"I don't need another stinking lead generation software..."

Hey Offliner,

I don't mean to come across too harsh, but I'm pretty much done buying lead generation software.

It's not that I don't need more leads.

It's just that with rare exception, the dozens of software programs being sold to us offline marketers is nothing more than information compilers.

Meaning that they may gather data from several places like Manta, Yellow Pages and websites, but at the end of the day, they're still just compiling data of random business owners.

That's not what I consider a good quality lead.

I guess I have such a negative reaction to that because it takes me back to my early mortgage days.

In those days, my manager would just dump a pile of names and phone numbers on my desk and tell me to find the gold in there.

Yuck!

Even worse, for some reason, there was a extended period of time a year or two ago that I was a little dense.

I couldn't get it through my thick skull that any type of lead generation software developer can technically say that their software spits out a list of business owners.

That doesn't mean the list is worth two cents.

I'm ashamed to admit that it took me a while to realize that the value is not in the software's ability to compile a list.

The money is in the conversion funnel.

So because I was "stuck on stupid" for a while, I bought them all.

What a waste that was.

Needless to say, nothing magical happened from my list of random business owners compiled by the greatest data compilers on the market.

See, what you really want are business owners who have raised their hand and told you in one way or the other that they need your help in some way.

And that requires some focus, commitment and a real marketing strategy driving your decisions.

Now, truth be told, there are software programs that can pull the information of business owners who have posted to craigslist, facebook or linkedin asking for help.

That's more useful.

However, most of those software developers sold thousands of copies of the same software. So, business owners who post on those sites are getting hammered.

Smart for the developers, but tons of competition for us.

So, keep this in mind the next time somebody launches another software touting to find business owner leads.

It's not the list of random business owners that's valuable. It's the conversion funnel that gets them to hire you.

Now, go close some deals,

Chris