Questions and Answers
‘ Can you fully explain, in simple
terms, the costs involved?’
Firstly, there are no hidden costs! This is a results orientated
system. You only pay for your reservation fee and the leads you
select. The cost for leads is £37.50 per lead. There is
a reservation fee of £495 per campaign area. We will endeavour
to supply you with 10 to 20 prospective leads per campaign area.
All prices exclude Vat.
‘ So how much will it cost me to
try your system?’
For 20 leads, including the reservation fee, you are looking at
spending approximately £1245 plus Vat per campaign area.
Which is, interestingly, less than the cost of even a small mail-shot
if you were to do it yourself. Remember, with The Lead Company,
you only pay for the leads after you have screened them. We can
do this because we benefit from considerable economies of scale.
We are operating in over 121 areas so the volume discounts we
receive are significant and our systems are set-up to run such
large campaigns smoothly and cost efficiently.
‘ What are your terms for payment?’
The reservation fee is payable immediately and we will not reserve
an area under any circumstances before receiving payment. The
safest way to ensure you reserve your participation is to call
and check the availability and then to fax back the reservation
form and include your credit card details. You pay for the leads
after you have had a chance to screen them, and before
your seminars.
‘ What about the risk involved?’
We take most of the risk. We pay for the marketing. We create the
presentation. We handle the replies. You only pay for the leads
you select. We take by far the largest risk in the knowledge
that we are confident that we can generate high calibre corporate
leads which you will then want to select.
‘ How do you define an exclusive
campaign area and how many firms can you work with?’
This varies according to location and is dependent on the availability
of target firms contained within our databases. For example, in
some postcode areas (major cities) we can work with more than one
firm of IFAs. However, past experience shows us that it is usual
for a single firm to end up taking all available campaign areas
in their locality. Using Manchester as an example, this could result
in a single firm paying 2 x reservation fees of £495 and
taking 50+ leads per campaign. In some areas, where there is a
limited number of potential contacts (i.e. Swansea) we could only
work with a single firm. The easiest way to think of a ‘campaign
area’ is a geographical location which allows us to generate
10+ leads per campaign.
‘ Do you compliance check the content
of the presentation and marketing materials?’
It is important to understand we are not a financial services company.
We are a lead generation marketing and promotions company specialising
in customer acquisition for IFAs. It is still your responsibility
to review all of the intended marketing and promotional materials
and the Powerpoint presentation to ensure it meets with your compliance
requirements. However, this material has been used by many firms
and in the unlikely event that any of the content does not meet
with your approval, please let us know and we will alter it.
‘ What content do you recommend
that I cover in my seminars?’
This is a very important point in regard to getting people to attend
your seminars in the first place. The key is to look at each
seminar as a method of opening a dialogue with a prospective
customer. The actual content is not necessarily the areas in
which you may wish to actually write business. The best example
of this was during the introduction of Stakeholder pensions a
few years ago. Whilst there was little to be gained by helping
companies set-up such a scheme, it was a great draw to get people
to attend seminars. Once the relationship with a prospective
customer was initiated, it allowed our participating firms a ‘way
in’ to sell more lucrative products and services. We will
recommend to you between seven and ten different topic areas
to ensure you have the maximum chance of enticing a cross spectrum
of company directors to your seminar. We also ask each attendee
to indicate which areas are of most interest, which is invaluable
information when you are looking to follow-up each lead.
‘ How do you generate your leads?’
We use a variety of methods depending on the area targeted, including
direct mail, personalised fax, telemarketing and email. We send
out advertising material to enquire if businesses in your target
area would be interested in attending your seminar. Included
in this information is an application form that must be completed,
signed and returned. We allow them to specify one guest. One
can therefore safely assume that those senior executives who
have spent the time to complete the form and return it, are very
interested in knowing more about your services.
‘ Why do you allow us to screen
the leads?’
Our pre-qualification process sets us apart from any other lead
generation company in the UK. It is only because we are so confident
in the quality of the leads that we allow you to screen the leads
prior to payment. One of the other reasons we allow you to screen
the leads is that some
may be existing clients, or individuals you have worked with
previously, and whom you might not wish to engage with again.
There is no charge for existing clients. Occasionally, other
IFA firms will find out you are running a seminar and will send
back an application. Whilst we filter these out, some occasionally
get through and hence you would not select them as a lead.
