Leadpile’s Blog

Webster’s says that Customer service is “Assistance and other resources that a company provides to the people who buy or use its products or services.” It also says that a Customer “Is a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron.”

 So how do we handle the different types of customers? First, we define them.

1. The Satisfied Customer – Everything always works out and is in perfect order all the time.
2. The Never Satisfied Customer – No matter what happens nothing is ever right and nothing can ever fix it.
3. The Impatient Customer – Wants everything done now, even if the people and services are not available. MAKE IT HAPPEN! NOW!
4. The Trying to Get Stuff for Free Customer – They want something for nothing and will try to get a free “whatever” from you to make them happy.

 These are all types of customers that we all may or may not have seen, dealt with or been at one time or another and all know what they are like. What we need to do is act like Customer Service Representatives and treat them all as individual types and not all the same. You don’t treat an Impatient Customer like a Trying to Get Something for Free and offer them something else when all they want is what they came in for.  Use the skills that you have been trained to use and then you can make every customer feel special and appreciated.  

 Read Customer Service Tips… We should all know. This should help to know what skills are needed.

 At Leadpile we are dedicated to giving the best Customer Service possible so that every customer is a Satisfied Customer.  We want to make your experience with us the best that it can be. 

According the AP, Wachovia Bank said Monday it will quit offering a mortgage payment option that allows borrowers to pay less each month than the bank charges in interest. These loans have been called Pick-payment loans, with a negative amortization option. With less and less loan options for Consumers, there is even a bigger need to compare rates and programs for Consumers. Comparison Mortgage shopping is about to become an even bigger business. Even with less consumers currently shopping for mortgages, the ones who are should provide a nice opportunity for certain Lead Providers, Affiliate models, or Lead Exchanges.

Most of us who have gone to college have at some point taken out a student loan(s).  I am not sure if everyone knows that there are a few options in regards to where you can get your student loan?  You could take out a student loan from a private lender or a loan from the government (federal loan).
As of July 1st, there are some changes that will affect specifically those Federal Loans that students take out.  According to DMNews these changes will affect the amount a student can take out, the potential repayment terms of the loan once they graduate, and the interest rate of those Federal Loans.  Even though these changes will only affect the Federal Loans, loans taken out with private lenders could be impacted indirectly at first.
As far as the private loans those have had some great success in the past, because of the large amount of advertising/direct marketing to the college students.  Private lenders are great at getting their names out in front of the students.  However, less than a year ago some things changed for the private lenders after some government support these lenders would be receive was reduced.
Lead companies and lead exchanges had a lot of success with this lead type, and so did Leadpile.  Hopefully, with these new changes to the Federal Loans, the private lenders will bounce back fairly soon.  Possibly, this is a lead type that our marketplace can identify a supply and demand for.  Time will tell who does the most direct marketing to get those needy students to take out a loan with them.

Leadpile’s Lead Exchange has been offering a webpage (confirmation page) since the beginning, giving its buyers the opportunity to present themselves to the consumers. Receiving the lead from a Lead Exchange / Lead Marketplace and transfer it to a call center it is a very important part of the closing process. Having a confirmation page can increase the responsiveness of the consumer significantly as they will be expecting your call.  The page can be hosted by the Lead Buyer (Advertiser) or it can be hosted by Leadpile. Of course, having the visitor redirected to your own website it is the best way to go, but in case you don’t have one, we will provide your customers the information you want them to see: 

- Company name
- Company website
- Customer Service Phone
- Customer Service Email 
- Custom Message
The better you follow up with your customer, the better you will close. One of the first rules of closing it is “calling the customer with a sense of urgency”, and having a confirmation page displayed to the consumer will help you achieve your goal – to close the deal on the first call you make. Leadpile’s Lead Exchange has been always about real time delivered leads, and the confirmation page it is an important piece of the delivery process offered to our buyers. 
Leadpile’s Buyer Account Screenshot:

I must admit, being part of a sophisticated lead exchange such as LeadPile is a remarkable experience.  In the lead industry quality matters!  Generating the best leads for our advertisers is what makes us effective.  We have primary leads as well as coreg leads.  Bottom line, they are both working great for our advertisers!  What stands out in Leadpile marketplace is the high quality leads generated. A list of people is not quality… Now a person that fills out an application, that’s worth a bundle.  LeadPile lead exchange has a high percentage of returning advertisers that are honored to fill their demand with quality applicants!  LeadPile lead exchange is the way to go if you are looking for the highest quality of real time leads!

