Compliance diligence sounds like something that needs a lawyer. Most of it is an inventory question — does this documentation exist — and you can answer that yourself with one email.
| Ask for | What having it proves |
|---|---|
| The live landing page URL | The traffic is theirs, not bought in |
| The disclosure text, verbatim | Consent is specific, not categorical |
| A sample consent record | The record exists and is retrievable |
| Scrub provider and cadence | Screening is a process, not a claim |
| Their suppression process | Opt-outs actually propagate |
| Exclusivity terms in writing | "Exclusive" has a duration |
| A sample payload | You can see what you are buying |
| The replacement policy | It has limits you can read |
| Insurance position | They have considered the risk at all |
How to read the response
- Items that arrive same day, as documents: this vendor operates a process.
- Items that arrive as a description in an email: it may exist, ask again for the artefact.
- Items that turn into a phone call: it does not exist in a form anyone can inspect.
- Items that produce an explanation of why you do not need them: note which ones.
Do it before the first order
This is worth an afternoon before you spend anything, because the answers are cheapest to get while the vendor is selling to you. After the first invoice the same questions get slower answers, and after a complaint they get lawyered ones.
Questions brokers ask
What should a lead vendor compliance audit cover?
The landing page, the exact disclosure text, a sample consent record, the scrub provider and cadence, the suppression process, exclusivity terms, a sample payload, the replacement policy and their insurance position.
Do you need a lawyer to audit a lead vendor?
Not for this part. Most of it is an inventory question — does the documentation exist and can they send it — which you can answer yourself in an afternoon.
What is the single most revealing item?
A sample consent record. It is one redacted database row with a timestamp, IP, page URL and the disclosure text. A vendor who cannot send that within an hour does not have it for any of their leads.
When should the audit happen?
Before the first order, while the vendor is still selling to you. The same questions get slower answers after the first invoice and lawyered ones after a complaint.
What if a vendor explains why you do not need something?
Note which item it was. An explanation for why documentation is unnecessary is itself an answer about whether the documentation exists.
Reference
The commercial questionsExclusivity, replacement, pacing and refunds — the ones that belong in the agreement.
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.