The short answer
MCA leads are paid for in one of two currencies. Shared and aged leads cost little in money and a lot in time: the floor dials, texts, emails and chases thousands of contacts to fund a deal. Real-time exclusive leads cost more per lead and little time: the merchant asked to be called, nobody else is calling, and one call usually reaches them. A shop with no cash flow should pay with time; a shop funding a few million a month should pay with money, because effort per funded deal is a cost even when it is not on an invoice.
Brokers compare lead sources on price, which treats the invoice as the whole cost. Alex’s framing is that every lead is paid for in full, and the only choice is the currency. A cheap lead is paid for by reps dialling, texting, emailing and chasing until somebody answers. An expensive one is paid for upfront, and the floor gets its time back.
The two currencies
| Pay with time | Pay with money | |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | Shared and aged leads | Real-time exclusive leads |
| Price per lead | Cents to tens of dollars | $50 to $90 from a niche provider; ours are $60 per lead |
| What the floor does | Dial, text, email, chase, thousands of contacts | Call once, inside sixty seconds |
| Who it suits | A new or small shop with little cash flow | A shop funding a few million a month |
| What it costs you | Rep hours per funded deal | Cash upfront, and the risk of the wrong vendor |
Neither column is wrong. A broker starting out, or a shop of a few people without cash to put into leads, should pay with time: shared or aged leads, worked hard, will fund deals. It is part of the process and it works; it just takes more effort per deal. A shop already funding a few million dollars a month that can afford real-time exclusive leads should be buying them, because they make each deal close to a layup.
Paying with money is leverage
Alex calls paying with money a very good form of leverage. Rep hours are capped; a budget is not. A floor that stops chasing has the same reps working leads who asked to be called, which is why the shops that can pay with money should. Expensive does not automatically mean better, though, and a $200 lead can still be resold. The other half of the advice is how to get from one column to the other, which is start with aged leads and reinvest.