Once a shop can afford to pay with money, the temptation is to assume the most expensive lead is the most exclusive one. Alex’s point is that it often isn’t. He will not name the vendors, but the pattern is a familiar one to anyone who has bought from a big generic shop.
Two kinds of vendor
| Big generic vendor | Niche provider | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per lead | $120 to $200 | $50 to $90; ours are $60 per lead |
| Who else gets it | Resold to as many as 10 other brokers | Nobody: sent only to you, in real time |
| Where the price goes | A big New York office and a payroll in the millions | The leads, marked up |
| What closing a deal is like | Possible, and uphill | The merchant is expecting your call |
The price difference is overhead. A niche provider generating leads from Meta and other sources, without a big office or a payroll of millions a month, can sell a real-time exclusive lead for less than a large vendor charges for one that ten shops are calling. You can still close deals on the resold lead; Alex’s point is that you are paying the top of the market to be one of eleven brokers calling the same merchant.
How to check what you are paying for
- Ask how many buyers each lead goes to, and get the answer in the agreement, not on the call.
- Ask where the leads come from and whether the vendor generates them or buys them. Spotting a lead reseller has five checks that need no cooperation.
- Ask for the submission timestamp on every lead and compare it with when it reached you.
- Run a test and compare cost per funded deal, not cost per lead. How to tell if your leads are being resold covers the duplicate check.
The price bands by lead type give the open-market ranges. A quote above the top of the exclusive band is not evidence of a better lead; it is a reason to ask the first question on that list harder.
Questions brokers ask
Are expensive MCA leads exclusive?
Not necessarily. Some large generic vendors charge $120 to $200 a lead and resell the same lead to as many as ten other brokers. Price tells you about the vendor’s overhead, not about how many shops are calling the merchant.
How much should a real-time exclusive MCA lead cost?
From a niche provider that generates its own leads, about $50 to $90, sent only to you. Infinite Bookings’ exclusive leads are $60.
Why are some MCA lead vendors so expensive?
Overhead, often. A large vendor with a big office and a payroll in the millions prices that into each lead. A smaller provider generating its own leads from Meta can charge less for a lead that goes to fewer buyers.
How do I know if a lead vendor is reselling my leads?
Ask how many buyers each lead goes to and get it in writing, ask whether they generate the leads or buy them, check submission timestamps against delivery, and look for duplicates against another vendor’s leads.
Can you close deals on shared MCA leads?
Yes, but you are fighting uphill against every other broker who bought the same lead. A lead shared with a handful of buyers is winnable if you call first; one shared with ten, fifty or a hundred brokers mostly is not.
Reference
Watch: fix the leads, fix the pickup rateExpensive against exclusive at 5:51, and finding a vendor you trust at 6:30.
Alex Makowski
Founder, Infinite Bookings
Runs the lead generation operation behind Infinite Bookings — paid traffic, the funding application, and the delivery pipeline that puts records into brokers’ CRMs.
Reachable directly at alex@infinitebookings.com or 732-609-7182.