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Debt Review And Lead Generation

The Recent Struggle With Leads

People do not automatically just sign up for debt review. The vast majority of people have to be told about debt review: what it involves, the benefits and of course, who to speak to about getting help. 

The truth is, that most people need to be told about these things several times. All that takes time, money and effort.

And only then do they even consider maybe signing up.

If you make use of lead providers or generate your own leads to put you in touch with potential clients then you may have noticed some recent issues including:

Higher costs; 

Lower quality and;

Lack of consistency in volumes

All these things can have a dramatic effect on your bottom line. Recently a lot of DCs have been left frustrated and disappointed. For many it has negatively impacted on their client acquisition numbers and many say that overall, their restructuring amounts have dropped.

So, do you just spend more and hope to solve the problem that way? Sadly, just spending more does not automatically mean better leads and clients with higher affordability. The two are not exactly linked. You may be spending more than ever advertising your services on Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok or where ever but the quality of your leads could still be dropping. If so, you are not alone. Some large practices have even supposedly had to shut their doors over such issues.

Are You Getting Less For More?

Why might you be seeing a sudden increase in cost or decrease in quality?

Something that may be a factor is that rules about advertising regarding debt and debt review can change on the various platforms out there. Lead generators do not make the rules, they simply have to follow them to ensure compliance. Making such changes results in added costs. It can also lead to the quality of leads dropping as advertising has to be placed in front of wider audiences who are not as niche. That can result in lower quality leads.

If you do your own lead gen, you probably have been frustrated when platforms change the rules, sometimes multiple times in a year. It can be hard to keep up.

Embracing The Future

Everyone wants to know how you can try future proof your practice against increasing costs or lower quality.

Well, with things changing so rapidly it is tricky but technology is certainly going to play a big part. And these days you can’t talk about technology without getting into a chat about Ai.

Dale Johnson of 1on1 Lead Generation who has been helping people find clients for over 8 years says: “We are always trying our best to get ahead of the problem while improving our service. Ai can be part of the solution.”

He points out however that even with Ai there are challenges. “Ai has made it easy for just about everyone to generate leads but this has actually made the market extremely saturated and ironically contributes to the increase in cost for leads”.

But just like Ai is working its way into all our apps, programmes and services we use in everyday life, Ai is becoming integral to the world of marketing and leads. You simply cannot ignore it. The trick seems to be to make the best use of it and to use the best type of Ai that lines up with your budget.

That could be simple things like Ai grammar checking your emails and advert copy or perhaps, on a more sophisticated level, integrating Ai Chatbots on your websites etc. The challenge is that (as John Connor will tell you) if you use Ai to generate your own leads it can go horribly wrong if not utilised correctly.

Dale says at 1on1 Lead Generation they have integrated their fancy Ai lead gen system “directly into the WhatsApp Api and WhatsApp business suite” and that they “can now generate leads and pre-qualify them on WhatsApp”.

Since fancy Ai technology is doing some of the heavy lifting, it is one of the ways they have successfully helped keep costs manageable for their DC clients. Interestingly, they say that they have even had clients ask them to help them replicate their Ai systems (since many people prefer to manage their own lead gen themselves). The cost is lower than you might think.

So, it is clear Ai is the way of the future and seems set to be the next big thing in lead gen.

Understanding Lead Gen Better

Over the next few issues, we are going to be taking a deeper look at lead generation including the mechanics, ethics and nuances around the topic. We will dive into PoPi and how to stay on the right side of the law and best practices and more.

Like many other areas of the debt review industry, the topic is quite complex and the solutions on offer are fascinating – from “old school” to the Ai of the future we hope to take a look at it all.

Be sure to check out upcoming issues for more on leads.

Only Ever Work With Ethical, PoPI Complaint Service Providers and Always Ensure Your Potential Clients Are Fully Informed Exactly What They Are Asking For Help With.