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Would you use & pay for a lead generation site.

Would you subscribe & pay for the site that would forward you lead

  • YES

    Votes: 9 15.5%
  • MAYBE

    Votes: 10 17.2%
  • NO

    Votes: 39 67.2%

  • Total voters
    58

mark555

New Member
If there was a site that would forward you prospective leads would you pay that site? The concept site would be similar to HomeAdvisor.com where several vendors or just 1 would be notified whenever a visiting customer show intent by filling out the form.?
 

Techman

New Member
Let me tell you how I really feel about them.

I just fired mine. A complete waste of time and resources. My old site done by myself with old technology did much better than some paid for specialty site. Gadgets and gizmo's will do nothing to get you work. These sites are nothing more than another replacement for a yellow page ad. All they do is suck cash out of your pocket.

And another thing. They will claim lots of activity. However I could show my list of the past 20 contacts and all of them were dead ends.. One had a last name,, Goodenough, and another was a lead from someone who passed away weeks ago. And all of them were from gmail accounts. I know they are phony leads. Furthermore.. Getting email referrals are a complete waste of time. Email leads a liars,, Not one out the past 50 some email leads ever responded back let alone answer their phone..

I say those pay for lead sites are all scams. All of them. If anyone here sells them I will tell them myself they are scamming people.
 

chester215

Just call me Chester.
There is already one with the flexi cloud software.
They even give you your own storefront.
I think it is sign.com and they forward leads to you and you decide weather or not to act on them.
Then they take a % of the transaction.
Never used it, not really interested.
 

mark555

New Member
If the lead were good, or you only pay if you convert would you still feel the same?

Thanks for the detailed reply, really appreciate it.


Let me tell you how I really feel about them.

I just fired mine. A complete waste of time and resources. My old site done by myself with old technology did much better than some paid for specialty site. Gadgets and gizmo's will do nothing to get you work. These sites are nothing more than another replacement for a yellow page ad. All they do is suck cash out of your pocket.

And another thing. They will claim lots of activity. However I could show my list of the past 20 contacts and all of them were dead ends.. One had a last name,, Goodenough, and another was a lead from someone who passed away weeks ago. And all of them were from gmail accounts. I know they are phony leads. Furthermore.. Getting email referrals are a complete waste of time. Email leads a liars,, Not one out the past 50 some email leads ever responded back let alone answer their phone..

I say those pay for lead sites are all scams. All of them. If anyone here sells them I will tell them myself they are scamming people.
 

Techman

New Member
If the lead were good, or you only pay if you convert would you still feel the same?

I have tried several different types of this lead crap. NONE of them worked. Not one scheme worked for anything other than take cash out of my pocket.

They are nothing more than a glorified spam port for fakers and scammers.
 

mark555

New Member
What kind of signs are we talking here?

Any outdoor / indoor sign, Monument, pole, glass, channel letters, reverse channel letters, vehicle wraps. Also, possible option could be that you only pay if you convert.
 

Techman

New Member
There is always a "what if".

I would rather work the good old fashioned ways to develop my own leads and make that work. That has always worked well for me. Letting some lead generating site handle the load is a waste of time.

Sorry to say but 100's of others have already milked this cow.

First of all.
Those email capture pages.. They junk. All they do is allow some lamer to waste your time processing their lame request they never had intentions on following up.

If they were a genuine lead they would call. A call leads to an appointment. That allows you to be in charge of the process.

Email leads allows them to be in control of the process. They will respond if and when they get around to it if ever.. If they in control they will always win. A proper sales technique is to have what is known as a "hotseat" in a closing room. One cannot have a hotseat in an email.

Wish you well.. And some will use the service. And a few will be having a tantrum demanding refunds and bashing the service louder than I.
 

player

New Member
What businesses would get their signs from a 3rd party lead generating business? Then wait as other unknown sign businesses contact them.
 

visual800

Active Member
What businesses would get their signs from a 3rd party lead generating business? Then wait as other unknown sign businesses contact them.


Same reason people call printers for signs and sign folks for wedding invitations lol
 

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
There was National Sign Bid, but they have been gone for a while.

