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Mumbling Out Loud

Lead Generation Company Profile--ClearComs AgentWay.net

By: Ron Tarvin
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:59 AM

In an effort to save the Point2 community some hard earned cash,  I would like to start gathering data on various lead generation companies. 

The first one that I would like to mention/highlight is this Agentway.net.  They offer a set up fee for $49/zip and then the leads are only $2-$10 each!  Now before you go run over and sign up,  let me tell you what else I have discovered. 

 I signed up with this company in August 2006 and since then have not gotten a single lead.  In addition, over 20 other agents, who I have contacted or bumped into on the net have also NEVER gotten a single lead.  Here is the kicker.  The Set up fee is NONREFUNDABLE.  I have on numerous occasions put "trouble tickets" in to this company only to be told that the leads are coming!! 

So this morning I decided to step it up a notch and consider a class action suit for fraud against this company.  I did the WHOIS to look up the admin contact and guess what...the email address is fake and the phone number goes to some hospital or hospice in NY (the company claims to be in Sunny FLORIDA :

 AgentWay
7040-25 Seminole Pratt Whitney Blvd
West Palm Beach, FL 33470

Northlake
8895 Northlake Corp. Park
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

 

So, I've got to give the big THUMBS DOWN for this company as a valid lead generator!  In fact, I think I'd like to get my attorney to give them another hand gesture!

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Comments

Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

I too have been taken for the $49 set up fee for 2 zipcodes, total $98!  To date not one lead.  They told me several times they were upgrading me for free and that would help.  My last reply from them stated they were bought out and I would be getting a whole new webpage, login and password.  That was on Jan 22nd.   I too signed up in August 2006.  I turned them over the the BBB of Southern Florida, but they have several complaints on them and they do not respond.  

February 27, 2007 12:20 PM
Linden Babin
Member Since '07

Linden Babin said:

Well I have to agree with you. Thumbs Down in a big way! They took my money and ran. I have never received a lead in over 8 months and no reponse to my several email's(trouble ticket as they call it). What a joke!

February 27, 2007 12:21 PM
Mike Hope
Member Since '06

Mike Hope said:

Good work on exposing these guys! I believe it will be real hard to track them down. The idea of getting recommends on lead companies is great and I will start a little research of my own. How about Point2? Anyone have experience of their program?

Mike.

February 27, 2007 12:23 PM
Ron Tarvin
Member Since '04

Ron Tarvin said:

You know the great thing about Point2 leads?  They belong to the people who actually generate them!!  The agents!

Nothing but Thumbs Up For Point2Agent leads!!-

February 27, 2007 12:29 PM
Todd Clark
Member Since '06

Todd Clark said:

I think this is a great idea. Lets get the frauds out of the business. I too have used a lead generation company once. NEVER AGAIN! Yes, I got lots of leads, but they were given information from the company that put stars in their eyes and they expected to get homes for .25 on the dollar. It was just to hard to overcome the truth with the leads and they always ended up being mad within weeks, when they couldn't find a $200,000 property for $50,000.

Todd

February 27, 2007 12:32 PM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

I just found a phone number, and actually got a human on the other end to answer.  She basically gave me the same song and dance.  Clear Com has been bought out by Versa Com.  She is going to upgrade my site right now, and in a 1/2 hour I should have an email with my new password and ID.  I'll let you know what happens!  ;-)

btw...the phone number is 877-590-4400

Vickie

February 27, 2007 12:51 PM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

oh!  And here is their new website:

http://www.agentpoint.net/

February 27, 2007 12:52 PM
Joe and Jane  Mansell
Member Since '06

Joe and Jane Mansell said:

We also felll prey to this scam, you would think after all these years in the business we would learn...glad to see we were not the only ones!

February 27, 2007 12:57 PM
Jim Rosell
Member Since '06

Jim Rosell said:

Good info.Please contact your local law enforcement agency.Due to this being over state lines the FBI may be the next step.

Anyone who was victim of this apparent fraud should come forward,then we as a profession can stop these type of actions.My money ( based on experience) is this is not the only venue the provider operates.

If your wondering I was in Law Enforcement for 25 years.I rose through the ranks for street cop to detective to supervisor to administration.

This blog was as good as any I've seen.Real value,thanks again.

