Questions to Ask a Lead Vendor

What vendors publish, and what they leave out

The table counts how many of the 440 lead companies in our pay-per-lead directory say something on their own website about each topic. A topic most vendors cover is easy to check before the first call. A topic most leave out is one you have to raise yourself, and the answer you get on a sales call is only as good as the paper it ends up on.

The vendors' own FAQ pages show what buyers ask most. Of the 209 companies with a buyer FAQ, 109 answer a question about exclusivity and about half answer one about delivery. Far fewer FAQs deal with returns or consent, which is exactly why those questions belong on your list.

Who you are buying from

1. Do you generate these leads, or buy them from someone else?

   What companies publish: 364 of the 440 describe generating leads from their own traffic, such as their own sites, search and social campaigns, email, direct mail or broadcast. 162 name outside suppliers they buy from, such as publishers, affiliates, call centers or other lead sellers. The two overlap heavily: many vendors run their own campaigns and fill the gaps with bought traffic. 124 describe themselves as a network, exchange or marketplace, and 58 as a reseller or broker.

   None of these models is wrong, but each is a different product. A broker is passing on someone else's traffic, so ask how those suppliers are approved, what traffic types are banned, and whether the broker can switch a supplier off for you. The vendors that buy from publishers often publish the rules they hold suppliers to, such as approval before launch, consent certificates and bans on incentivized traffic. The guide on how to sell to lead networks shows what those programs ask for.

2. Will you pass a source sub ID with each lead?

   A sub ID tags each lead with the campaign, placement or supplier that produced it. With it, you can see which source closes and which one fills your returns, and ask the vendor to cut one source instead of judging all their traffic as one. Vendors rarely publish this, so ask. A vendor who will not share any source detail is asking you to accept the average of everything they sell.

3. Are you the business on the agreement?

   Researchers flagged several sites where the company named in the terms differs from the brand on the homepage, or where the site operates under a parent company whose terms govern the sale. That is common and usually harmless, but it decides whose return policy and whose consent records you are relying on. Ask which entity you are contracting with and get its terms.

Exclusivity: now, and later

Exclusive leads are offered by 295 of the 440 companies, second only to real-time leads at 330. 95 sell shared leads, 12 sell semi-exclusive leads, and 65 sell aged leads. Most sell more than one product, so always ask which product a given quote is for. The trade-offs are covered in exclusive vs. shared leads.

1. How many buyers get this lead, and is that number capped?

   What companies publish: several state outright that an exclusive lead goes to one buyer and is never shared or resold. Among companies that sell shared leads, several put a cap on how many buyers receive the same consumer. Others say only that distribution is limited, with no number. Ask for the cap in writing, and whether it counts every buyer or only buyers in your category.

2. Is it exclusive forever, or for a set period?

   What companies publish: several companies sell a lead as exclusive for a set period and then move it into an aged or shared pool, where other buyers can purchase the same consumer. That is a legitimate model, and it is how much aged inventory is created, but it is not what most buyers picture when they hear exclusive. Ask whether the lead can ever be sold again, and if so, when and to whom.

3. Does the consumer form say the same thing?

   On a few sites, the buyer page promises exclusivity while the consumer form or privacy policy tells the consumer their request may go to several companies. Several more advertise exclusive leads on marketing pages while their terms say leads are sold on a non-exclusive basis unless agreed in writing. The written agreement is what you can enforce. Make exclusivity a term, not a tagline.

Screening, consent and do-not-call

1. What has each lead been checked for, and how?

   What companies publish: 371 of the 440 claim some kind of check. The most common are qualifying questions on the form, a person from a call center or intake team speaking to the consumer before the lead is sold, and phone verification. Several mention screening out duplicates, and several mention fraud or bot filtering. A few say plainly that the consumer's details are self-reported and not verified by them.

   Ask which checks run on every lead and which are occasional, which answers are required before a lead is sold, and what happens to a lead that fails. A check described on the homepage is a claim. A check named in the return policy, as a reason you can return a lead that fails it, is a promise.

2. What consent record comes with each lead?

   What companies publish: 233 say something about consent. Several advertise a third-party consent certificate with each lead, several offer call recordings for transfers, and a few pass a timestamp, source page and IP address. A few say they collect consent for one named buyer at a time. Several describe their leads as compliant without saying what record backs that up.

   Ask what record you receive, whether it arrives with every lead or only on request, and how long the vendor keeps it. A claim of compliance on the homepage is not a record. This page does not state what the rules require. They are published by the FCC and the FTC, and TCPAWorld tracks changes.

3. Who is responsible for do-not-call scrubbing?

   What companies publish: several say they scrub leads against do-not-call lists, and a few say they also screen against lists of known litigators. Several others put that job on the buyer in their terms: the buyer must scrub, keep suppression lists and honor opt-outs. Some companies do both, with a marketing page that mentions scrubbing and terms that make the buyer solely responsible. Ask who scrubs, against which lists, and what the agreement says if a complaint arrives.

Returns

254 of the 440 say something about returns, refunds or credits. 30 of those only mention the topic without giving terms, which leaves 224 that publish terms of some kind. The other 216 give a buyer nothing to act on, so with half of vendors you are negotiating from a blank page. Among the 224 with terms, these are the patterns.

