Raw, verified, exclusive leads: what these words do to the price
Two offers of “leads” can vary fivefold for the same trade. It is neither a scam nor a bargain: they are not selling the same thing. Here is the vocabulary, as the market really uses it.
The five levels, from cheapest to most expensive
- Raw: someone filled in a form, full stop. The number may be wrong, the need vague, the person may have filled in six forms that day. It is the cheapest, and that is normal: some will never answer.
- Verified: the contact has been confirmed: the phone answers, the address exists. You pay for the certainty of talking to someone, not yet for that someone’s interest.
- Qualified: someone has spoken to the person and confirmed the need, the timing, sometimes the budget. You are no longer paying for a contact, you are paying for a conversation that has already happened.
- Appointment: the slot is booked, all that remains is to turn up. The most expensive per unit, often the cheapest per signed customer.
- Exclusive or shared: a dimension that cuts across the others. A shared lead is sold to several businesses at once; you are competing from the first second. An exclusive one is sold only to you: more expensive per unit, without the race.
The cheapest often costs the most
The calculation never stops at the unit price. A cheap, shared raw lead, reachable one time in two and fought over by three competitors, can produce a signed customer that costs more than an exclusive qualified lead paid three times as much. The only honest comparison is the cost per signed customer: price of the lead ÷ real conversion rate. As long as you do not know your rate, the price shown tells you almost nothing.
At equal qualification, speed makes the difference
A shared lead called within five minutes is often worth more than an exclusive one called back the next day. Qualification sets the potential; your organisation decides what you get out of it. That is why buying leads without having organised the call-back (who calls, how fast, with what script) is like renting a hall without putting anyone at the front desk.
How to read a lead offer
Before you sign, demand answers to these four questions:
- Is the lead exclusive or shared, and if it is shared, among how many buyers?
- What exactly has been verified: the phone? the need? the project’s timing?
- Is there a replacement policy for wrong numbers and off-target leads?
- Where does the lead come from: which ad, which promise did they see? A lead attracted by “free quote, no commitment” is not as ripe as one who compared three offers.
Faced with two prices, always ask the same question: which lead are we talking about, raw, verified, exclusive? Without that answer, the comparison is worthless.