LEADCRITIC

Let’s have a little fun with this one. Recently, a “hot” new position was posted by industry head hunter NeoHire for the lead exchange LeadPoint. The position is for a Direct Response Optimization Director. For starters, in your best Paris Hilton voice lets all say, “thats Hot”. lol

Okay, all joking aside, what is this position all about?

Primary Function
Director, DRO delivers high-converting web forms and ad creative (banners, email, etc.) to our seller
customers across all LeadPoint products. The Director, DRO is responsible for form and ad development
(from idea generation through final testing and release) as well as optimization and management within
the LeadPoint platform. The Director, DRO is the center of form and ad performance and conversion for
LeadPoint.

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I thought I might take a shot at a couple key best practices that I feel are worth mentioning in response to the inquiry Lead Critic received about successful lead buyers.

I know I touched on this a little bit in one of my previous posts, but I feel it is worth its own submission. If I were to try to think of one single component that all best-of-breed shops have, that would be an effective front-line.

Every shop has their “killers.” These are the loan officers that you know, as soon as they get on the phone with a consumer, they are going to be able to match that consumer with a loan product that helps them. They are the ones that originate 15+ loans per month, every month. It is exceptionally rare, however, when this person is also good at, “smiling and dialing.” Do you really want that person wasting their time, (and yours!) banging the phones anyway? No, you want them on the phone, helping consumers at every opportunity.

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There has been a little buzz swarming the industry lately about QuinStreets possible acquisitions.  It came to my attention  a few weeks ago and now has been confirmed by a number of sources that QuinStreet has acquired the mortgage and insurance ad network SureHits. This has yet to be announced publicly by QuinStreet, but according to a few very reliable sources is true.

This acquisition will give them direct access to industry specific inventory as well as 100’s of advertisers that can help monetize their pages. The price of the acquisition has not yet been confirmed, but does look to be a solid business move for QuinStreet.

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A great article posted by Search Engine Watch reveals why BankRate was able to weather much of the sub prime debacle and every single one of us should take notes. I don’t know how many companies who like to talk a big game and say they focus on organic search (SEO), but in actuality focus on everything except organic search. Why because it is so so so easy to let SEO slip by the wayside when it takes months and months to see the slightest bit of payoff, but Tom Evans, CEO of BankRate seems to be the proof in the pudding.

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It was brought to my attention by a few very reliable sources that newly promoted General Manager of the Root Exchange Bill Swift put in his two weeks has left the company for bigger and better things.

Bill was the person who first encouraged me to participate as a buyer on the exchange and preached about all its many benefits. It is my opinion that the exchange is where it is because of Bill Swift and I mean that in a good way. The Root Exchange has continued to experiences, in my opinion, bumps in the road, but the efforts of Swift have kept many of them less dramatic and actually revitalized the exchange when he was promoted to GM. I am going to go out on a limb and speculate that Swift was burnt out from all the fruitless efforts he had put into the exchange and was forced to make a change.

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I was emailed a question last week that involves writing a complete book to answer so I am going to piece together the answer in short posts and hope you can add to my posts with your thoughts and opinions in the comments.

The question was: “What do you think is the best way to structure a lead driven company?”

Keep in mind that these posts won’t be written in any specific order.

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There is a phenomenal scene near the beginning of one of my very favorite movies, Reservoir Dogs. If you are not familiar with the film (then add it to your Netflix queue now!), it is about a group of guys assembled to rob a jewelry store. The morning before the heist they assemble at a breakfast joint for a bite and talk, in dialogue only Quentin Tarantino can write, about topics ranging from an interesting interpretation of the true meaning of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” to the essence of tipping food servers.

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The IAC released its quarterly earnings report this morning and it wasn’t pretty for its LendingTree division.

Overall revenues increased for IAC, but LendingTree took a 38% plunge in revenue in the first quarter.

      Revenue
                                       Q1 2008      Q1 2007      Growth
                                                $ in millions 

    New IAC                            $392.0       $320.7        22%
    Retailing (To be named HSN)         676.9        666.7         2%
    Ticketmaster                        349.0        303.6        15%
    LendingTree                          70.2        113.2       -38%
    Interval                            115.9         86.4        34%

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iLeads announces their new mortgage lead product, Mortgage Plus Leads.

The new product integrates title data into the verification process of a lead. The Mortgage Plus Leads will have their estimated home values and loan amounts verified against First American’s title data. Of course title data is not always completely accurate, but it will give lead buyer another step of verification they have never had before.

Mortgage Plus leads represent the next step in internet leads, moving beyond the consumer’s perspective to provide a more objective, complete, and accurate picture. “By having accurate data, brokers can work in a changing market and find solutions to help owners and save time in the process, Warmington continues. “Nothing is more disappointing for a homeowner or a broker than when a deal falls through because the assumptions were wrong. Thanks to Mortgage Plus leads, that will happen less.”

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Another company that was covered here and interviewed here few months ago, SmartHippo made an announcement today. The community based mortgage shopping network announced that it has created an advisory board that included a number of industry experts.

Founding advisory board members include Lori Collins, former Senior Vice President and General Manager for LendingTree Exchange; Bill Rice, CEO of Kaleidico; and John Philip Green, Founder and CTO at LearnHub.

George Favvas, CEO of SmartHippo.com, said: “We’re excited to have some of the smartest and most accomplished business and technology leaders join our advisory board. Their expertise in lending, customer acquisition, social media, and consumer Internet will be invaluable assets as we grow our business.”

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