In essence I told him it's not how you pay, it's who you pay and especially what you get for the the price you pay.
Picking the right companies is the hard part...The way he asked the question I got the feeling he was referring to payment methods...
Reading between the lines my guess is he was thinking a credit card might offer more recourse in the event the campaign went bad. It can in certain occassions but a company check leaves you with many more options should something go really bad.
First rule of marketing - don't buy scared. Buying scared (thinking about what can go wrong before you start is often a self fulfilling prophecy).
Marketing is essential to consistently grow your business and keep your pipeline full.
In Vegas they say scared money is dead money...same with marketing. Spend only what you can afford, test everything and everyone, and when you find what works for YOU - stick with it, then grow the scope of your lead purchases.
Do buy smart! Start small and get ready to work hard - marketing will test your patience and your resolve at times. Kinda like the stock market...buy and hold wins the race but sometimes it's tempting to cut and run. Use resources like this forum and others to get a perspective on a company you are not familiar with. Take feedback with a grain of salt. Happy buyers don't write testimonials nearly as often as the buyers who feel they didn't get what they deserved. Most of the time there are 3 sides of the story - yours, theirs, and the truth.
With mortgage leads it is imperative to find the company, the rep, and the product that fits who you are and the skills you have. Be realistic.
Good lead companies often get a bad rap. Often it isn't the quality of the lead. Many times I see that it's the "fit" between the lead type and the lead buyer that is often mis-matched. The lead companies that consistently keep their customers satisfied usually do a very good job in finding the right medium for the loan officer who is buying leads.
In my opinion new LO's should stay away from Internet leads. There are skills that must be honed to convert these consistently. Effectively working telemarketing leads too requires sharp, well defined skills that often elude newly seasoned mortgage pros. I've seen companies burn leads up, literally throwing money out the window because they have the wrong folks working the leads. All leads aren't created equal - all loan officers aren't either.
Too often the appeal and ease that an Internet lead seems to offer continually gives rise to a false sense of promise to someone that may not be prepared to ask the right questions, pick up on buying signals, create a good representation of your company and it's value proposition as it specifically relates to the potential borrower.
The are too many variables to discuss them all here.
If you want to know what lead type is right for you, please feel free to email me at
bidchief@LeadsBid.com
Always glad to share and learn...
The Bid Chief
