Who Buys Leads?

[YouGotMyMoney]

How many leads can an agent generate from 1 website a month? 10-20 perhaps?

bob is right, although mb not his point, but an indy agent who sells ins themselves, is only going to be able to devote x amount of time to lead generation (seo) . Even though everything in SEO can be successfully outsourced, I dont think many agents outsource seo tasks. then eventually if ur successful with seo, u will prob need to build an agency/hire agents, or go the route of selling ur leads.

 

[Bob Klee]

bob is right, although mb not his point, but an indy agent who sells ins themselves, is only going to be able to devote x amount of time to lead generation (seo) . Even though everything in SEO can be successfully outsourced, I dont think many agents outsource seo tasks. then eventually if ur successful with seo, u will prob need to build an agency/hire agents, or go the route of selling ur leads.

YGMM: agree with you for sure!

Most good SEO folks that I know make over $100k a year. Yes, it can be outsourced...but one must be careful as there are many, many scammers that "do" SEO that take your money with promises like: In 6 months you'll be #1 in Google search for Auto Insurance....Guaranteed! And take your money & run....never able to hit the target you need. I've been scammed a few times myself & I'm in the business! :(

All I'm really getting at is do what You do Best: Insurance! If you think you can do website/SEO/PPC & love to do it....get out of insurance & do it! You can make a good living either way. But to be a 1 man insurance agency trying to make a good living & trying to be good enough to build a web site, do the SEO/PPC to drive enough leads to grow your agency....best of luck...sincerely.

I guess we all have dreams but I'd rather do one thing with Excellence than try to do everything myself. In my case as an insurance agent, that was a large agency with multiple licensed staff vs. me doing everything....but like I said...we all have dreams/goals of how we see ourselves & our agencies.

 

[Guest]

Oh man ok let me catch up here guys i took the weekend off

Internet lead agents also don't have to worry about what happens when google changes it's algorithm, they just buy leads from the guys that are on the top now. -JOSH

this depends on what you consider worse being at the mercy of the search engines or some lead generation company whom gets their leads from people at the top of search engines. in addition, lets be real most (not all) of these affiliates will also use the questionable tactics to acquire these leads. I mean whos got a lead thats answered and told you they only gave their information for farmville points or to win an Ipad? So your very argument breaks down when google changes its algorithm and the lead company has to continuously change affiliates. quality will never be consistent as if someone were to invest time into creating a quality domain where they can trust where the leads come from.

How many leads can an agent generate from 1 website a month? 10-20 perhaps? Is that enough to grow an agency with? Can an agent stay on top of the trends & what works + run an agency? Maybe a few can.... -BOB

Have you ran a lead generation website? you have to have i mean you own HTQ. We both know that is a statistical understatement. I only target 3 keywords and my highest ranking is only 3. last month I was able to generate 75 leads and Ive only been doing my own seo for about 4 months. I do agree with you though bob, I dont see how someone can stay on top of the trends & what works + run an agency on internet leads.

I'm not saying it cannot be done....but if any agent has time to build a BOB with annual commissions of $200k++ [1998-2006] and has time to do build their own website, SEO/PPC on the side to drive 100+ leads/month to their own agency.....WOW! You are a super star in my book! Keep it up -BOB

again you're right, old habits are hard to break especially when they work. my argument is not that "internet leads do not work" it is that there are better more effective methods to build that BOB. Also I'm curious did you build that allstate book on internet leads bob? Im new to the game so correct me if im wrong but in California captive companies will find it near impossible to compete in the internet lead game since its a broker dominated market. I find it hard to believe internet leads played any mentionable role in your success.

