What Is A Bad Lead?
It seems like an easy question to answer, but many of us find it difficult to hold ourselves accountable to the definition. Let me explain. Over 80 percent of the companies we spoke with told us a bad lead is simply a bad phone number, a disconnected phone number or someone who said they did not apply. What we in fact discovered is that, at times, some of us who are newer to Internet lead purchasing are requesting credit for customers we cannot get in touch with or even some who want credit for leads that did not go to application.

If the lead company provides a lead from an interested party and the contact information is valid, then they did their job. After that the onus is on us and our trained loan officers to close the deal. There needs to be a healthy give-and-take in the relationship between the lead vendor and the mortgage company. Just like a dating relationship, we try to be on our best behavior, and somewhere along the line, our true colors are shown. Each of us needs to have a healthy appreciation of the other’s business; if we have that, we can put our best foot forward from the start and maintain a strong business partnership throughout.We all know things occur in our operations, e.g., new loan officers start, our programs change, new competition etc. Contrary to a few beliefs out there, not every lead you receive will fund. It is the lead provider’s responsibility to prevent you from getting “bad” leads and in fact credit those where the customer obviously was not interested. That said, it’s the mortgage company’s responsibility to not take advantage of the situation.

In my travels to industry tradeshows and seminars, I am still amazed by the type of questions I get from lead buyers: “Greg, do you know what companies ‘guarantee’ their leads?” or “Can your company ‘guarantee’ a funding rate of 5% or higher? Do you give credit for ‘ineligible’ customers?” When I ask them their definitions of “guarantee” or “ineligible,” I get a variety of answers. The simple truth is that their questions are a direct response to the frustration that has built up over the years from dealing with various lead companies in the industry. A healthy initial dialogue on the part of the lead buyer and seller is needed before marketing dollars are spent and contracts are signed. There are some very specific questions to ask the lead provider in determining the overall value and lead quality they bring to your company. Once you have those down your lead provider becomes and extension of your marketing department and not just a vendor.

Submitted by Greg Kazmierczak