How to succeed with Aged Leads

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As we embark on a new, but familiar, $7 lead generating system for mortgage protection the worry for all of us is quality. It certainly was mine. Most of us have experienced the “aged lead” programs from some of the largest IMO’s out there.

They have been sold several times over-and-over to agents within the organization and passed off as a great lead. Compensating agents with 55% to 70% commissions, or less for some products, with the expectation that you’ll make a living and want to recruit to this program.

The “Kool-Aid” is so compelling we signed up, just to find, it was a ruse. It was a way for them to recruit 1000’s of agents who write a few policies go broke and leave. Ever wonder why when you went to their convention the average agent was either just appointed or only been with the organization a few months? Only the lucky few have been there longer than a year.

Those agents don’t go broke because their bad sales people. They go broke because the lead quality is beyond poor and the compensation is ridiculously low! Sure, some are just not cut out for sales, but those are few. So, what makes our program different? Two important factors; lead quality and compensation.

The aged leads we are bringing onboard have only been sold once. When an aged lead is bought from inventory it’s gone for good never to return; not sold over and over again.

There is NO reduction in commission to access these $7 mortgage protection leads. Legacy has always and will always believe that agents deserve to be paid for the work they do. That means you get 40% higher commissions then you were getting. Couple higher lead quality and higher commissions and you have a fighting chance for success!

When discussing “A” leads the question most often asked is “…how much do they cost?” The question that should be asked is “what is the return-on-investment (ROI) can I expect?” Too often we are fixated on the cost per lead instead of the premium sold of a lead campaign. Regardless of how many or the per lead cost the real “acid” test is in how much premium you sold to achieve 5 times your ROI. I consider any lead campaign I run a success if I’ve made 5x my investment.

Why 5x? It means I’ve covered the cost of the campaign; I’m able to set aside monies for the next campaign; I’ve put money in my pocket to pay my bills. Knowing your ROI for any type of campaign, i.e. direct mail, internet leads or telemarketer leads etc., tells you the size of the campaign you need in order meet your income goals.

For example, let’s say your weekly lead budget is $500. You can buy about 10 “A” leads or 71 “Aged Leads”. With the A leads you should have about 5 sits or appointments (50%) and sell 2 or 3 apps (50%) or $1600 to $2500 in premium. But with the Aged Leads you have 11 sits (15%) you sell 3 or 4 apps (30%) or $2500 to $3500 in premium.

It doesn’t take an accountant to see which campaign provides the better ROI. Will you work a little harder using an Aged Lead campaign? Yes, but the ROI is almost double! In business the old adage of “cash is king” breeds success. Success then, comes down to your work ethic – the harder you work the more money you make.