All I'm really getting at is do what You do Best: Insurance! If you think you can do website/SEO/PPC & love to do it....get out of insurance & do it! You can make a good living either way. But to be a 1 man insurance agency trying to make a good living & trying to be good enough to build a web site, do the SEO/PPC to drive enough leads to grow your agency....best of luck...sincerely. -BOB

See I guess this is where we have different views. I did not open an insurance brokerage because I love insurance or because I was the most knowledgeable in this field I did it because insurance is an intangible commodity (at least p&c). I am an entrepreneur and what I do best is learn and perform. Being a problem solver is why I opened my business. I started in the business working internet leads for an indy broker. I saw the problem working there was internet leads. I knew I could solve the problem and capitalize on it so I quit started my own and for the 1st month or 2 I worked internet leads. After long hours and expected returns I found better ways. That's when I started networking with car dealerships and operating my website. Now I am nowhere near successful but as a solo agent only operating for 8 months last month I was able to generate 75 internet leads (not including dealership quotes or the people that just called directly from my site and did not fill out a quote form). I also converted 32 of those into policies so I will also argue quality and quantity.

Now if you are working internet leads yes it can take you all day to contact new leads and follow up with old leads (I used to work the past 5 days and 1 day of 2 week olds at 15/day). this is why i compare internet leads to dial up. lets take the example of the one agent operation you mentioned earlier.

agent A is calling an internet lead list will take an agent at least 1/2-3/4 of the day to generate 1-2 deals and the service taking up the other portion. This agent will take forever to build a healthy book and work himself into the wee hours of the night.

agent B has an amateur website can average 5-7 leads / day (my actual statistics) he make 5-7 calls per day vs the 80+ agent A does on internet leads and closes the same 1-2 deals. he then spends the rest of the day on service and working on improving website rankings.

next month agent A is rinse and repeat unless he increases his lead budget while agent B now is averaging 6-8 leads / day and 2-2.5 deals / day. Agent A is in the rat race while agent B can continue on developing other forms of marketing.

If what you do best is insurance, then yes you probably should work internet leads or sell under someone that owns a business. Look at McDonalds everything they serve is grown or raised and processed by them. Corporations and successful business are self sustaining.

I guess I should change my question now: Who owns an agency/brokerage and buys leads?

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Look at McDonalds everything they serve is grown or raised and processed by them.

Interesting take. Coca Cola and Newman's Own salad dressings might be interested to learn this.

 

[Josh]

last month I was able to generate 75 leads and Ive only been doing my own seo for about 4 months. .

agent B has an amateur website can average 5-7 leads / day (my actual statistics) he make 5-7 calls per day vs the 80+ agent A does on internet leads and closes the same 1-2 deals. he then spends the rest of the day on service and working on improving website rankings.

Anyone else have a broken calculator? I'm missing how 5-7 leads/day only equals 75/month.

I guess I should change my question now: Who owns an agency/brokerage and buys leads?

What's the answer you're looking for? I get that you're excited about how your site is working and congrats on that, even at $10/lead that'd be $750/month in "free" leads, so that's definitely praiseworthy. I think where you're losing some popularity (and credibility) points is when seem to be claiming that your way is the only way and anyone that does any different is a sucker. I think that's the gist of what most of the folks here are saying.

 

[Guest]

Anyone else have a broken calculator? I'm missing how 5-7 leads/day only equals 75/month.



What's the answer you're looking for? I get that you're excited about how your site is working and congrats on that, even at $10/lead that'd be $750/month in "free" leads, so that's definitely praiseworthy. I think where you're losing some popularity (and credibility) points is when seem to be claiming that your way is the only way and anyone that does any different is a sucker. I think that's the gist of what most of the folks here are saying.

haha ok my math is wrong just adjust the math for me will ya it actually goes with my point more-so now if it takes less calls to make the same deals.

Im not excited and this is not a brag topic. Its a straight up why would you waste your time and money paying for internet leads topic. Thank you for participating but I am still not convinced that anyone who wants to grow a successful business should be working internet leads. Im not trying to be popular or credible nor am I claiming my way is better. I never once said my way is better I only said there are better ways and provided examples of ways I feel are better. And the reality is the conversation is only really me you and bob and bob is a lead vendor so that pretty much just leaves me you and a few interjections.

I'm just trying to thumbs down purchasing internet leads and promote more creative ways of thinking and marketing.

 

[Josh]

haha ok my math is wrong just adjust the math for me will ya it actually goes with my point more-so now if it takes less calls to make the same deals.

You said 75 last month which totals at around 2-3/day.

Im not excited and this is not a brag topic.

Why aren't you excited? You started a site from scratch, took a bunch of time to learn and invested time and energy, now you get "free" leads? That's worth being excited about.

Its a straight up why would you waste your time and money paying for internet leads topic.

That's just it. "Why would you waste your time and money paying for internet leads". The answer, which you seem to readily dismiss, is that for many it's not a waste of time and money. For many it's a worthwhile investment that helps them earn a very healthy income. Many folks wouldn't be content with the amount of leads you're getting.

Thank you for participating but I am still not convinced that anyone who wants to grow a successful business should be working internet leads.

Again, I think the success you're experiencing with your site is something worth being proud of and excited about. On that same point, there have been thousands of agents who have been selling insurance long before you ever created your site that have been extremely successful growing their businesses with internet leads. That's a fact. Not a theory, not a guess, a fact. I know agents that right now are doing a great job earning a very healthy living "wasting their time and money" on internet leads. These aren't pajama men either, these are guys I know personally.

Im not trying to be popular or credible nor am I claiming my way is better. I never once said my way is better I only said there are better ways and provided examples of ways I feel are better.

You've said point blank that you think people are wasting their time and money paying for internet leads. That definitely implies (if not directly states) that you think your way is better.

And the reality is the conversation is only really me you and bob and bob is a lead vendor so that pretty much just leaves me you and a few interjections.

The reality is that this forum gets thousands of visitors every day and topics about leads tend to get extra attention. This isn't just a conversation between you and Bob with the occasional interjection from me, it's a discussion in a very public place that hundreds if not thousands of people are reading and/or will read.

Dont take it personal I should be working on my website but seo is actually quite boring. So if anyone has a better method than those mentioned please share because it should be evident by now I strongly support the most profit for the least amount of work mentality.

As Larry pointed out earlier, the folks that are the most successful in this industry are those that diversify. It's not just about buying internet leads or making a website, it's about getting a lot of activity. I'm a huge fan of cold calling, but I still think for folks doing cold calling they should be buying leads from Insurance Quotes: Homeowners Insurance Quotes Auto Insurance Quotes and working those as they come in as well. On top of that they might want to try some aged leads or some other methods as well. Considering all that's available an agent would be negligent to not be proficient at multiple marketing methods, if only to find out what works best for them.

The truth about leads is that there are people that are successful with nearly every type of lead generation system, but not every lead generation system is right for everyone. Heck, things that work in one county might not work in the next, what works for FE might not work for Med supps with the same audience. Buying internet leads might yield a better ROI than generating them yourself on some products and on others you might be better building your own site.

 

[ltcadviser]

+1 on what Josh said.

I guess some professional agents have more time than I did when I was an agent. But I know from personal experience, having built 2 agencies in the top 10-15% with Allstate, that running my agency was a full time job....finding time to build HTQ above my garage back in 2004....thankfully I had excellent support staff as I was working 80-100+ hours/week in those days.

How many leads can an agent generate from 1 website a month? 10-20 perhaps? Is that enough to grow an agency with? Can an agent stay on top of the trends & what works + run an agency? Maybe a few can....

I'm not saying it cannot be done....but if any agent has time to build a BOB with annual commissions of $200k++ [1998-2006] and has time to do build their own website, SEO/PPC on the side to drive 100+ leads/month to their own agency.....WOW! You are a super star in my book! Keep it up

Well, I think Ralph's point is that by building your own website that generates 100 ++ leads per month will result in said BOB.

I don't think Ralph is saying buying Internet leads is for suckers. Technically, having your own website is buying Internet leads. It is just the difference between wholesale/retail and shared/exclusive. Of course a wholesale exclusive lead has more value than a shared retail lead. Ralph isn't saying anything that is less than obvious.

