Ledger Leads

[erchess]

I have been approached by an organization called Ledger Leads of Encino California and I wonder if anyone on the board knows anything good or bad about them.

[DTS]

Leads

I received an email this morning from them, as well. I did not contact them, but I suspect they send you leads for accounting clients on a per lead basis, it's up to you to land the client. You are on the hook for the lead fee, regardless of landing the client.

[erchess]

Talked To them today

They are cold calling telemarketers who contact businesses screened to your specifications for such things as location, revenue, industry, and number of employees. Your caller can call for eight hours a day for $2K a month or four hours a day for $1.1K a month. They do set appointments for you but there appears to be no guarantee of how many appointments you will get in a month and as was noted you are paying for the right to talk to people and closing deals is up to you.

I was not surprised by the fact that they are looking for around 12 bucks an hour to do telemarketing for you but I was disappointed that four hours a day for a whole month was the smallest package they had.

I wonder if anyone knows of a lead generating service where you can pay only for the leads you convert into paying customers. I would pay half of the first year fee for every new client someone got for me but I have little interest in paying more than a few cents for a prospect.

[ChEAr$]

May I suggest

that instead of using such a service, you simply go down to your own town's clerk's office,
or whichever office that issues business licenses. You may then obtain the same information that this and other companies get and sell.

Same goes for county offices, e.g. in this state, the county judge of probate's office.

[erchess]

Harlan You're Missing The Point

that instead of using such a service, you simply go down to your own town's clerk's office,
or whichever office that issues business licenses. You may then obtain the same information that this and other companies get and sell.

Same goes for county offices, e.g. in this state, the county judge of probate's office.

I know perfectly well how to find the new business licenses in the municipality that I target. I am however not a marketer and I am looking to hire someone to set appointments for me but (and so far this is always a deal breaker) I am unwilling to pay by the hour or the appointment but instead want to pay by the closed deal, even up to half of the first year's fee.

[ChEAr$]

Ah so;

I know perfectly well how to find the new business licenses in the municipality that I target. I am however not a marketer and I am looking to hire someone to set appointments for me but (and so far this is always a deal breaker) I am unwilling to pay by the hour or the appointment but instead want to pay by the closed deal, even up to half of the first year's fee.

I didn't know that was the point. (grin)

But my way costs less.

[erchess]

Yes

I didn't know that was the point. (grin)

But my way costs less.

You are right your way costs less. And quite frankly I cannot yet afford the company in question and when I can afford them I may be so busy as to not desire more leads other than word of mouth.

[oceanlovin'ea]

Got that email too.

I got that email too. I just deleted it. I can't afford these big fees. I have had a couple of other companies call and want to set me up with companies needed bookkeeping or accounting services. But their fee was more than I could afford to spend right now.

Just taking such things slow right now. Other priorities for me.

Linda F

[ED SMITH]

I know perfectly well how to find the new business licenses in the municipality that I target. I am however not a marketer and I am looking to hire someone to set appointments for me but (and so far this is always a deal breaker) I am unwilling to pay by the hour or the appointment but instead want to pay by the closed deal, even up to half of the first year's fee.

Telemarketers get paid by the hour and a bonus for setting an appointment. Unless you want to train the marketer on how your business operates, provide a presentation, and pay a hefty commission, it is better for you if you can close the deal yourself. Most potential clients are going to want to meet you at their office.

There is a lot more to business-to-business sales than meets the eye. In fact, it is quite an art. However, there are many good books available on this subject, which you can get from your local library or bookstore and then train yourself.

[Zee]

Years ago my partner & I used a company in Minnesota that offered leads. There was no upfront fee, but if you signed up a client they charged the first year's revenue. This was for write-up and tax work. We found the leads not to be very good. If someone expressed even a remote interest, an appointment was scheduled. It wasn't worth the effort.

[Snaggletooth]

Database companies

A number of these web-based, search-based, data-based companies have sprung up with the advent of the internet. Those who advertise "tailer-making" opportunities for you actually do their "tailer-making" simply by putting screens onto their data extractions.

If you have experience with "monster.com" or internet dating services, you can get an idea of just how "tailer-made" some of these opportunities really are...

[Zee]

In our situation, the potential clients had been contacted and agreed to meet with us. Most were only "mildly" interested in write-up services. Often, they would cancel the appointment at the last minute. Anyway, there was some type of "qualifying" done, but obviously not much. We acquired a few clients this way, and essentially worked for nothing the first year. If you kept the client, it paid off. It was much like purchasing a practice in smaller increments. We were able to keep those few we purchased, but since we still had to do most of the selling it was really too expensive.