Some find and post work on signsearch.com

Some use the Dodge Reports but it can be pricey.

Jobs can be posted on The Sign Syndicate

A new resource that looks interesting is http://sign.guide/index.php/en
where we can list our company and local contractors and designers can partner.

---------

What you are proposing is going to be a little difficult. Most of the work
you describe usually requires a contractors license so jobs need to be local.

Most shops using/needing leads need more than a monument here and
there, or some random interior sign... plus those small jobs can get
cheap when chump sign shops are competing on price.

Who's going to post a wrap job? Those shopping design to the cheapest
company most likely.

If I was an archtect/envrionmental/experential graphic designer, contractor
i probably have people I want bidding on a job... I also cringe at some sign shops
where they think a foam sign is the standard way of making a sign, or are
clueless about codes, ADA signs, heck, they don't even read plans... flatten
dimensional signs, cheap out on materials, cheap out on craftsmanship.

As a designer, if i'm going to hand over a 200k+ job, the shop better know what
they are doing.

---------

I'm lucky that in my area, work is posted on a few sites for free. Some recent, many
years away... were talking millons of dollars in signs and design, yeah we have to do
some footwork but once we establish a relationship we usually turn that into sizable
repeat work.

If I was a signshop that does more than vinyl, I would evaluate what I can make, sub
out, then hook up with an experential designer, contractor or architect using a design-bid
and/or design/build model
 

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
I pay a percentage & now a monthly fee & also get good solid leads, more so than not, in fact more good leads than what I have created or 2 other lead generators working with me.

So I do believe it depends on the what type of lead generator & other factors.
 

mark555

New Member
more background and detail about the poll

What i don't see is a site like thumbtack or HomeAdvisor for signs, where a user could go and enter the specs of the job and send the request for quote to more than 1 sign manufacturer at the same time.

couple of sign people i have talked with are against the idea and their opinion is that this will drive the price down and quality of workmanship will decrease in order to beat the other guy.

I am trying to validate the position of such a site in the sign industry. Most service industries have a similar site except signs.

Where i see benefit of such is first there are growing number of users that do business online and try to take care of as many things online as possible. so with a site like this with feeback and past work visible to the user they can make a better decision. On the other hand if a manufacturer is good and takes pride in their work they don't have to worry about competing with other companies.

Is n't this a win / win?

What do you guys think?
 

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
I can only speak of what I know is working for me.

First of all I'm in a niche in hand painting signs the site that works for leads for me is for window splash advertising part of it.

Customers looking for window ads in Orlando will find me right up front but because of another outfit in Arizona they also do window splash & have managed to have people from all over ask about window splash their work is awesome & it shows, anyway they have turned those requests into income by selling leads, I average about 1 a month, if I was in a more responsive area for on site advertising bet I would get even more.

I do not mind paying for leads it saves me lots of time & negative thoughts it has even given leads from present customers that have not spoken with me in a years time & if my truck was running I be doing even more work.

I believe a site like this to work, 1st those creating need to be in the same business & hustling for same type work, ( reason for drive )
2nd the amount of leads coming in from other parts of country on a regular basis is strong, they saw it & jumped on it & took the chance at more will becoming in giving them a market.
3rd honesty plays a big part from this point on, I get a lead, do the job to my best & pay the lead money, be I get paid or not from customer.
4th the lead generator continues & upgrades maintenance etc. & stays on top of leads with those buying leads making sure payment is made & doing what it can to create more.

Surely there is more but since this is sorta new to our industry because we are so independent & can do most everything ourselves anyway buying from a lead generator is kinda strange when we think we will end up with the lead anyway.

I also have two other lead generators one I used to work with on their jobs (murals) so my work is on their site & once in awhile a solid lead pops up, I also pay them & they pay me for leads for them.
Another lead generator we both knock on the same doors for work, same type of customers so while they are selling their work, window splash work comes up, hence the lead & they just are trying please customer best way they can & I get the job.


So again all 3 of my lead generators are in similar or same type of business, & the main drive is just team work.
 
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