Stale Data vs. Real Leads: The LeadPile Lead Exchange Difference Delivers On The Bottom Line

While according to the SalesGenie Web site, the company controls the contact information for more than 210 million consumers and 75 million households, The Leadpile Lead Exchange, on the other hand, does not sell consumer information from a database at all. 

Salesgenie also indicates that its database offers the most complete consumer data available. The company’s Web site says that it covers over 95 percent of the households in the U.S., and the consumer database is created by merging about 2 billion records from many sources. The Leadpile Lead Exchange sells exclusive, real-time delivered leads which are comprised of people seeking a solution to their particular need right now. 

The difference between the two types of leads is stark. SalesGenie sells data, and The Leadpile Lead Exchange sells real-time delivered leads. 

People always ask us what is the difference between SalesGenie and LeadPile, especially after having seen SalesGenie Super Bowl Commercials. I first respond by pointing out that we do not spend millions on cool Super Bowl Commercials. I then explain that LeadPile’s Lead Exchange allows lead buyers to buy real-time delivered exclusive leads that have been produced over the Web, which consist of real people inquiring about the lead buyer’s product or service – right this second. Simply put, SalesGenie sells data in bulk, and we sell real-time delivered leads. In terms of the types of leads that are sold through Salesgenie and The Leadpile lead exchange, they are two totally different animals.

In terms of size, we are definitely the David between the two.

With surging fuel prices, the airline industry is in dire condition. Even before the rising fuel costs, the industry as a whole was in pretty bad shape. Through it all, there has been one shining (and profitable) star. You can probably guess that I am writing about Southwest Airlines. They have been profitable, and remain profitable because of shrewd business decisions and good customer service.

Well, they have made another good decision, and this one touches in our world. Like everyone else, they want to drive as much traffic as they can to their website. Of course, their way of building traffic is not traditional, and excellent out of the box thinking. They are sponsoring the upcoming Midnight Gaming Championship. The ages for these participants are 16-25 years… not exactly your frequent business travelers.

The marketing message is about their desktop widget and their weekly email. Of course, the participants have to register for this event, and I can guess you know where that is done… their company website. This appears to be another great business decision by Southwest Airlines… exposing future travelers to their company and their services. Based on their track record, you would have to predict this will be successful.

We are having great success with email marketing and list management at Leadpile. This can be used to build traffic and/or be more transactional and create sales. Please let us help you and your company become the Southwest Airlines of your industry.

According to MSNBC today, the Bank of America acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corporation is official and should be completed by July. However, this scenario is all too familiar to this industry. Mega giant ACC Capital Holdings (parent company of Ameriquest Mortgage and Argent Mortgage) was acquired by Citigroup and then soon after, ALL the remaining Ameriquest Mortgages branches were shut down. However, Bank of America doesn’t seem to be hiding the fact that they are going to be cutting 7,500 jobs over the next two years, but they did not mention specifically where yet.
So what sort of affects will this have on people? There area a lot of people that are going to be out of work and a lot of customers that are potentially going to be seeing a different lenders name on their mortgage statement. Either way, there are a lot of people that have a really tough road ahead for them, but there are resources that could help.
As a lead company Leadpile will see some affect from this in different aspects. For instance, there still could be those consumers that are still looking to refinance their home, or other customers needing help with all that debt that will be piling up. We want those lenders out there that are still looking for FRESH leads of people wanting to refinance their home. We are the perfect marketplace for those lead buyers.

Leadpile is an exchange of the buyers and sellers of those lead types and many more. We welcome them all so we can try and help as many of these people affected by this situation as we can!

Your clients are the key to your success. Managing your clients means following up with them quickly. and at LeadPile, we mean quickly!

In a Lead Exchange like LeadPile, we strive to follow up with all of our advertisers and publishers immediatley. No matter what business you ar ein, simply call your clients back quickly, give them the information that they have requested, call them to see if they need assistance, give them information that will benefit or help them, and most of all, do whatever it takes to  build a strong partnership.

