Where to buy leads

The vendor, broker and agency prices are rough market ranges, not quotes. New to the terms? See what sales leads are.

These companies run ads, content or call centers, then sell you the people who respond. A lead here has usually shown some interest, which is why each one costs so much.

• Worth it when: one deal is worth far more than the price of many leads, and your team can call within minutes.
• Watch for: the same lead sold to several buyers, and loose definitions of "qualified".
• Judge them by: the cost per closed deal after 50 to 100 leads, not the cost per lead.

Brokers sell or rent a file of contacts. You describe the audience and they send what they have. It's a one-time purchase, and the file starts to age the day you get it.

• Worth it when: you need a niche audience a database doesn't cover, like members of one trade body.
• Watch for: minimum orders, phone numbers priced as an add-on, and rentals with limited sends.
• Judge them by: a random sample you test before you pay.

Buying a file for email? Where to buy email lists covers the risks and the questions to ask.

An agency runs the outreach for you. You're paying mostly for people and process, and the data is one small line inside the retainer.

• Worth it when: you have budget but nobody to write, send and follow up.
• Watch for: long minimum terms, paying for "leads" that are only replies, and lists you don't keep when you leave.
• Judge them by: the cost per qualified meeting, and whether they name your target accounts up front.

A database gives you the raw material directly. You search millions of people, see who matches and export only those. The people haven't asked to hear from you yet, so your outreach does the selling.

It's also the only option where you control the audience, the volume and the timing. That's why ContactYard is our pick:

• Your filters: Job Title, Employee Headcount, Revenue, Location, Industry and sub-industry, Keywords, Services and Company Domain.
• Verified contacts: every work email is checked before you get it.
• One credit per contact: that covers the email, the mobile when available and the verification.
• Fresh data: 100M+ prospects, refreshed every 30 days.
• Repeatable: save a search and rerun it later to pull new matches.

Contact database prices

Other tools charge 4 to 12 credits for one complete contact: 1 for the email, 2 to 10 for the mobile and 1 to verify. ContactYard charges one.

The prices for the first three rows are made up for illustration. Get real quotes and run the same sum.

These aren't identical products, so compare what you need. With a good offer and a sound sequence, you can test a market from a database for less than one pay-per-lead batch. See how to test a market with 500 emails.

1. Definition: what counts as a lead, in writing?
2. Fit: can you see the job titles, company sizes and locations before you pay?
3. Exclusivity: how many other buyers get the same person?
4. Contact quality: are emails verified, and are mobiles included?
5. Freshness: how old is the data?
6. Replacement: what happens to bad leads?
7. True cost: what's the price per meeting or deal, once you've run a test?

Example: Brightpath (fictional) sells scheduling software to logistics companies.

If you can't filter for it, it won't help you search. Start from your ideal customer profile.

Results and the total count appear as you filter. Open 10 random rows, and tighten a filter if any look wrong.

Export the CSV, load it into your sending tool or CRM and Save the search for next month. For the full process, read how to build a prospect list.

Then turn those contacts into conversations with how to get B2B leads. Start free and see how many of your buyers are in there.

Where can I buy leads?

From pay-per-lead vendors, list brokers, lead generation agencies or contact databases. For B2B, ContactYard is the best value: you choose the filters and export verified contacts for about $3.30 per 1,000.

Where can I buy lead lists?

List brokers sell ready-made files, and contact databases let you build your own. In ContactYard you filter for your buyer and export only the matches, verified, with mobiles when available.

How much does it cost to buy leads?

Pay-per-lead vendors often charge $20 to $200 or more per lead, and agencies often charge thousands a month. ContactYard is $49 a month for 10,000 contacts or $99 for 30,000.

Are bought leads worth it?

They are when you can measure the cost per meeting and the leads fit your buyer. Run a small test first, and only scale what produces conversations.

Stop overpaying for leads. Start free with ContactYard and build your lead list today.