InSearch of the Elusive Quality Lead...

Every person who owns their own business knows that success is dependant on a consistent supply of customers. For Direct Marketing, MLM and other similar businesses, a consistent supply of quality leads is the lifeblood of their business. Without these leads, the business will wither and die on the vine before it even gets started. So, where do you get these elusive quality leads? When I started my home business, I was told very clearly that I needed to find a consistent supply of quality leads.

Every person who owns their own business knows that success is dependant on a consistent supply of customers. For Direct Marketing, MLM and other similar businesses, a consistent supply of quality leads is the lifeblood of their business. Without these leads, the business will wither and die on the vine before it even gets started.

So, where do you get these elusive quality leads?

When I started my home business, I was told very clearly that I needed to find a consistent supply of quality leads. Not just a list of names and email addresses, but the names and addresses MUST belong to people who are actually interested in what I have to offer. This is the difference between "quality leads" and any old leads that can be obtained virtually anywhere.

So I started my search for quality leads.

What I discovered was at best shocking, and at worst, business destroying.

I learned very quickly that all leads are not equal. I learned that the leads that were easily obtained, were not worth anything like the exorbitant cost for those leads...and they could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be called quality leads!

I started my search on the internet. What an eye-opening experience!

Have you been to a local county fair? Remember the stalls and games of skill where you''re seduced by the promise of a huge stuffed toy if you just throw a hoop over a peg, or throw a ball through a hole or any of a thousand other games that the attendant demonstrates with such ease? Remember the sights and sounds? Remember the clamor of stall holders competing with each other to seduce you to part with your dollars? I loved these places. I would look for the game that looked the easiest, pay my money and concentrate deeply as I tried to win the big prize. Only to be disappointed that I couldn''t do it...but I usually came away with a prize of some sort. Usually some little toy that was worth a fraction of what I had paid. It was years before I realized that the rings were too small to fit the pigs, or the ball was not quite round or any of the other tricks used by the stall holders to reduce their risk of loss. After all, they were there to make money...not give away prizes.

Why tell you this?

Because the lead sellers on the internet are no different than the stall holders at the county fair. They are in business to make money. They seduce you with promises of quality leads if you just pay $200 for 1500 fresh quality leads. It sounds like a good deal. So you pay your money and get your leads, only to discover that the game is rigged. The leads you receive are not quality leads. They are in fact leads that have been harvested from many sources, sold many times and are for people who have no interest in your business. Many of the leads are to email addresses that simply no longer exist, or have full mailboxes. The promise of the huge soft toy overflowing with fresh new quality leads is nothing more than the lure to get your money...it is not the quality leads you expected.

Does this sound familiar? Have you been searching for quality leads only to find yourself paying good money for something that is impossible to find?

Well, I found a solution to this problem. There IS a way to obtain a steady flow of fresh, new, quality leads...and it IS possible to get these leads at absolutely no cost.

No longer do you have to listen to the clamor of the lead vendors, each offering you bigger and better deals for the same old leads that you bought last time. When searching for the elusive quality lead, you must know where the lead came from, what the lead was interested in, and how old it is. You must also know how often that lead has been sold.

Make sure you ask the lead vendor these questions before paying them any money. Make sure you know what you are getting and how much you should be paying for each lead.

Ummm...you DO know how much a lead is worth to you, don''t you?

My next article will examine how to calculate the value of a lead so you know how much to pay. Paying too much is just as deadly to your business as buying poor quality leads.

After all, you are in business to make money, not to purchase stuffed toys from the local county fair!

I am self motivated and smart worker