The Lead-ing edge...

There has been much discussion recently on the MLM and Home-Based business forums about "leads". Of course it is a topic that comes up over and over.

"Leads" are the lifeblood of our business. A "lead" is a loose term to describe someone who may be interested in your product or service.

Of course you can generate your own leads both in the physical world via classified ads, radio ads, flyers, face to face networking, or you can generate leads in the virtual world via google ad-words, search engine optimization or internet marketing via splash pages or "lead capture" pages.

Many people simply do not have the resources or expertise to generate leads in this fashion,.. and that is where the "lead broker" comes in.

There are many "lead companies" out there, but only a very few that actually generate their own leads. They do so by simple forms that compel a potential buyer to provide information such as email address, phone number, physical address, and perhaps some more specific questions.

These "leads" are then distributed to the people who have purchased them. They are, in many cases, sold over and over and over. They are sold to other clients, sold to other lead companies who in turn sell them to other clients, and perhaps to other lead companies, and so on. It is not unusual for someone to be receiving contacts even 2 years after they originally filled out the online form.

As you can see, in many cases the "freshness" of the lead is important. Leads that are delivered in "real-time" are the freshest possible lead... their information is delivered to your email address literally the minute they submit their information. These are my second choice for the "best" lead.

My first choice is the telephone verified lead. The lead generation company has the leads filtered through a call center. The staff in the call center phone each person and verify that they did indeed fill out the information on the form, and that they are looking for a particular product and service. Only then do they send on the information to the client. This, as far as I am concerned, is the highest quality, most responsive individual you can get.

Expect to pay between $4.00 and $8.00 or more for this type of lead.

Once you have the lead information, it is up to you to make the most of the next steps.
What ever you do, DO NOT pick up the phone unless you are armed with some basic phone skills. Remember that once you have a voice on the other end of the phone, this "lead" stops being a lead and becomes a warm blooded human being with eeds, wants desires and dreams.

Your job is to relax, develop a connection, and provide information only if the two of you feel it is a good fit.

I use this very simple opener when calling leads:
"Hi Mary, this is Shelley Penney getting back to you. You recently filled out a form online requesting information about a ome business. I was calling to see what you had in mind when you filled out that form. Is this a good time?"

This is a great opener...... it shows respect for their time, and also opens up the conversation. It takes them away from any crisis that may be happening in their home right now, and brings them back to what they were interested in when they filled out the form in the first place.

Listen carefully, ask a few more questions to get to know them, and then say, "Mary, I don't know if what I am doing would be a good fit for you, but this is what I would like. I am going to give you a link to a website. You can check it out on your own and I will call you tomorrow and get your questions answered. How does that sound?"

Simple and effective...... Happy building !

Shelley Penney is a residual income specialist, trainer and consultant to the home based business trade.