How much should I pay for a mortgage lead?

January 10, 2009 by Brendan O'Neill

Advice & Tips

Mortgage Advisors

We have discussed in an earlier article how lead generation can be particularly important when you have finished your CeMAP training and are just starting out in your new career. The first few months are often the most difficult.

We talked about where to find your leads and how to ensure they are both fresh and that you use a reputable company, but how much a mortgage lead is worth is one of the burning questions delegates have on their minds when attending a mortgage advisor course.

The conversion rate of leads is an important factor here and this will only partly depend on how good an advisor you are and the level of rapport you can build up. Industry standards for conversion are generally between 5 and 15 per cent. Therefore, if you buy 100 leads you can expect to convert on average anything from 5 to 15 of them, but there is no knowing whether they will be the first or last of the 100 leads so you need to commit enough budget to be able to buy a reasonable volume to get the right number of conversions.

Armed with this information, you should be able to work out what you can afford per lead. Never pay more than you can afford. For instance, if you can afford to pay £300 for a converted customer and you know you can convert around 10 percent, or one in ten, then you should pay no more than £30 maximum for a lead.