the Google Instant plays out in practice. For now, it is suffice to say that the search speed looks impressive.

The study was based on paid leads generated on Classes2Careers, an online EDU lead generation website. While the scope of the study and the scientific approach are not robust enough, it is a good starting point. The study results are summarized in the short pdf report, which can be downloaded from the EduDirectResponse site by clicking on the image.

According to the report, the following are the highlights:

1. More females than males are interested in online classes.

2. Over 60% of prospective online college students have a High School degree or have at one time in the past attended college.

3. Business and Health Care are the two most popular majors for prospective online college students.

4. 90% of prospective students want additional financial aid information after agreeing to receive information from a college.

5. Over 80% of prospective students want to receive a college related newsletter.

6. Prospective students do not mind entering their email address and other personal information but feel that their phone number is the most intrusive piece of data they give.

For lead generation and distribution companies operating in the EDU space, this survey report provides some useful information.

While BankRate is well known player in the lead generation industry, NetQuote and CreditCards.com are equally popular in their own verticals. Note that BankRate owns InsureMe.com, another player in the insurance lead industry.

What does this mean to the lead buyers in the insurance and credit card verticals? Will it increase the lead prices in the long term? Does it lead to another mega company stifling innovation and flexibility? Only time can provide answers to these questions. Obvious positive benefit would be the addition of legitimacy to the online lead generation industry.

For more about duplicate URLs and use of canonical links, see the following video by Google’s Matt Cutts.

You can get the Canonical URL Plugin for WordPress from Yoast.com. Note that the canonical link concept explained above can be used in any of the websites (not just WordPress sites). If your sites are based on WordPress, then this plugin will automate the process.

While you will understand the sarcasm in the advise, you can really grow your business by avoiding these pitfalls. If the list looks too long or if you think, if following the best practices is a waste of time, then you have to rethink you business strategies.

#1 Buy old / aged leads generated via Internet: This is self explanatory, I guess. Buying old leads is a recipe for disaster. The consumers (and businesses) want immediate response when they submit their contact information on the internet. When you buy old leads, there is every possibility that the prospect has been contacted already by one or more sellers and they tired of talking to more sellers.

#2 Decide by Lead Pricing: Use the Lead Price as the primary decision making criterion. When there is a clear quantitative factor, why bother about other qualitative factors?

#3 Don’t waste your time by researching Lead Sources: There are tons of lead providers and sources if you it Google. It is physically impossible to research, verify and validate lead sources. They why bother? Just pick the top one or two sources and order the leads.

#4 Don’t bother about leadgen methods and practices: You are paying and buying leads. Just trust that your lead provider will do every rule in the book and make sure that you are getting the right leads. After all you have too much to do and cannot waste time investigating what your vendor does, right?

#5 Do not open email box in the evening; you can call the prospects tomorrow: Don’t you have a life? Just because the lead information was sent by your lead vendor in the late afternoon, you cannot afford to lose your baseball game on the television. Remember that your competitor who got the same lead info would have contacted the prospect and closed the deal. Also, revisit point #1 above.

#6 Trust your Lead Supplier: You spent a lot of time sifting through all the search queries in Google or Yahoo and finally have chosen a lead supplier. Can you doubt the capabilities of the vendor who came on top of the search results? Also remember that they had a flashy website and busy sales reps.

#7 Don’t generate leads on your own: It is time taking and painful to generate your own leads, even only a fraction of what you need. Why spend time in understanding the technology buzzwords and deciphering the jargon? You strength is working the phone.

#8 Deal in multiple lead verticals; one might work: Try your hand in multiple segments or verticals. Core competency is an old phrase.

#9 Don’t be proactive: Well, you have spent awful lot of time in learning new things. After a couple of months, you hear that there are new toys in the game. How many times a person can keep updating stuff? Who invented this continuous improvement process, as if you are manufacturing air plane engine?

#10 Don’t deploy a web based Lead Tracking and Management system: The email is easy to handle. You can take a peek and act on it immediately. If required, you can also throw in a couple of spreadsheets and cut and paste the prospect information. Why waste energy learning a new tool?

You got the idea now. Unfortunately, internet adds to the complexities in life, contrary to the claims that internet simplifies life. Whether you like it or not, if you want to sell anything (or grow a business), leveraging internet is critical. If you don’t want to lose money in the web lead buying process, practice the opposite of the above mentioned advise and you will reap the benefits. Happy selling! Or buying Internet Leads!

Many lead distribution companies and agencies, especially when they are new to the online lead generation and distribution business, struggle to survive and grow. While it looks easy and enticing from the outside world, it is often laborious and error prone, unless you understand the intricacies of the web lead sales business.

Customer Feedback

The other day, I was speaking with one of our long time customers who has branched out recently into online lead generation for a specific industry niche. Whenever I have a chance to speak with the clients, I always make sure that I inquire about their business with questions such as (1) if they are doing good, (2) how is the industry doing, (3) how their CUSTOMERS are doing, (4) their sales projections and actual sales numbers, (5) technology trends in the industry, and (6) how we could help them further by adding / enhancing our lead distribution and management software solution.

I make sure that this conversation is casual and personal, rather than formal and rigid. If you ask these questions genuinely, most of the customers respond positively and open their thoughts. It gives a chance for them to reflect on their business from a different (supplier’s) perspective. Unlike formal online surveys sent via email invites, which is a great tool to collect customer feedback and opinion, this personal one-to-one discussion can be constructed instantly based on the situation without any pre-planning. The conversation could be a couple of minutes or it can be 20 or 15 minutes depending on the customer’s comfort level and positive engagement.

Leadgen Case Study

Coming back to my specific discussion with a client, I inquired about quite a few support requests from him. He responded immediately saying that several of his customers have dropped out immediately and he had to make changes in the system configuration to alter the lead delivery flow for other customers.

When I probed further about the reasons for clients dropping out, he mentioned that they were buying leads from a new internet lead generation media agency and it seems that the conversion rates for these leads were very low.

He immediately started researching the lead sourcing practices. As you know, many leadgen companies will not give you the sources or methods of their leadgen practices. He found out after some research that the leads were generated using co-generation method! Obviously, it was not their first choice of the online subscribers. Probably the visitors were either forced or enticed into opting into the additional service categories.

Generally, the leads generated using co-registration methods will convert less. These could be used  for long term nurturing or up-sell processes, but not for immediate telephone follow-up.

This scenario shows how your lead quality can be affected without even your knowledge. Hence lead sourcing (or buying internet leads) should be taken as a continuous improvement process. The quality of purchased or outsourced leads can change overnight as the affiliates and media agencies change their processes.

Solution

If you want to be successful in lead generation business, you have to leverage third party lead vendors. If you need to use vendors, you have to be proactive in doing the research on their leadgen practices and make sure that the led quality is on par with the leads generated by your own company using pay per click (PPC) or search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. Also, measuring the consistency of lead quality on an ongoing balance is an essential step. As mentioned earlier, you don’t need a special measurement tool for this; just speak with your clients. Another easy check is to see if they are placing repeat orders with you. If not, you have a problem on hand and you need to diagnose the same for treatment. Happy selling!