February 27, 2007 1:02 PM
Ron Tarvin
Member Since '04

Ron Tarvin said:

Jim,  I'm thinking that the FBI INternet Crime Complaint Center may be the place to report it.  Imagine if they get a report from all the agents we can contact about this in one day!

http://www.ic3.gov/

February 27, 2007 1:10 PM
Ron Tarvin
Member Since '04

Ron Tarvin said:

And here is the one for the FTC:

https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

February 27, 2007 1:12 PM
Stephen Burke
Member Since '07

Stephen Burke said:

Hello Everyone,

I'm sure this topic will bring many from our profession to blogs post. You see, I too have been taken by on-line lead generation providers.

With so much of our hard earned money spent, I look forward future comments.

By the way, have you ever noticed, when you contact these companies they almost always directly blame the realtor for not producing the lead to a sale.

February 27, 2007 1:16 PM
Carmen and Jeff Bills
Member Since '07

Carmen and Jeff Bills said:

Ron what a great topic, thumbs up for you for introducing it. I have had a bad experience with Home gain out of CA. Not that I did not get leads, I did but the quality was poor and trying to get them to stop charging my credit card after I canceled was a nightmare. Thank goodness for American Express, they credited back all of my money when the company never respond to my disputed charge complaint.

February 27, 2007 1:33 PM
Mark Zabilowicz
Member Since '06

Mark Zabilowicz said:

Ouch! What a topic!!!  Your looking at someone who has dabbled in quite a few his first year in real estate!!!  Spend a LOT of money with minimal results!

I've done HomeGain, House.com, Homes.com, Realtor.com, Housevalues.com, buyersrelocation

To date I closed 1 homegain lead after 6 months of service and am in the process of signing contract paperwork for someone I've been working with for about 15 months.

My advice!  INVEST in YOURSELF!  Buy keywords for placement etc...

I have not found one source for good leads other than pounding the pavement and calling FSBO's and now my web site!

I invested over $12K in lead programs my first year and only have 1 closed property to show for it!

*** listen to their speals... all you need to do is sell one property and the program pays for itself!****  ***most of the top agents are in our program, your one of the top agents in your area right?*****

OOOOOO you got me started!

Mark

February 27, 2007 1:41 PM
Stephen Burke
Member Since '07

Stephen Burke said:

You are right Mark. I had the same experience with Homegain, Housevalues, Realtytrac and others.

The only e-mail worth required attention from these services, were the notification of another monthly payment made.

The best lead generation, from my experience is called "HIT THE PAYMENT!-No magic newletter, post card or on-line source.

February 27, 2007 1:59 PM
Ron Tarvin
Member Since '04

Ron Tarvin said:

So did you get that upgrade yet Vickie?

February 27, 2007 2:36 PM
April Toney
Member Since '05

April Toney said:

Not much luck with Realty Track/Tracker either.  Anyone have feedback on their leads from that site?

February 27, 2007 2:53 PM
Namneet Dhaliwal
Member Since '05

Namneet Dhaliwal said:

I also have gone through Home Gain their buyers lead program and source for sellers, house values, realty tracker. My experience with all of these have not been great, although some people speak highly of some.

There are number of lead generating emails daily that I do not even open. I do get calls every other day from other lead generating companies. My first question is " How much does it cost" and the second is "Sorry I do not have the budget". I do not even care about how good their company is and what they have to offer? But this came after personnel experience of paying hefty money. Too much work too little gain. We as agents fell pray of lead generating companies, we provide them IDX link thorhg our MLS companies that we pay the dues for, in turn these comanies have their websites set up with our IDX links and sell those leads (visitor information). If the MLS information can be decipited for the comsumer benifits, then these companies should not be selling that information.

One thing that sold me to the point2 was that they do not do any kind of lead generation and sale other than what agents can produce from their own websites and they get to keep those leads wihtout additional charges.

http://www.namneet.com

February 27, 2007 3:21 PM
Buzz Lucas
Member Since '03

Buzz Lucas said:

I, too, have been taken down the primrose path, first by HouseValues, then an attempt by AgentConnect.com but was able to win round two!

Here's how to cut your losses:

Step one is to have a credit card that can be cancelled immediately without causing a ton of trouble. (I have a specific card to be used for my RE expenses anyway.)

Step two is to respond to the sales pitch with "if it's really that good, then you won't mind giving me a 30 day free trial." If all they want is the set up and to get your CC# they will start tap dancing. That's when it's time to say bye-bye. If you do go ahead and get involved, don't be afraid to cancel the card. You can get another one in a few days, but these leeches won't stop charging.

