Tips for Improving Lead Delivery to Lead Buyers
Assuming that you are able to generate quality leads and sign-up buyers to purchase leads, the next critical issue that you will be confronting is the prompt delivery of leads and prospect information to the designated lead buyer contacts. If you are selling leads in real time, as the practice in industry verticals such as insurance, mortgage, debt services, etc. the prompt delivery of lead information to the buyer assumes great significance. Lead Delivery via time tested Fax and Text Messaging (SMS) is a viable alternative for lead distribution companies.
Lead Delivery Methods
The most widely used method for delivering lead information is the internet EMAIL. If your buyers are business savvy and more sophisticated, the web services based API or web form posting based interface and direct application access to your Lead Capture, Distribution and Management system are the fool-proof methods.
Real Time Lead Alerts
Even if you use direct interface with your buyers systems using the interface or provide login access to your lead database, the customer may still need real time alerts to get notified about the arrival of the new lead. This is where the real time email alerts get their star status. If the buyer contacts persons (such as insurance agents) are not fully office based but constantly on the move, email alerts are unavoidable. With the proliferation of Blackberrys and smartphones such as iPhones, email alerts have become very useful to reach the prospects within minutes of sign-up.
Email Delivery Issues
With the increasing spamming issues, delivery of internet email is becoming more problematic. In fact, none can gurantee the delivery of emails via internet, whatever their claim may be. Especially, many of the small lead buyers use the email addresses provided by the their ISPs. Encouraging them to use their corporate (private domain) emails will help improve the delivery rates.
Fax and SMS as additional Delivery Options
If your buyers have access to fax with an office based employee (even if the recipient is traveling), sending lead information via fax is a good add-on option. Many of the good lead distribution software solutions available in the market place will have fax delivery as an option. Please note that delivering lead information via fax involves per page cost. However the cost, around 15 cents per page, is not prohibitive considering the value addition.
Another option to deliver leads to your customer is using the Text Messaging option. Text messaging is also known as Short Messaging Service (SMS). However, you may not be able to transmit the entire lead information, as the text message has to be less than 160 characters. Important information such prospect’s name, telephone and email address can be easily transmitted via SMS. Keep in mind that delivering lead details via SMS also involves additional cost to the buyer. And the buyer’s cell phone must be subscribed to and enabled to receive text messages. Generally, the lead management systems send the SMS messages as emails to the wireless carriers (ex. phonenumber@sprintpcs.com).
While these additional lead delivery options many not be for everyone, these may be certainly great tools for some of your deserving customers. As a lead seller, consult with your lead buyers, educate them the pros and cons of using Fax or SMS as lead delivery options, and let them decide if they want to leverage these tools.
