Hi,

Any recommendation where to buy leads from? I have seen few web hosting directories but I have forgotten where from.

Thank you for any input in advance.

I wouldn't waste my money buying "leads" for web hosting. Sales leads are great for office supplies, equipment, etc. Stuff that companies keep buying.

Web hosting is a different game. Would a "lead" be someone who HAS a website, or someone who DOESN'T? If it's someone who already has a website, they probably wouldn't want to switch - especially when presented via a phone call, e-mail, or otherwise intrusive sales presentation. And if it's someone who DOESN'T have a website, well ... it's 2004. I would venture to say that pretty much everyone who wants a website already has one. There really aren't that many people left who want a website and don't know where to turn, hosting companies are EVERYWHERE.

So marketing should not exist? :D

Originally posted by Indy4
. I would venture to say that pretty much everyone who wants a website already has one. There really aren't that many people left who want a website and don't know where to turn, hosting companies are EVERYWHERE.
LMAO yeh right :rolleyes:

hosting companies are EVERYWHERE.
Thats why UltraUnixNET wants leads so he can attracked more customers his way.

Yeap :D He is telling us that Mcd is doing a big mistake for advertising...

We build lead distribution systems for leads companies and I think there would be a very good market for web hosting and web design leads. It actually surprises me that there are not a lot of companies doing this already simply because of the high price of PPC for web hosting related terms. Most other industries with high PPC rates also have lead companies selling those leads. There are a lot of technology sites that I am sure could gather very qualified leads for web hosting. Obviously, that is what WHT is starting to do right now.

Man, you misunderstood what I was saying completely. OF COURSE you should ADVERTISE ... I'm saying you shouldn't buy "leads".

Leads are lists of names/addresses of people who are supposedly "interested" in your type of product or service. They work great for some industries - they don't work for this one.

McDonalds? What are you talking about? McDonalds doesn't buy business leads? Could you imagine getting a telemarketing call from McDonalds? "Hi, yes we understand you might be interested in burgers and fries, and would like to know if we could become your new supplier." Are you out of your mind?

Leads have nothing to do with marketing and advertising ... jeeze.

Yep got to agree with indy here, leads are excellent for certain industries but, webhosting is not one of them. :D

Uhhhh, Indy4, maybe you have had a bad experience with leads before, but I am pretty sure that if somebody goes to a web site and fills out a form stating that they are interested in web hosting, that is probably somebody you want to talk to.

Obviously there are bogus leads out there, but in the leads business this is generally 5-10% of the total leads. The rest are people who truly are interested in what they say. If you buy leads from sweepstakes or incentive sites, they are not as good. If you were to buy leads from WHT though, I would guess that they would end up being fairly decent. That depends on what you are offering, and many people might just be looking for cheap cheap cheap, but that is something you have to understand before buying the leads.

Sorry, let me amend that last statement. If you are offering $2.99/month hosting, I think the effort involved in buying leads and calling people might not make sense b/c of the time wasted on an attempt at small profits. If you are selling dedicated servers or colo, then I think it would make sense to buy leads. There has to be a decent payoff to make a phone call worthwhile.

I don't know how anyone can make a blanket statement that *buying leads is bad*. It totally depends on how the leads are obtained.

For example, if prospective clients go to a web site looking for hosting and have to fill out a detailed form and wait for return contact I'd say that lead would be a good opportunity for a sale.

If the lead you are buying was the result of a cold-call or other unsolicited contact I would say that lead is not worth buying.

I disagree that all leads are bad though...

Originally posted by Watcher_TVI
For example, if prospective clients go to a web site looking for hosting and have to fill out a detailed form and wait for return contact I'd say that lead would be a good opportunity for a sale.


IMHO, these leads are shared with several hosting companies yes?

So the potential client will be approached by said companies. Now, what is to stop them from under bidding each other to death?

It's just like a requests forum, only now everything takes place via email and you have to pay for it.

WHT is one of the good places... tophosts is another one.

Originally posted by UltraUnixNET
Hi,

Any recommendation where to buy leads from? I have seen few web hosting directories but I have forgotten where from.

Thank you for any input in advance.

you can try baidu.com , 180USD for 5000 clicks. it works like google but slightly cheaper and more targeted to asia market.

but only if you can read chinese lah, i know you can...:stickout:

Originally posted by UltraUnixNET
Hi,

Any recommendation where to buy leads from? I have seen few web hosting directories but I have forgotten where from.

Thank you for any input in advance.

i have a website that generates a LOT of business owner-website owner leads daily.

they fill out their name, email, url, a description and we date/time stamp with IP

its all opt-in of course

ive never sold leads per se, but it is something my programmer is working on a solution for

if you are interested, let me know

Originally posted by bjseiler
Sorry, let me amend that last statement. If you are offering $2.99/month hosting, I think the effort involved in buying leads and calling people might not make sense b/c of the time wasted on an attempt at small profits. If you are selling dedicated servers or colo, then I think it would make sense to buy leads. There has to be a decent payoff to make a phone call worthwhile.

but the 2.99 price tag sounds a lot more agreeable to the consumer and may be an easier sale. if one of those people wanted a colo, they may still call thinking about that really low price

Maybe I am not understanding you exactly, but what you describe here is not what I call a "lead".

This is the definition of a lead I found on a site called leadcop.com.

A lead -

"
(a) Has recently expressed an interest in specific goods or services the provider sells;
(b) Has not already acquired and/or is not committed to acquiring those goods or services from a provider;
(c) Fits the demographic and/or financial filtering criteria established between lead source and client.
(d) Is mentally competent and has the authority to commit to purchasing the specific goods or services.
(e) Is willing to speak with the provider of the goods and services about acquiring same on at least one occasion.
(f) Should not be the product of someone who was 'just fooling around' on the Internet (or phone).
"

From what you describe below, I would classify that as something you could sell as a "list" not a "lead". Lists are people who may be interested in the services you offer but they did not specifically request that somebody contact them about something they need now.

There is a big difference here between qualified lists and qualified leads.


Originally posted by LaurenStephens
i have a website that generates a LOT of business owner-website owner leads daily.

they fill out their name, email, url, a description and we date/time stamp with IP

its all opt-in of course

ive never sold leads per se, but it is something my programmer is working on a solution for

if you are interested, let me know

In Asia, you can always negotiate a better deal with Yahoo.