How To Find High Quality Internet Leads

Internet leads are one of many lead sources that you will want to consider for your business. Verticals such as loan modification, debt consolidation or mortgage can leverage internet leads, however they can be effective in almost any industry.

One very important question to ask an internet lead provider is where these leads come from. The sources can be from portals, the internet lead company’s own website, banner ads, etc… Investigate the leads to insure that they are suitable for your market. Doing so will significantly reduce wasted time and resources.

Here are some other areas to explore when considering an Internet lead provider:

Filters: What minimum criteria will be used to determine if a lead gets sent to you? (e.g. loan amount, interest rate, etc…)

Return Policy: What criteria will enable you to return the lead for a replacement? (i.e. wrong numbers, missed filters, etc…)

Exclusivity: How many other companies are purchasing these leads? An exclusive lead should only be sold to you, whereas a non-exclusive or semi-exclusive lead can be sold to multiple companies.

Determine a time frame for which to test the leads that you got from the internet lead company. Observe the results for each lead. You can classify each lead as:

• raw lead: an initial request from any source
• dead lead: a prospect who has little potential to become a customer
• inactive lead: a prospect who will not buy now but has future potential
• suspect: an inquiry that has been qualified and has the potential to result in a paying customer
• prospect: a lead that has been qualified in more detail
• customer: a prospect who has made a purchase

The terms being used are really important. What is relevant is for you to categorize the prospects based on the information that you collected. In this way, you can focus more of your resources on the most qualified prospects that will ideally convert to customers.

As with all vendors, be sure to make sure your internet lead vendor has excellent service and a good return policy.