I also agree that there is no magic flow of leads for the easy street to wealth. Just plain old hard work!

February 27, 2007 3:32 PM
Donna Crosby
Member Since '06

Donna Crosby said:

Stay clear of House.com as well.  Their leads are all junk and usually rentals looking to rent homes, not buy.  I was told when I sigend up that it was Money Back Guaranteed, and I dont recall getting one red cent of my $600 back for 6 rental leads!!!

February 27, 2007 3:47 PM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

Well, I did get an email.  I clicked on the link and it took me to a page with my name and email address on it.  This page was a place to sign up!  YEAH!  They are asking me to pay them $48 per zipcode!  What do you guys think, should I give it a try?   I think I'll try calling Michelle again!

February 27, 2007 3:52 PM
Danny Frank
Member Since '04

Danny Frank said:

TRUTH....

Invest only in yourself... You can do much better than any of these leed genorators.  Make no misstake, they are your compatition.  ALL OF THEM.... I to use Housevalues.com, Home Gain and have not much to show for it.  I now spend less money per month generating more leeds promoting ME.... NEVER NEVER NEVER give them your money.  Just spend the money on marketing yourself and you will come out much beter in the long run.  

Please visit my site at www.danfrankrealty.com

February 27, 2007 3:58 PM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

Well, it is after 5:00pm eastern time, so I'm getting noone.  Guess I'll try again tomorrow!

February 27, 2007 4:04 PM
Jairo Rodriguez
Member Since '05

Jairo Rodriguez said:

hello guys, as a new agent this info is very  helpful, because prevent me to fall for one of this companies. provably paper click is the way To go.

thank you guys for value info

February 27, 2007 4:18 PM
Brenda Brown
Member Since '05

Brenda Brown said:

It's amazing how many calls we get from these people.  All of them in one day, isn't it?  With a bit of home work, you may be able to spot the junk.

All I can say is: take these people and what they tell you with a grain of salt and ask them for referrals from the people that use their sites.  

You can check out their members with your state's Real Estate governmental site and contact them from there.  If these places are not willing to give you real people that you can look up yourself (not phone numbers they give you), then run....fast....the other way.

February 27, 2007 4:24 PM
Todd Clark
Member Since '06

Todd Clark said:

Yet another reason P2 is such a great value. Keeps our money in our pocket. I had more leads in 2 days with my P2 site and craigslist than I have ever heard anyone getting from anyother lead generation site. FREE for a few minutes work on our own. I had someone call today from one of those lead generation sites and when I told her "Why do I need your help, I'm getting 300 unique visitors a day to my website. So what can you do for me that I'm not doing myself?"

She then asked me how much it would cost to use my services to help her with her personal website in another business field. I just laughed! She didn't even try to continue to sell me, she knew that they couldn't compete with that.

Todd

February 27, 2007 4:34 PM
Keith LaGrone
Member Since '05

Keith LaGrone said:

I would say steer clear of housevalues also. Their stock is probably plummeting SOLD.  I learned that they didn't ahve any debt, but they had a 85 percent churn rate, as far as the number of agents renewing. I went to the better business bureau and reported them. I cancelled my credit cards and disputed their collections efforts. They work with a collector's agency RPM. It's bad when they have a solid relationship.

Better Business Bureau.

And any other methods to complain.

Keith

February 27, 2007 4:52 PM
Gary Szolosi
Member Since '03

Gary Szolosi said:

Great post. I have wanted to vent for years on what I think of Realtor.com. I feel they are the biggest rip off site in the world. I was with them before joining point2. If they had a program or upgrade, I bought it. I never closed one deal with them in the 18+ months I was with them because I never got a lead, no matter what I spent. I almost had to sue them to get my money back after I closed my account because they kept billing me. I never did get back all the overcharges but that was fine once I got rid of them. This month I have earned over $35,000 in commissions on leads from my Point2 site. There is no comparision to this site. Dollar for dollar the return is here! Forget those "I'll send you lead companies". I tell them when they call I have leads to sell them, do they want to buy some. One called this week and offered 12 leads a month for $300. I asked her to have the suckers that buy that to call me and we will work out a legitimate deal. Spend the money or time getting your site working and you'll get leads. I also use adwords and have had good results with it. If your pages are well optimized your cost will be low .05 -.35 per click through. I spend about $350. a month and needless to say my return on investment is great.

