What are Leads?
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   Leads are just what their name says.  They are information about people who may or may not have an interest in what you have to offer.  The important word here is people.  Being people, they are subject to all the whims and eccentricities that make each person individual.   We people are like snowflakes: No two will ever be the same.  And we will all be different tomorrow from what we are today.  Usually the difference from one day to the next is small and insignificant, but sometimes the difference can be huge.

Good Lead--Bad Timing

   I am always interested in a good idea.  For most opportunities, I am a good lead.

     That doesn't mean that I am, at all times, willing to listen to that good idea.  Believe me, you do not want to catch me before I have had my morning coffee.  Like I said, I am always interested in a good idea--but wait until I've had my coffee.

     And, I am not the least bit bashful, about picking up the telephone to call a prospect or a lead.  I do it all the time.  But if you call ME when I am sitting down to my dinner--then you have just become a pesky telemarketer.  Its funny how the shoe looks different when its on the other foot.

     The point is, that if a lead seems to respond badly to you don't fight it.  Don't get into a battle of wills with anyone.  If it happens that you have contacted a good lead at a bad time you may be able to save the lead, and even turn him or her into a prospect by simply asking if this is a bad time.  There is probably nothing to gain by insisting on going forward.

     What makes leads valuable is that a higher percentage of them will be willing to listen to what you have to say than you would get by taking names from a published source, say like the phone book or a business directory.  

     Depending on how the leads are generated, more of them should be willing to hear you out because they have taken some action to indicate that they have an interest in the general type of product or activity you are representing.

THE PERFECT LEAD

"The Perfect Lead" is a figment of someone's imagination.  It may have been planted there by a lead broker or an overly enthusiastic sponsor.  The honest truth is that you cannot buy a list of perfect leads.

The perfect lead is, of course,  the one that buys.  It would be wonderful  to have every lead be the perfect lead.  We all wish that could happen, but it can't.  Obviously, if someone ever figures out how to separate all the buyers from the tire kickers and looky-loos they will never sell those names to other marketers.  They will simply build the most magnificent organization, successline, or downline in the history of business

The down side to looking for the perfect lead, or in putting too much emphasis on finding a better lead, is that it detracts from the most important element of any sale: and that element is the person doing the selling, not the person being asked to buy.

Price vs. Value - Not a Simple Equation

     One might think that the price of the lead would be an indication of the percentage that will buy.  This is not necessarily so.  It also would seem that the more sophisticated the lead generation system is, the better qualified the leads will be and so the more willing they will be to become customers.  Again, its not necessarily so.

     In fact, the price of a lead is probably the poorest indicator of the sales percentage to be expected.  The price probably has much more to do with what kind of slick bells and whistles the technicians build into the systems that generate the leads.  One can put entertaining banner ads on the Web that lead people to fun and fancy pages with information forms that almost beg one to fill them out.  This kind of a layout could be very expensive to develop and maintain, and those expenses will be passed along to the lead purchaser.  But if the attraction was mainly a fun and games type of thing it is difficult to determine how much real enthusiasm that person has for starting a business, or losing weight, or buying products that would be beneficial to their health or appearance.

     Picture these two scenarios in your mind, and decide which result would be best for you.

I would much rather have the name of someone who clicked on a hammer-handed banner that said,
"I can show you how to earn money if you are willing to work"
than someone who filled out a form because it would enter them in a sweepstakes to win a trip to Hawaii or some other fabulous prize.

Buy Leads That Fit The Usage

     Highly sophisticated lead generation systems are likely to produce highly sophisticated buyers.  This is excellent for highly sophisticated salespeople.  However, if you are new to the business, or if you are training new distributors to build your successline, it is probably a better value to have less expensive leads because nothing will burn a new distributor out quicker than paying $10.00 each for leads that do not buy.  A lot of those $10.00 leads will probably buy from an "Ole Pro" but that "Ole Pro" had to burn a lot of lesser leads on his or her way to "Ole Pro-dom."  The main thing for new distributors is to have enough leads to get enough sales to survive to success.

     Probably the best rule about leads is to always have enough. Enough means that you know you always have someone to call, or email, or send a postcard to, or take whatever kind of action you like to take.  The most discouraging situation for a new distributor is when he or she has no sales, no prospects, and no leads.  If they only have leads, at least there is hope.  And where there is hope there is life. And where there is life there is success.  

     Keep in mind that working your leads is a process.  Some leads will become suspects.  Some suspects will become prospects.  Some prospects will become customers.  Some customers will become distributors.  Some distributors will become leaders.  The more leaders you find the greater success you will enjoy.  Your skill  will determine how many leads become suspects, and how many suspects become prospects, and how many prospects become customers.  By keeping track of how many of each move on to the next level in the process you will know which part of your own process you need to improve on.

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Performance Technology
Santa Monica, CA
310 394 7858
manager@prosperityhome.com