In the interest of not burying the lead, the major headline for aged leads is that they’re cheaper than real-time leads. In fact, that’s probably the one thing you might know about them. Of course, if you’re in the business of expanding your business with new customers, your first question is likely ‘what’s the catch?’ or ‘will I get what I pay for?’
The truth is that, like most opportunities in life, aged leads are right for some people and not right for others. We’ll look at how they work and who should use them.
What Are Aged Leads?
Much like aged cheese, aged leads are people who expressed some degree of interest in any given product or service. There is no exact moment though when real-time leads switch over to aged leads. In general though, you might see these leads sold around 48 hours if they’re not sold as real-time leads.
However, that doesn’t mean that you get the leads just two days after someone shares their information. When exactly you get them will depend on who you buy them from and how the information was collected in the first place.
Why Do People Buy Aged Leads?
It’s not just the price that tempts people to buy aged leads (though that is a huge factor). Aged leads offer new businesses a chance to build a database of prospective customers that they can start making relationships with. This is often the first step to establishing yourself, even if it takes longer than people might want.
How Do Aged Leads Work in Real Life?
For instance, let’s say that you contact someone who expressed interest in solar panels a month ago. During that month, they already got another contractor to work with them. When you reach out to them, they are polite but let you know that they’re not going to buy from you.
This is still an opportunity to impress someone who cares about the environment though and who’s likely to know other people who care about the environment. They may have a second property or a business that will eventually need solar panels. You can store this customer in your database so you have all their information in case they do need something.
How Can I Leverage Aged Leads for My Business?
Your mission with aged leads is to listen, learn, and keep their data at your fingertips. Multiply conversations with hundreds of aged leads and there’s real value in the data you’ve amassed. You can even use their challenges to craft more effective marketing campaigns. From mailers to commercials, you can start your communication off on the right foot by speaking directly to the customer’s pain points.
Don’t I Want Real-Time Leads?
This is a common question for businesses today. Think about all the things that might happen between the time someone fills out a request and the time they actually respond to a company. The customer might lose their job, they might move to a new state, they might change their phone number. They might lose interest or discover they didn’t need the product or service to begin with.
The whole point of real-time leads is to capitalize on a moment. For instance, a customer has been putting off buying an auto warranty for the past few months. They finally get around to filling out a form when a salesperson calls them. From there, the customer just takes care of it all immediately and then crosses it off their to-do list. Simple, right? They get something, the company gets something, and there’s no bad blood on either side of the transaction.
Are Real-Time Leads Always the Right Choice Over Aged Leads?
Not necessarily. There are other factors besides the ideal scenario that most companies have in their head. For one, not everyone wants to be contacted immediately after parting with their information. If they don’t get a heads up about it, they might even be annoyed that the response was so rapid. For another, people might not even realize exactly what they were asking about. Maybe they thought they’d be getting an online quote only to find that someone is now trying to schedule an at-home estimation.
Aged leads can give people the chance to correct some of these issues before they alienate the customer. To be clear, this is a way to grow your business organically as opposed to a deluge of work from customers.
Who Uses Aged Leads?
There are probably some industries that you’ve likely already ruled out when it comes to aged leads. For instance, health insurance has open enrollment dates. Once that window is closed, people can’t sign up again unless they have a qualifying life event. So aged leads might seem completely useless you call on these people a week after the date has passed
Yet this problem isn’t as straightforward as it seems. In this case, aged leads will mean changing your strategy (to speak more about future enrollment rather than immediate action), but it doesn’t mean that using aged leads would be a bad idea.
The mortgage industry might actually be a better example of a poor choice for aged leads. Once someone buys a home, they’re going to be out of the market mortgage for a while. Company owners will need to be aware of timing when they call, acknowledging how it affects the customer before starting off on the wrong foot.
Contact Conversion Marketing for Aged Leads
Our team has seen that aged leads can work for businesses. Not only are they cheaper, but they give companies the chance to really converse with potential customers, leading to insights that aren’t always so apparent from their real-time lead counterparts.
If you’re looking for quality contact information, we’re here to help a wide range of industries, including solar, insurance, and warranty. Give us a call today to learn more about what we can do to help.