February 27, 2007 4:59 PM
Ron Tarvin
Member Since '04

Ron Tarvin said:

Want to get going on HV?  I'll make a post in the future about my experience with them but for now, I'm on to Agentway for seemingly NEVER delivering even ONE lead to ANY agent ever!!  I seriously have never found ONE agent that was not promoting the Agentway site themselves that ever got a lead from this company!

February 27, 2007 5:01 PM
Jay & Francy Thompson  REALTORS®
Member Since '05

Jay & Francy Thompson REALTORS® said:

My post on HouseValues on my "other blog"

http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/housevalues-death-spiral/265

February 27, 2007 5:29 PM
Jay & Francy Thompson  REALTORS®
Member Since '05

Jay & Francy Thompson REALTORS® said:

Hey Ron -

I'd love to write something about this on The Phoenix Real Estate Guy.

Mind if I quote you, would you prefer to remain incognito, or should I just forget it?

February 27, 2007 5:34 PM
James Smith
Member Since '03

James Smith said:

Hi Folks,

I used RealEstate.com for a while and I am still registered on the site. I notice that they sell the leads through all of the affiliated businesses.  Another agent in my office got the same lead that I did as a referral from a service the brokers uses that is tied into the RealEstate.com network.  I used to go after all the seller leads and I did close 3 out of 10. However, I do think it is just one big scam and I decided to just stay away from them all.

February 27, 2007 5:37 PM
Ron Tarvin
Member Since '04

Ron Tarvin said:

Quote away, Jay (or anyone else for that matter, just please credit or link back)!  These guys need to have the light shined on their little operation.

This impacts not only agents, but consumers as well because when agent costs go up, so does the cost of selling real estate.  Just like when Walmart gets a price hike, that's what happens when third parties come between agent and buyer/seller!

February 27, 2007 6:16 PM
Carol and Steve Coldwell Banker Parker Realty
Member Since '05

Carol and Steve Coldwell Banker Parker Realty said:

Excellent post.  Kudos to Ron for shining the spotlight on this company!  Maybe now when someone googles this company, they will find out the real story!

February 27, 2007 6:25 PM
Lucia Brooks
Member Since '03

Lucia Brooks said:

I hate to be the party pooper, but I have used Homegains Buyerlink program for about a year and a half or close to two years.  Actually it works pretty good for me, my team closed 66 transactions last year and 25 transactions came from internet leads, I would have to attribute them pretty much all to Buyerlink and IDX.

I did have a lot of agents that hated to cull through all the dud leads to get to the good ones though, some of them just wouldn't do it, so I let em leave.  I had so many leads I couldn't keep up with them all.  I tried every phone number that I could and a small amount were good numbers.  I was able to make contact with them, stay in touch with them and work with them myself or delegate them to one of my team agents.  Some were right now business, most in the 3-9 month range, a few took up to a year to close.

Of course my team agents let the ball drop in following up on a number of these leads, I let those team agents go as well.  That drove me crazy.

I had really good success with leads that were relocating to the Atlanta area from out of state, terrible response from people who lived locally though.

I have also never had any success in procuring listings from internet lead generation companies, never one!

That's been my experience.  Sorry to hear everyone has had such bad experiences with other companies.  I know it is disappointing when things don't work the way they people say they will!  

Don't worry though, those that are bad will die, those that really work will still be around next year.  

February 27, 2007 7:08 PM
Freda Hoskins, REALTOR®
Member Since '06

Freda Hoskins, REALTOR® said:

Has anyone had any success with RealtyTrac?  I have been trying to cancel my account with them for two months... with no response.  I just sent them a "nasty-gram"... gawsh I hate doing that!!

Anyway... thank you Ron for leading the pack on this & reminding me that I need to follow-up on my situation : )

http://www.idahomesnorth.com

February 27, 2007 7:42 PM
Lonn Dugan
Member Since '05

Lonn Dugan said:

Funny:  I never could rope in a buyer from Homegain or Housevalues, Just Listed,

BUT...

I could sure list enough leads from each service....  Did about $20,000 in commission for about $8,000 spent.  

However, it was just not worth the cost after all when you realize those deals have all the usual costs of any deal....  

I now do business without paying those guys a piece of the action.