Anyone who has taken out a loan of some sort, applied for a new job, or rented an apartment knows how much your credit score matters.  Think about it, most employers are even pulling your credit.. insurance carriers are pulling your credit… and of course the lenders are too.  What is the big fuss about someone’s credit score?  Well, one thing I have learned over the years is, it is probably one of the most important things in our life! That sounds bad, but really it is.  How can a 3 digit number that no one has any idea how it is made up, have such a large impact?

In today’s economy a lot of consumers are finding out the answer to that question.  People trying to refinance their home are being faced with the fact that their bills have fallen past due and now they can not get a loan.  Consumers are trying to find new jobs because their employers are going out of business. However, they are not getting that job because according to their credit score they are a “high risk” employee who can’t take care of their personal finances.  So, why would they hire you if you can’t even take care of your own bills?  Insurance premiums are going up so consumers are looking for new insurance companies, but finding out that their rates might not have been so bad compared to their new rate estimates they have received.  Why?  The insurance company is pulling your credit for things such as auto policies, because they say that statistics show your credit score has a direct impact on your driving skills(better chances of NOT getting in an accident) and your ability to pay your bills.  They think that those with bad credit scores are going to get in more wrecks and not pay their bills? Unfortunately, there has been some controversial findings that have been known to show some truth to that statement.

What makes up a credit score?  First, you need to know that the range of your credit score can be anywhere between 350-850.  Secondly, you need to know that there are 3 different credit reporting agencies (Transunion, Experian, and Equifax) where your lenders can report your credit history to.  Thirdly, there are a combination of things that make up your credit score such as your payment history on credit cards and loans, your total outstanding debt versus available credit, how long you have had the loans/credit cards open, how many people have pulled your credit (inquiries) and a whole bunch of other “unknown” factors. So now you know who pulls your credit, why people pull your credit, and what makes up your credit score. How do you fix it?

The first step is getting in the right direction regarding your credit is to become educated on everything that is linked with your credit score and what is on your own credit.  Then get with a company that deals with credit repair and walk through the process with them on FULLY understanding that credit report(s), and how you both are going to work on getting it better.  When searching the internet, look for credit repair sites.  

Companies like Leadpile- The World’s Largest Online Exclusive Lead Exchange-  deal a lot with this lead type and understand that the companies buying these leads really are out there trying to get your credit score higher.  Then your credit score does not affect you getting that next job, next insurance policy or paying REALLY high interest rates.

You are in the right place at the right time! For old time Rock and Roll fans…Dr. John was in the right place, wrong time.

If you are reading this post, you are part of a large movement, and an expanding market. 

With all the negative talk about the economy, and housing, and jobs etc… you are likely engaged in an INCREASING and IMPROVING economy.  It is an exciting and rather historic time for the internet and advertising on the internet.  This year advertising expenditures on the internet are going to pass the expenditures on a little medium that has been around for a while.  The medium I speak about is radio… I find it amazing that something still fairly new, can pass a juggernaut that has been a major part of people’s lives for so long.   This is an exciting and improving time for lead generation, and we are having great success with email marketing and list management.  By the way, magazines are next… Bloomberg projects that internet ad spending will pass magazine ad spending in 2010…  Indeed these are exciting times, and Leadpile can help you and your company reach your goals.

I will like to complete one of the previous posts (Lead Generation and Keyword Tracking), when I discussed Leadpile’s Search Engine Tracking as a tool for our Publishers – for those using our MicroClick Form (previously known as the “I-SaveNow Form”).

• Detailed report which provides the Publisher with the Search Engine and the “Keyword” used by the visitor to find their website.
• Displays only the visits that resulted in a transaction.
• This report is based on the “referrer” and for that reason, you don’t need to add anything in the tracking URL.
• A sample snapshot report is provided below:

One of the other features that our Publishers are enjoying, and we are excited to let you know that it has come to a mature state, is the Adwords API integration. The Publishers can create the tracking right from the account and upload it into their Adwords campaign. It will track the “client” (Adwords Account), the Campaign, the AdGroup, the Keywords and whether or not the traffic is coming from Content Network or not.

Fast, simple and terrific tracking available for every Publisher has made our Marketplace an attraction to the PPC Advertisers. With just few clicks you can control your Profit and set the appropriate bids that will lead you to your financial goals.

Please check the following link for a snapshot of the report: