Phoenix AZ | Scottsdale AZ Real Estate

Unless you want to hammer the phones with cold calls, I wouldn't pay for leads.

We do not purchase leads, our marketing efforts on the different venues brings us enough leads we don't have to pay for them I have done that in past never worked out. Have a great weekend.

I tried a 3rd party company when I first became a realtor.  I was faithfully sending out poscards and hoping for a response when I saw a name that I recognized!  It was someone that I knew who had horrible credit and a police record a mile long!  And this company was selling me their name as a qualified buyer!  I cancelled my membership and now get my business solely from referrals, relocation companies, and floor calls.

I do not buy leads, however I have had many companies approach me asking me to purchase them. There was no guarantee how qualified the lead was so . . . I did not pursue it. I generate my own through many different avenues.

Short answer:  no! 

I've heard too many stories of agents paying for very low quality leads.  If anyone wants to sell you a service, I'd ask them if you can talk to any of THEIR satisfied subscribers.  Likewise, anyone who wants to sell you advertising - can they tell you what kind of success the agents using them are having?  I find that most of these outfits cannot provide you any numbers at all, so essentially they are trying to get you to pay hundreds of dollars up front for a pig in a poke that they cannot measure.  Best wishes!

James,  when buying leads from a 3rd party it is kind of like playing russian roulette.  It is only a matter of time before you start pulling your hair out.  Every lead company I have used has sent me leads that were either sold multiple times, 6 months old, or just simply names on a sheet with no qualifications.  I will never buy leads again.  You may as well just put your advertising budget in the fireplace, it will get the same result.

James - I have never heard of any 3rd party lead program work, there might be some that do, but I haven't heard of any.

No way, man! Never pay for what you can generate yourself through proper advertising and self promotion. Maybe if those companies would get paid at closing rather than upfront for a lead that is no good, perhaps I would consider.

No way, man! Never pay for what you can generate yourself through proper advertising and self promotion. Maybe if those companies would get paid at closing rather than upfront for a lead that is no good, perhaps I would consider.

James, in my experience, it has been more effective to invest money in developing your brand online.  If one really needs to just spend money, then my advice is to learn how to effectively use Pay Per Click search and you will then be generating your own leads directly.  Yes, you will be competing with the lead gen companies, but provided you are giving the prospect valuable information at your website (and everyone should be), you should have a higher closing ratio, and as Chris pointed out, you won't be dialing the phones - they will be call YOU!

I am a local and I do often share leads with agents as you eluded to. I'd love to chat about how we can best work together.

~ Anthony

Seems there are a million people out there that want to take money from Realtors. Don't waste yours. I'm betting the "leads" aren't all that great.

"A lead, is a lead, is a lead"...right? Absolutely not! All leads are different, and our program is definitely different from companies such as Homegain, Homes, Realtor, etc... In honesty one of the hardest hurdles for us to over come are back experiences with these companies who sell leads of seller value. More than likely 2 out of 10 realtors you talk to will describe a bad experience from a lead generation company. Ranging from non-exclusive, leads were slow, non-scrubbed leads, bad leads, and I could never get a hold of the company.

Leads are the life-blood of most successful realtors, either by receiving leads by your own advertising means, or using a 3rd party company. I can tell you that there are a lot of very bad lead generation companies, and then there are a few really good ones. Having 70% of your clients renew, sending out more leads then they are guarnteed, trying to get them more phone number contacts, EXCLUSIVE leads, and making sure the leads are fresh.... that is a company that Realtors do want to sign up with.

No mind you I do work at a Realtor Lead Generation company (and no need on my end to spam the name) so I am a bit biased. But there are many successful realtors in the business who are receiving leads from companies such as mine. So the cup doesn't have to be half-empty. Just my $0.02

It depends how the leads are generated.

I'm a realtor that made 180k last year using leads I gererated myself, in much the same way that the leads for sale from lending tree and the like are generated. I have a team with 3 buyer agents whom I supply as well.  These are good leads that I've relied on for 5 years and built my business on.  My best buyer agent just did 100k in his first 6 months. 

If anyone is interested in buying my out-of-market leads I'm happy to chat with them about it.  I can also generate leads in your area on a per-lead basis.  I'll even supply the script I use to book appointments and pre-qualify. I'm not a company specializing in lead generation, just a Realtor like yourselves looking to diversify my income.

Currently I book one appointment for every 5 new leads that come in.  1 in 10 close.  My buyer agents do roughly the same, though closer to 1 in 20.  I'll even throw in some free coaching if you're interested.  email me if you want more information.  Comments welcome!

"that are offering offering live real estate buyer leads and/or mortgage sales leads." When you say this, are you reffering to people who are already qualified and ready to buy now?

If your looking for these types of leads, expect to pay quite a lot of money. Verified Buying Leads can cost anywhere from $100 - $250 per lead.

If you are looking for leads that can become buyers, "marbles in a jar" leads they range from $5.00 (horrible leads) to about $45.00 (higher end leads).

The point being... you get what you pay for. And a last point... the leads are also only as good as you are on selling them. Some Realtors just have to face it.. they're not good. You can give 10 Realtors 100 leads each, and I bet you all of them will sell differently.

One or two might sell 8 homes... 3 might sell 4 homes, 2 might sell 2 homes, 2 might sell 1 home, and 1 might not might sell anything. The 2 that sold 8 homes will say "these are the best leads ever!" and the person who didn't sell anything might say "these leads suck, what a rip off". What's the difference here?

We are approached often about internet generated leads. We all need leads and it can be tempting, but don't forget the basics that worked for you in the past. I know a top producing Realtor who routinely purchases leads at about $30 to $40 each and said she spends about $500 a month.  But when I asked her about how many actually led to a closing she was unable to remember even one! This person has a a very large ongoing ad campaign, but I bet she will review this expense when her one year contract is complete!

Options - I know a mortgage guy who buys leads and spends between 20-30 bucks a lead and is doing great. Dont think he would have busines otherwise

I'd take 250 leads at 10 bucks each over having to pay a 25% referral fee for a 'qualified' buyer.