February 27, 2007 9:07 PM
Andrew Hodge
Member Since '03

Andrew Hodge said:

I used HouseValues for the better part of a year and they always delivered their minimum but I think I may have received one deal out of it, which may have covered the cost.  There are a few that I still keep in contact with but over all it was not worth it.  

I get a lot more leads from my Point2 websites for a fraction of a cost, although it does involve more work.  Point2 like to make you feel good about your leads by telling you how much they are worth based on a $70 per lead cost.  However, I do not think I would pay $10 per lead from the Internet as they are fickle and not easy to convert.  Volume is the only way to make the Internet leads payout.

The Internet is definitely the new source for leads, however we are  all better off collecting our own and spending our money on our own sites.

I will never use another lead generation site because it would be better to start a PPC campaign or at least an SEO and marketing campaign with the same money instead.

February 27, 2007 10:09 PM
Iliana Ortiz
Member Since '05

Iliana Ortiz said:

I have tried Realestate.com, Lead to Realty, Realty Trac, and RealtyNow. I was able to get 1 good lead from RealtyTrac and made $6,000 off of that lead but have had no luck with the others. Needless to say I have spent more than what I have made. I've only been a realtor for a year and since the market has changed I've hit a brick wall. Sometimes I feel like getting a 9-5 job, at least I would get a steady pay check. I haven't gotten any leads off of Point2 website. I would appreciate if you all can take a look at it and give me some pointers on how I can improve it.

Thanks

February 27, 2007 10:11 PM
Susan Murphy
Member Since '04

Susan Murphy said:

I got lucky.  HouseValues did not have my zip code available few years back...they called a few months later to say it was available.  Upon learning it was previously held by one of our top local brokers, I figured, if he wasn't satisfied, why would I want it?  Too many colleagues tried and failed...I'd rather invest in myself and good old fashioned networking.  P2 is much more reasonable and effective.

February 28, 2007 8:10 AM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

Well, first thing this morning, I talked to Michelle again, and she said she goofed and sent the info she said she would.  I do have a new site with more information, let's see what happens here!  

February 28, 2007 8:31 AM
Jack Stroup
Member Since '07

Jack Stroup said:

Stay away from E-agent.  same stories as the others.  Here are thier documented responses to my concerns.  I will admit I did accuse the service of "sucking"  after getting leads like booger@poopypants.com.

You are scheduled for cancellation on Feb. 8th 2007.  As for our service "sucking" - we are not even going to answer that comment.  There are nearly 1,000 e-Agents around the US with the majority of them very happy and profitable using our service.  If you did not have the same experience we are sorry and hope that maybe you will consider changing some of your tactics to closer more internet leads.

We do offer over 120 pages of free training material upon request, have scheduled calls with all our clients and had the CEO of the company take direct questions and survey information from all our clients.

e-Agent is confident that its service is one of a kind in the industry and as we branch into other vertical markets at the end of this quarter (mortgage, title, homeowner's insurance and moving) we look forward to incorporating more e-Agents into our marketing platform.

We wish you the best of luck.

Stay away from them.  

February 28, 2007 8:51 AM
Ron Tarvin
Member Since '04

Ron Tarvin said:

But of course, Vicki,  the site doesn't matter. All that matters is the LEADS that were promised to you and if they don't do that, then who cares that they set up a new site for you!

February 28, 2007 9:30 AM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

Oh, Ron, I know, I don't expect anything from it! I will keep you posted though!

February 28, 2007 9:42 AM
Stephen & Amy DelGatto
Member Since '03

Stephen & Amy DelGatto said:

Hi Vicky,

We've been worked over by Agentway ourselves, and sent in several trouble tickets with the same response over and over. They suggested that I beef up our bio, so we did and still nothing. So I did a test lead to myself and that's been the only lead to date. My wife and I had much better luck with LendingTree, however it was quite expensive. About 1/2 of our business came from there, but around September we stopped receiving any leads at all and switched to Agentway in January...mistake!!!!

March 1, 2007 7:20 PM
Stephen & Amy DelGatto
Member Since '03

Stephen & Amy DelGatto said:

Just got this reply from their support group. Yippee it looks like I'll be getting 3 times the amount leads that I am currently getting, this will triple my current amount of leads from 0 to 000!!