 

[Guest]

You said 75 last month which totals at around 2-3/day.

I guess I should have clarified a bit more. the majority of the leads came towards the end of the month when I gained a couple positions. towards the end of the month and into now I am averaging about 5-7 leads but the 75 does not reflect those positions throughout the month.

Why aren't you excited? You started a site from scratch, took a bunch of time to learn and invested time and energy, now you get "free" leads? That's worth being excited about.

im not excited because i guess i expect more. I am very pro my position because last month i literally lived off my prior efforts. I ended up working the least amount ever since I started yet I had my most profitable month. I should have used my time more wisely to keep growing my business but instead I partied pretty hard..... the point is if I were working purchased leads I wouldn't have been able to take a 2 week vacation and still make money.

That's just it. "Why would you waste your time and money paying for internet leads". The answer, which you seem to readily dismiss, is that for many it's not a waste of time and money. For many it's a worthwhile investment that helps them earn a very healthy income. Many folks wouldn't be content with the amount of leads you're getting.

again its not that leads dont work. my argument is for the fact that there are plenty of ways to make the same amount of money, if not more, with less time and effort. I guess i should have directed this to people who only work internet leads or who use internet leads as their main source. again I agree with the guy who is working internet leads and trying to generate his own. thats how I started. what i dont understand is those guys that have worked internet leads for years, established them selves, have nicely lined pockets and continue to use internet leads with very little other methods in marketing.

Again, I think the success you're experiencing with your site is something worth being proud of and excited about. On that same point, there have been thousands of agents who have been selling insurance long before you ever created your site that have been extremely successful growing their businesses with internet leads. That's a fact. Not a theory, not a guess, a fact. I know agents that right now are doing a great job earning a very healthy living "wasting their time and money" on internet leads. These aren't pajama men either, these are guys I know personally.

I know and to those people Im trying to ask if you have had success using others leads why not generate your own (not promoting any specific method) and have more success and become less reliant on others for your success?

You've said point blank that you think people are wasting their time and money paying for internet leads. That definitely implies (if not directly states) that you think your way is better.

no it directly states my opinion. i clarified that i am not promoting my own methods. I know (fact) that their are better ways to market but please dont mistake my personal examples as a way to self promote. I can think of a lot of methods of marketing that are better than mine that I am not involved in yet.

The reality is that this forum gets thousands of visitors every day and topics about leads tend to get extra attention. This isn't just a conversation between you and Bob with the occasional interjection from me, it's a discussion in a very public place that hundreds if not thousands of people are reading and/or will read.

please re read. you were trying to speak for others in the topic. i merely stated the conversation is between me and you with interjections and bob.

As Larry pointed out earlier, the folks that are the most successful in this industry are those that diversify. It's not just about buying internet leads or making a website, it's about getting a lot of activity. I'm a huge fan of cold calling, but I still think for folks doing cold calling they should be buying leads from Insurance Quotes: Homeowners Insurance Quotes Auto Insurance Quotes and working those as they come in as well. On top of that they might want to try some aged leads or some other methods as well. Considering all that's available an agent would be negligent to not be proficient at multiple marketing methods, if only to find out what works best for them.

yes i also believe in diversification. Im not questioning multiple methods. Im just saying there is a certain method I feel that should be omitted. I mean if you are looking to supplement leads why buy them fresh for $10 when you could cold call or buy aged leads for 1/3 of the price?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well, I think Ralph's point is that by building your own website that generates 100 ++ leads per month will result in said BOB.

I don't think Ralph is saying buying Internet leads is for suckers. Technically, having your own website is buying Internet leads. It is just the difference between wholesale/retail and shared/exclusive. Of course a wholesale exclusive lead has more value than a shared retail lead. Ralph isn't saying anything that is less than obvious.

+1

 

[OHFLAgent]

Different approach? Seriously? I could give you twenty folks (off the top of my head, and here in Tampa Bay), plus HPO and Humana who do this.

Yea, thanks (eyes rolling)...different for us.