I had a bad experience with a company called AgentConnect. Here's an email I wished I'd read before signing their contract:

Attention Agents and Brokers!

In the last couple of years, a number of companies have sprung up which
offer to sell alleged real estate leads to agents and brokers. This
investigative team has learned that some such companies suggest that the
rate of conversion for these leads is as high as 1 in 10.

After interviewing 250 agents who purchase such leads, we have learned
that the average rate of conversion seems to be closer to 1 in 50-100 or
more, depending upon the region.

Here are 5 suggestions to help you in choosing an online-lead provider:

1. INSIST UPON REFERENCES. A company which will not supply you with
references is a company unwilling to stand behind its product. If they
offer you the excuse that it's company policy not to publish a list, then
insist upon at least 2 names of satisfied clients within 50 miles of your
location. If they can't comply with this simple request, they are not
allocating sufficient marketing dollars in your area to provide quality
results, and would therefore likely be a poor choice as an Internet lead
provider. And remember, the way they treat you as a prospective client is
a strong indicator of how you will be treated down the line.


2. GET A GUARANTEE OF PERFORMANCE IN WRITING. If the company you're
working with tells you that, say, 1 in 25 of the 20 leads per month they
will deliver to you will convert into a sale, get it in writing. You will
need to decide for yourself whether their claim is ultimately realistic.
However, if you have nothing in writing, you may well be left with NOTHING
AT ALL.


3. ASK FOR A TRIAL PERIOD. If the company you're working with believes in
its product, they will negotiate a trial period with you. You should try
asking for the first 2 months free. Or, better yet, agree to pay for 6
months, on the condition that you'll receive a 100% refund if none of the
leads they deliver convert. Since you will have paid them +/- $3,000, this
certainly seems fair. And remember, GET IT IN WRITING!


4. ASK PEOPLE YOU KNOW. Ask around your office before you make any
important decisions. Odds are, someone there has had experience (or knows
someone who has) with each of the vendors working in your area. Consider
anyone else's unfavorable experience a red flag. Likewise, a company that
no one in your region has experience with should also be avoided, unless
you consider it your mission in life to be a guinea pig. And again, if you
are not personally familiar with the name of a particular company, the
likely cause is that they are not funding marketing in your area. If
you've never heard of them, what are the chances that your prospective
clients have?


5. DON'T SWAP A BIRD-IN-THE-HAND. If you currently have a source of leads
which is working for you, do not swap it for a new and unproven source. If
the new source produces absolutely nothing for the first 3 to 6 months,
how will that affect your business? Also, if your business is not
financially stable enough to pay for 6 months of leads before seeing any
return on investment, then good-old-fashioned leg work (fliers and
business cards) and cold-calling may be a better fit for you. Remember,
it's not unusual for an agent to work 50 online-leads or more before
closing a deal. If your company is supplying you with 20 leads or less per
month, it's possible that the first two months will not produce anything
which you will be able to work with. If the 3rd month DOES produce a
viable lead, then you're still looking at another 30-90 days before you
see any ROI. Therefore, assume a 6-month turn-around cycle when planning
your marketing budget. 15-20 leads per month should yield an additional
house sold every 3 to 4 months, after the first 6 months.

By following the 5 suggestions above, you will have done due-diligence,
and can rest in the knowledge that whatever the outcome of your
online-lead experience, you went into it thoughtfully and reasonably.

Thousands of dollars later, with nothing whatsoever to show for my money, an AgentConnect salesperson had the nerve to try to telemarket me again! They don't even know the names of the people that they've taken advantage of.

I also want to mention that they own another company called RealtyNow.com. Although I've never used them, I know people who, regrettably, have been similarly taken.

The problem with these online, so called 'lead' generating companies is that they are only collecting names and contact information from anyone and everyone who visits any of their websites and then selling the information to real estate licensees.

These bottom feeders bring nothing to a real estate transaction but rather place themselves between a Realtor and prospective buyers and sellers in order to collect fees for mostly worthless information.

www.ServiceMagic.com and www.RealtyNow.com are two of the worst offenders. www.CashWon.com is another.

I completely agree with you, in that the information they sell is essentially worthless. I think you need to add AgentConnect.com (owned by the same company as RealtyNow.com) to your list of worst offenders.