From their support:

"We checked your website to ensure it is working properly and

it is. We also checked your information in the partner sites and in fact

everything is correct and active to receive leads. Due to our check, we can

only assume it is because your area might not be receiving as many searches as

other areas.  For this reason, we are placing you in our Pinnacle Account

at no additional cost.  Which is our optimum account and is normally only

available for existing clients who have been collecting leads for 6 months or

more and would like to increase their volume of leads. Our Pinnacle Accounts

can produce up to 3 times more exclusive homebuyer leads than our SelectAgent

account and will also produce more live lead transfers as well.  Please

allow 5 business days for this to take effect and you should start seeing

better results thereafter."

March 1, 2007 8:28 PM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

okay guys, I just received to leads!  One with a bogus email and phone number, the other was good!  I have talked to the client, she is not looking to buy for a year, but it was a good email and number!  I am in shock!  So all of you who have been dealing with Agent Direct/Clear Com, here is the information you need to try to get where I've gotten!

Agent Point is now the name, through Versa Com.  A good phone number is 877-590-4400, and I always talk to Michelle who's extention is 201.  

I talked to her on Tuesday, had my new site up and running on Wednesday, and had the leads on Thursday.  

I am having hope!

March 2, 2007 12:29 PM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

BTW....I meant two, not to leads!

March 2, 2007 1:14 PM
Ron Tarvin
Member Since '04

Ron Tarvin said:

I didn't call, Vickie, but they emailed me just the same and set up my new page.  The new page is really odd...offering the site visitor to make their own virtual tour of their house and also their own brochure...

very strange indeed, but I guess that is what induces the contact information.

March 3, 2007 12:26 AM
Vickie Henninger
Member Since '04

Vickie Henninger said:

Ron,  I have recieved a couple of more leads, not good ones as far as someone to work with.  They are good phone numbers, but one already has an offer on a property, the other "claims" his son was messing around.  (yeah, right)  

I did see where the vistors can make their own virtual tours, but what good is that going to do them.  Perhaps it will show them what WE can do for them.  

This does seem to be going somewhere, finally.  Let me know whether you start getting leads or not.

March 3, 2007 6:16 PM

Guest

Greg Deans said:

Losing a 100.00 still hurts, but seeing so many other professional that were fooled by these crooks at least eases my conscience.

 I paid, and also received no leads, nor any response to my trouble tickets.  

June 4, 2007 3:11 PM

Guest

Sharon Fonville said:

I am new to Versa Com or Agent Point and knew within 2 weeks that it was a mistake - my error tickets came back to me in Mailer Daemon, I couldn't find a way to contact them, I got leads with false numbers.   But they managed to find ME when they wanted me to upgrade my service.   But finally I got this:

Dear Agentpoint Client,

Again, I’d like to apologize for the server issues and the problems it has caused over the last several weeks.  It will be moved this weekend and additional upgrades to the server and the website will be integrated over the next month.

I’ve been a realtor and a real estate investor for many years and knew that many lead programs didn’t work well and are very expensive.  That’s why I bought Agentpoint on May 30; I want to provide a low cost way to help realtors have success.  The transition has been difficult so far but we’ve now got the pieces in place to make it work well, with a little time.  I’ve added a CIO, Kevin Hoot, you’ve met him electronically, two website designer/marketing specialists and an IT technician.  Together, they found fatal flaws  that effected our email delivery servers (and of course lead and email transmissions to you and the reason for the server move) and our phone systems.  Much of our mail was redirected for nearly two months before it was finally located, with the help of the Post Office.  These fundamental parts of the business have been corrected.

The Agentpoint website will be completely new in the next month as it becomes a more complete website for your use.  Our lead gathering mechanisms and promotions have been expanded, in fact many of our clients are already seeing a difference as we test them.  We have many clients who are participating in the new developments and giving us guidance in our growth.  The program itself will be modified to give the realtors an even better chance at success and we’re bringing in a customer service consultant on 090407.  There are too many positive, progressive advances to name.  I’d like you to be a part of Agentpoint as we work through other improvements.  As the owner of the company, I’m prepared to offer you a 120 day, full money back guarantee from 090107 to 010108 to be a part of the changes. I’m convinced that the efforts we’re making now will make significant improvements to the number of contacts you receive.

We will continue to get better and improve, but the basic model is a good one…you wouldn’t have become involved if you didn’t agree.  Please give us the time to continue to improve and to help in your success.

Sincerely,

Bob Melino

Office cell phone (private, so please be judicious) 561-201-5037

I hope this helps some of you as well as me!   Will be trying it tomorrow to see if it's a phony number.

