Lead Market News

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Top 5 Mortgage Lead Providers of the Week

We have been getting a lot of request from our Lead Buyer Readera to dig (Digg Us, that’s a good idea too) a little deeper into the Lead Provider’s listed in the Top 5 on Lead Marketwatch each week. So, here you go:
5. ZipSearch.com, is a consistent top 5 mortgage lead provider. They are a privately […]

2May2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Lawyers Sending Letters to Bloggers Always Ends Badly

You would think that the precedent of, “how lawyers sending letters to bloggers without grounds, spins crisis out of control,” would be mainline reading in law schools and professional journals these days. But, unfortunately for LendingTree they are retracing notoriously disastrous ground.
When I was tipped off about the LendingTree security breach and went to research […]

25Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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LendingTree Uncovers Breach of Lead Data

As reported on Twitter by an early tipster to the Lead Critic, and quickly confirmed by LendingTree in letters to customers and a website FAQ, LendingTree uncovered a breach of internal security that allowed some mortgage lenders unauthorized access to customer qualification forms. This is LendingTree’s description of the incident:
Recently, LendingTree learned that several former […]

22Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 2 comments | Continued
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Building a Lead Marketplace is Hard, as Zillow is Learning

Zillow has been at the lead marketplace building business for about two weeks, and I bet internally they are saying, “wow this is hard!” Early responders to the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace were easy to categorize, as I pointed out in my Zillow Gets Negative Reviews (from Non-Adopters), outside observers (non-adopters) were pointing out all of […]

18Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 2 comments | Continued
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FREE Lead Management, It’s that important

If you were at LeadsCon you were probably waiting for this…
Today, Kaleidico launches in closed beta a free lead management system built on Twitter–SalesTwit! The premise is simple, built on the following observations:

Most sales occur outside of CRM or lead management systems
Typical CRM or lead management is laden with features and settings that distract us […]

15Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 1 comment | Continued
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Watching Mortgage Risk in Motion

Many have watched in amazement as the mortgage industry has dramatically imploded. It is tracked like a body count on websites like the The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter and each new melt down is a grand surprise.
However, I was just pointed to a tool yesterday that may take some of the surprise out who’s (at least […]

15Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 1 comment | Continued
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Lead Generation Industry, You Asked We Delivered

At LeadsCon 2008, there was a lot of interest in closing the loop between lead generation and lead management performance data–seen as a critical success factor for online originations.
As you may remember we had this discussion all the way back at Leads2007:
TODOs
These major themes drove this group to commit to three major initiatives:

Internet Leads Best […]

10Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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RushmoreDrive.com Launched

Several weeks ago I got whiff of something new coming out of IAC, RushmoreDrive.com (Rushmore Drive is where the Ballatyne Offices of IAC/Interactive are located).  Today it was revealed in an email to me:

A vertical search engine for the Black Community. Here is the description from the About Us page:
Launched in April 2008, RushmoreDrive is […]

10Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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LeadsCon: Internet Lead Market Up-close

I remember the first time I went to my Dad’s laboratory at the University of Kentucky and he showed me the magic of looking very closely at common everyday objects. You see, he had a scanning electron microscope and things you would think as simple as a common housefly’s eye are amazingly complex and interesting.
That […]

8Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Zillow Mortgage Gets Negative Reviews (from Non-Adopters)

I have been following the Zillow Mortgage discussion with great interest. By reserving follow-up to my early commentary in BusinessWeek I have an opportunity to survey the discussion and distill a few important observations:

Zillow did something radical
The harshest criticisms are from non-participants
Smart folks are observing and participating with the intent to learn
This is an important […]

7Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 4 comments | Continued
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Reply.com Launches Blog and Lead Exchange

Reply.com just launched a new blog and revealed their new lead exchange. It appears the lead marketplace concept is about to get a bit more competitive, with Reply.com being one of two new entrants that I have heard whispers of emerging.
The concept of a lead exchange seems simple, but I think the challenge is in […]

3Apr2008 | Bill Rice | 2 comments | Continued
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Are You Creating a Customer Army?

We live in unique times. We are increasingly connected to the Internet. That connection is increasing social. That social connectivity is community.
The question becomes are you still trying to gather customers and make sales? Or are you creating a Customer Loyalty Army?
Wired featured Legos’ community strategy back in 2006, but we are still trying to […]

27Mar2008 | Bill Rice | 2 comments | Continued
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Qtopia Takes Mortgage Clients to Another World

Client loyalty takes on a whole new reality with Quicken Loans’ Qtopia. Developed using synergies with ePrize (another Dan Gilbert investment)
Stepping outside the mundane paradigm of email blasts, online newsletters, and birthday cards Qtopia creates, quite literally, a new world of possibilities for client loyalty and retention:
Qtopia is designed as an entertaining way for users […]

26Mar2008 | Bill Rice | 3 comments | Continued
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Where Have All of the Local Real Estate Ads Gone?

Have all of the real estate agents and brokers in your community lost faith and closed up shop? What happened to all of the local real estate ads in your local newspaper?
According to a new report from Borell Associates, they have moved their real estate marketing dollars online:
Total ad spending on real estate has declined […]

25Mar2008 | Bill Rice | 2 comments | Continued
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Nature or Nurture? Debating Math or Conversation in Advertising.

ESPN’s move to kick ad networks out of their premium content and brand has sparked several classic debates about publisher monetization. What is the best, and most profitable, way to monetize your content?
There are certainly two strong positions to be debated:

Commoditization of ad inventory can dilute the perceived value of the content and brand
Unsold […]

25Mar2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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