Have you received e-mails regarding "Free Leads" lately? Like the saying goes.... If it looks too good to be true! One cannot go one day without reading about yet another mortgage company or broker getting out of the business. With so many of the larger players either filing for bankruptcy or significantly changing their lending criteria we are seeing applications of the non-prime customer not being accepted.
For the lead companies what this means is the inability to resell the leads they generated and paid marketing dollars for. Most genuine lead companies generate their online leads through the following sources:

1. SEO or search engine optimization of their site
2. Working with affiliate partners, other websites that will place their banners or send out e-mails in exchange for remuneration if someone clicks on the ad or completes the lead form
3. Pay per click advertising

Many lead companies are unable to filter their marketing dollars to attract prime credit internet customers. What this means is each day leads are going unsold. As the industry further realigns itself the cost of mortgage leads to the lead companies will further increase. So how can a company afford to give away leads for FREE? The answer is they can't. It is a common ploy to get you to try them out, some in fact will send you good “free” leads and THEN once you sign a contract they will be happy to flood you with bad lead as part of the mix. At that point you’re on the hook for the full contract amount.
We encourage you to read some of the articles on this Blog to learn more about lead generation and what a true lead generation company does how they generate leads and how they make money. Knowing this will give you a greater appreciation of why mortgage leads are going up in price and not the opposite.