1. What is not returnable?

   What companies publish: several list outcomes that never qualify: the consumer did not answer, lost interest, chose another company or did not buy. Unreachable consumers split the market. Several decline them outright, while several others accept them only after the buyer documents repeated contact attempts. A few vendors sell some or all leads with no returns at all, and aged leads are often sold as-is even where fresh leads are returnable.

2. How do I file, and what proof do I need?

   What companies publish: several take returns through a portal or dashboard button, and several require evidence such as a call recording, a CRM note or a record of attempts. Most that publish terms set a window, so ask for it in writing, and ask who decides and how quickly.

3. How am I credited, and is there a cap?

   What companies publish: credit to the buyer's account is the most common remedy, named by 105 of the 224, followed by replacement leads at 84. Cash back is the exception: 80 say cash is not refunded, that remedies are credit or replacement only, or that sales are final. Several cap returns at a share of what you buy, and a few warn that buyers who return too much can lose their account. A credit can only be spent with that vendor, so ask whether unused balance can ever be refunded.

More on how vendors structure these terms is in the lead return policy guide.

Pricing, commitments and how you pay

1. What exactly am I paying for?

   What companies publish: pricing models vary more than most buyers expect. This page does not quote prices, but it does count how companies charge.

   Pricing model	Companies (of 440)
   Per lead	315
   Custom quote	133
   Per call	61
   Subscription or monthly fee	49
   Bid or auction	45
   Per sale	32
   Per transfer	25
   Per appointment	16
   Revenue share	15
   Setup fee	10
   Per signed case	10

   Many companies use more than one model. A per-call price only makes sense once you know what counts as a billable call, and a subscription only makes sense once you know how many leads it buys and whether they are shared. Ask what triggers a charge.

2. What do I have to commit to start?

   What companies publish: 168 of the 440 advertise no long-term contract, 32 mention a contract, and 240 say nothing either way. Several advertise no minimum order, while several others set a minimum order, a minimum budget, an initial deposit or a minimum term. A few charge a setup fee. Ask whether a minimum applies per order, per month or only to the first purchase, and how much notice you must give to stop.

3. How do I start: a call, a test order, or a free sample?

   What companies publish: a sales call or demo is the most common first step, described by 183 companies. 125 offer self-serve signup, and several require an application or approval first. 40 mention a test or pilot order. A few offer free sample leads. A small funded test order tells you more than a free sample, because both sides treat paid leads seriously. See lead pilot orders.

4. Do I pay before or after delivery?

   What companies publish: 82 of the 440 describe a prepaid or funded account, 42 charge a card on file, and 18 invoice. The other 298 do not say. With a funded account, ask how each lead is charged, how returns come back, and whether unused balance is refundable or expires. The models are compared in prepaid vs. invoiced lead buyers.

Targeting, caps and delivery

1. What can I target on?

   What companies publish: 375 of the 440 describe targeting. Geography is the most common filter, from state down to zip code, county or radius, followed by product or service type and consumer details such as age, income, credit or homeownership. Ask which filters are applied before the lead is sold, and whether a lead that misses your filter is returnable.

2. Can I cap, pause or set a budget?

   What companies publish: several let buyers set caps or budgets, and several let buyers pause and resume at any time. Some reserve the right to pause the buyer instead, for a late payment or a missed minimum. Ask how fast a pause takes effect and whether leads keep arriving while a change is pending.

3. How and how fast is each lead delivered?

   What companies publish: most describe real-time delivery, and email and CRM delivery are the most common routes, followed by phone transfers for companies that sell calls. Ask for a test lead into your own system before you go live, and what happens when your system rejects a delivery. The options are laid out in lead delivery methods, and why the minutes after delivery matter is in speed to lead.

Read the agreement, not the homepage

The researchers who read these sites flagged a recurring pattern: terms that contradict the marketing. Exclusive on the homepage and non-exclusive in the terms. A replacement promise on one page and all sales final on another. A return window that is different on the returns page and the FAQ. A claim of full compliance next to terms that disclaim any compliance guarantee. Several companies show one or more of these. None of it is unusual, and none of it is visible unless you read the agreement before you fund.

Some answers deserve a second look before you fund anything:

• The vendor cannot say where the leads come from, or will not pass any source detail.
• Exclusive leads with no written promise about whether, or when, they are sold again.
• No return terms at all, or terms that only appear after a bad batch.
• Compliance claims with no consent record you can actually see for a lead you bought.
• Do-not-call scrubbing promised in sales copy and assigned to you in the terms.
• No test lead into your own system before the first paid one.

Ask every vendor the same questions and write the answers down. If one vendor bills from a funded account and another invoices, or one takes returns for unreachable consumers and another does not, you are not comparing like with like. Set expectations on the first call too: agree what a good lead is and what happens when one is not, before either side has a reason to argue.

Juiced is lead distribution software. Buyers on it fund a wallet before leads arrive, are charged when each lead is delivered, and get approved returns credited back to the wallet. Buyers set their own filters, budgets and caps, can pause their account, and receive leads by webhook into a CRM, email or text. See Juiced for lead buyers, or how to manage lead vendors in one place.

Frequently asked