Distributing Leads
You're a veteran in lead generation right? You've got a stable set of incoming lead sources that consistently provide you with good leads to populate your system. You've got experience in your vertical(s) and are kicking back, sipping a pina colada, and letting those precious leads come to you. That is a great feeling but are you really maximizing the revenue on each lead, especially when it comes to carving out your profit margin? Lead generation and lead distribution go hand in hand, but the optimal process for distributing leads will depend on a variety of factors. Lead generation is a volatile industry and just like the Different Strokes theme songs says, "what might be right for you may not be right for some." But before you write off any need to change the ways you carve out your margin and distribute your leads to your buyers, take a minute to ask yourself these 4 questions. Your pina colada can wait (for a few minutes at least).
1. Who am I distributing to?
Do I have consistent buyers or are they sporadic? If they consistently buy my leads, am I giving them a better deal than my inconsistent buyers and rewarding them for their business, or am I treating all of my clients the same? Are my buyers retail, wholesale or both? Each company is different and lead sellers have to find the right balance between a consistency of value proposition and being flexible enough to handle a client's unique needs.
2. When am I distributing my leads?
Do I change my lead prices based on the day of the week or the time of the day? Do I offer prime and off-prime leads depending on exactly when the leads are sold? Speed-to-lead is of the utmost importance for lead buyers so getting the leads into the hands of the service providers in real-time is vital. Given the importance of real-time delivery, is there an opportunity for me to charge a premium?
3. Where am I distributing leads?
How closely do I monitor the location of my leads? Am I charging a different price for leads that are located within a certain mile radius of my clients? Am I only including buyers located in specific states or can there be some overlap depending on the product or service? Are the buyers in my vertical(s) zip-specific, state-specific or can they take any leads? The more requirements a buyer has, the more opportunity there is for a premium.
4. What am I doing to the leads before they are sold?
Have I considered enhancing the value of a lead? Do I verify my leads using a service such as leadQC? Have I used a call center to verify leads or do I perform live transfers to ease the transition from a call center to a sales rep? If so, am I selling these leads as at a premium price that is maximizing each lead sale?
Now that you're done talking to yourself, let's regroup. There are dozens of business decisions to be made before distributing leads and this list is not meant to be an all-encompassing guide. However, hopefully you can use some of the questions above to drive you to innovate and improve, or even to give yourself a pat on the back and another pina colada for a job well done. It's important to remember that lead distribution is far from an exact science. Finding the perfect balance for your business will probably require some testing and creativity. So never be afraid or too stubborn to take a hard look at your business and ask yourself some questions.
boberdoo.com produces lead distribution systems that are second to none. Our software is sophisticated enough to provide you with dozens of options when distributing leads and cutting out your profit margin. If you would like to learn more about the boberdoo system and how it can help your business reach its full potential, click the Contact Us tab or call 800-776-5646.