September 17, 2007 1:18 AM
Vance Remele
Member Since '06

Vance Remele said:

Now you did ,The one subject that makes my Blood Boil.!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I have posted this on many boards, over the past few years and for  those who may not see it here have at it........................ I also got burn by none other Real Estate .com

---   ---       ---- ----- --- ----   --- --

Lead companies seldom generate quality leads.

You have, no doubt, seen lead companies claiming they have target market leads for your business. They target very generally, to produce massive numbers of leads for their own profit, not yours. All seven points here are lies you are literally being sold.

If you have any doubt, book mark this page in your favorites, and investigate each point. These are only a few reasons to generate your own leads.

Lead Generation Company Lie #1. "We Generate Target Market Leads."

For example, some lead companies place pop up ads on massive corporate investment web sites. People looking to invest a very small amount of money see a pop up ad that says "Earn $5,000 per month from home" and opt in, out of hope and curiosity. The lead is targeted to anyone who will enter their information, and then sold to you.

Does that sound like someone looking for a business, or someone who's attention was diverted by fading momentary interest?

Lead Generation Company Lie #2. "We Generate Leads."

The truth is, there are only a handful of lead companies that generate leads, and they are generally very poor quality. The others, buy their leads from them, and re-sell them to you. They, in fact, never generated the "Lead".

Lead Generation Company Lie #3. "Our Leads Are Fresh, 24 Hours Old, Or Less!"

The lead was actually just sold to the company 24 hours ago from another lead company. It could be days, weeks, or months old. Make sure to read all of the details about how the company obtained the lead to begin with.

Lead Generation Company Lie #4. "Leads Are Not Incentivised."

Incentivised means the lead company claims that they did not offer a cash payment, or gift, to the person who become a lead. They are actually posing as a survey company that promises to pay people, for filling out surveys. First, people are asked to fill in their information, so checks can be mailed to them, for surveys taken. After filling out a survey, the lead company informs the survey taker that they will not be paid, unless they sign up for a certain number of offers on a questionnaire. A good example is this:

"Would you like to work from home?" The survey taker checks the box to be paid, and their information is sent to you as a lead. They often have no idea of what just happened, or why you contacted them.

Was the "Lead" incentivised? What do you think?

Lead Generation Company Lie #5. "Company Specific Leads"

Let's say in this example your home business sells vacations. The lead company tells you that their $10 lead is targeted to people that will be interested in vacations. What that really means is, an advertisement was put in a place of interest to people looking for a vacation package, that also sells advertising space to a lead company. The ad placed on the site claims the person can get paid to take vacations, instead of purchasing one, and the shopper opts in.

Is that really a company specific lead?

Lead Generation Company Lie #6. "There Are Millions Of People Looking For A Home Business Every Day."

The truth is, there ARE people looking home businesses every day, but, there are thousands, not millions. Most leads are just the same people falling for these gimmicks, over and over. That's the reason why most home business owners fail. They go broke sorting through costly, poor quality, "Leads".

Is that what you want? Of course not.

Lead Generation Company Lie #7. "We Will Give You 10 Free Leads To Test Our Quality"

A lead company tells you that they will give you 10 leads for trying their leads. What they don't tell you is that when you give them your information, you just became a lead.

The bottom line is, lead companies CAN generate quality leads. However, they never will, because their profit comes from selling millions of poor quality leads. If they were to generate millions of good leads, their employees would use them, quit their jobs, and join a business!

Had enough now? I have !!!!!  Vance

September 17, 2007 3:51 AM

Guest

Mark said:

House.com was hitting the Colorado market yesterday.  I did sign up with them, however "after" signing up relized that they did not have a cancellation option.  $499. for 1 zip code and no guarentee of leads.  

Now I know that it could happen, but I think that money is better spent on those I know, rather than those I don't.  

After repeated phone calls, and the following email, and a call to the VP of Ops.  I think I have it cancelled.  

The internet is a great way to find leads, but you shouldnt have to pay up the **& to get them...

Please Cancel my account effective immediately and refund my signup fee of $499. To my credit card on file.  

Per North Carolina law, I am canceling my purchase contract with Home.com Inc. of New York, purchased on **at **and I am requesting a full refund within my 3 business day contract cancellation period.  

