กDo Not Call Listก…Death Knell For Leads Program

กDo Not Call Listก…Death Knell For Leads Programs?

by: Michael Lemm

Iกd pay close attention to this for awhile. There are implications for leads programs especially.

In about 610 months or so your company is going to have to subscribe to the FTC กDo Not Callก (DNC) list of people that do not want calls. Even if it is an innocent prospecting call your company (& you) can get in trouble. The wife may have answered your ad, the husband may have put them on the DNC list. Bang….your company (& you) innocently gets burnt. The fines are pretty noteworthy so be careful.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/donotcall/index.html

Hereกs my general thoughts on this issue:

1. The leads companies will have to be VERY careful. Anyone selling leads had better make sure that they are truly กwaiting to hear from youก….optin permissive marketing compliant….fresh….yada yada. Any slip shod harvesting of leads without thorough scrubbing of their viabilty will lead to big trouble. I see a lot of leads companies going under….or just plane being scams hoping to make a quick buck and leave customers holding the bag.

2. The number of companies offering leads will likely decrease due to the effort, cost, and risk involved to ensure the leads are compliant. What will be left could be just a few expensive high quality companies….and a few scams after the quick score.

3. Those leads companies that กsurviveก will pass the increased cost on to the consumer….you. Meaning the cost of leads will likely go up significantly….regardless of the source.

4. Those who purchase leads will also be vulnerable to some extent (how much Iกm not sure) since they are the individual กcontactingก the lead. I doubt regulators and agrieved กleadsก will not hold those who contact them faultless. Since กweก aren’t employees of the leads companies we would have some responsibility/accountability attached. Their argument would be that we กchoseก to contact these people. As opposed to an employee of a telemarketing firm who is ‘toldก to make the contact.

5. If leads companies can navigate this challenge successfully….the resulting leads will truly be กqualityก. They will definitely be interested in being contacting. So this could be a silver lining…or glass half full….situation. However, it could well be at a higher cost than we now see.

6. Now….if you read carefully on the FTC website, it mentions that there is a period time of which someone can still be contacted.

a. If they were a customer, you may contact them for up to 18 months after the last business transaction.

b. If they requested information (as the website says, submitted an inquiry) you can contact them for up to 3 months.

Lead companies will have to provide Date/Time stamps and IP stamps with every lead. Is this hard? No, they do it anyways, so it shouldn’t result in large cost increases.

Additionally, all company/personal “prospecting” websites will need to contain language similar to this: กBy submitting your information you agree to be contacted by phone, email, or regular mail with information regarding a home based business, secondary income source, or a work from home opportunity.ก This will bind the user to 3 months of being contacted.

All that doom and gloom aside….what we hopefully will see is a drastic reduction of junk lead companies or companies that generate leads not targeted for our industry. Those that navigate the impending changes with quality compliant optin systems will survive and prosper. Those that don’t…..m’bye bye.

About The Author

Michael is a Moderator for MLMForums.com and the owner of FreedomFire Communications…. providing businesses a variety of voice, data, and internet solutions. His free tool for finding the best phone rates in your area will save you a fortune: http://billzilla.com/mscprez

This article was posted on April 10, 2003

by Michael Lemm