NORTH CAROLINA:

"Under various North Carolina statutes, the consumer has the right to

cancel certain types of purchases even after he or she has signed a

contract or agreement. In many cases, the seller is required by the

same law to notify the consumer of this right by describing the

consumer's right to cancel in conspicuous type in the contract

itself."

Unless otherwise noted, the cancellation period is three business days

on the following transactions. Other transactions are not covered

under this law.

In-Home Solicitations: Purchase of goods or services on credit that

takes place at the buyer's residence upon a personal solicitation at

the buyer's residence. This right to cancel does not apply to the

following:

-- Sales of apparel.

-- Sales made on preexisting revolving credit accounts, e.g., credit

cards that the consumer possessed prior to the transaction.

-- Sales of farm equipment and motor vehicles.

-- Sales of certain goods and services related to funerals.

-- Sales made by a consumer who has previously engaged in a similar

business transaction with the seller.

-- Sales made after negotiations occurring at the seller's business

premises at which the goods or services are displayed or offered."

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.  

November 16, 2007 6:18 PM

Guest

Judi Wolfson said:

I would LOVE TO BRING A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST  ClearComMedia aka  Agentway.net  aka Versacom aka Agentpoint.net

I paid them $275 via telecharge, so I had no way of disputing it.  I communicated with them for almost a year, with one excuse after another... , never any leads, just referral to different departments and phone numbers, all of which never returned call or were disconnected... and I thought it was really, just me.

Does anyone know how and if we can get a class action suit against them?

Feel free to contact me at Judi@judiwolfson.com or Bestagent@realtor.com

Thanks

Judi Wolfson  

November 26, 2007 1:44 PM

Guest

Natalee Ridenour said:

I tried e-agent recently, they sent leads, not one turned into a sale, 99% weren't even real e-mail addresses.  Said they would give a 30 day trial period, but when I tried to cancel, they ignored my request until the trial period was up.  They only noticed when I cancelled the credit card and got my $699.00 back that they billed my credit card for now they want $1229.00 out of me.  I'm lost, I would have so much in lawyers fees, I don't know if I should just pay it.  I wish I could find a bunch of realtors that would file a class action suit with me, I found a lawyer in Virginia (in their contract that they make you sign, it states that any case has to go through Virginia) that i eager to take the case, he has received a few other calls like mine, but needs more before he would want to go any further.  

March 19, 2008 1:03 AM

Guest

Hugh Harkin - Lead To Realty said:

An option people might want to consider is Lead To Realty.  We have quite a distinct process to most lead generation companies, and furthermore - it's one that actually works!

We market with all the major search engines, on a scale beyond that of individual realtors, so that if a person in any given city in the country goes online to look for a realtor, they will come to our site. This allows us to capture the over 80% of customers who nowadays use the internet to do real estate business. On leadtorealty.com, the customer fills out a form with personal information and specifications about the type of deal they want to do. Where Lead To Realty differs from other lead generation schemes is that we then call each and every one of these potential customers, weeding out all the bogus or noncommittal leads. We confirm with them the details they had given on the form, discuss with them the deal they want to do, confirm they are not under contract with an agent and that they are willing and able to do a deal. We then give your name to the prospect as the best agent working in the area and, immediately after speaking to them, we pass on all the information to you via email and even by text message, so you can call them straightaway.

With a steady stream of leads of this quality coming through for you, your chances of taking at least one out of ten to escrow are tremendously high. And the ROI on that is fantastic! Plus, since Lead To Realty only sends you those leads we have personally spoken to and confirmed that they are motivated, we won't inundate you with tens of leads every month that you then have to slog through cold-calling. We only send you the best chances.

None of this is miracle stuff. There is no such thing as a sure lead. Like any serious marketing initiative, the value of our service will come to you in your ROI over the medium to long-term. With the extra measures that Lead To Realty takes, however, we minimize the risks traditionally associated with leads and thus maximize your chances of closing. Please do get in touch if you're interested.

August 20, 2008 3:46 PM

Guest

LeadToRealty said:

Thanks, Hugh!  More info on LeadToRealty:

Call our Sales Manager directly for more information:

(800) 311-7780 x 603

See our success stories:

http://www.leadtorealty.com/testimonials.php

January 7, 2009 8:40 AM
Velda Miller
Member Since '03

Velda Miller said:

Sorry Hugh, I automatically rule out anyone who doesn't post prices upfront.

January 7, 2009 11:03 AM

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