How to Find the Top Moving Leads Provider

We’ve seen a few things over the almost 2 decades we’ve been in the moving leads industry. So much so that we know what works and what doesn’t for our moving customers. If you are shopping around for a leads provider, check out the tips we’ve compiled on the standards you should be looking for and why we are able to exceed those standards! 

10 CATEGORIES MOVING COMPANIES SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN LOOKING FOR A TOP MOVING LEADS PROVIDER

1. Data Collection Methods and Source 
2. Data Quality 
3. Targeting Capabilities 
4. Age of Leads 
5. Timing and Frequency Sent  
6. Types of Leads: New and Pending or “Under Contract”
7. Personalized Leads
8. Avoid General Sales Leads Providers
9. No Contracts or Long Term Commitments
10. Flexible and Transparent Paying Options

Let’s Dig Into the Details!

1. DATA COLLECTION METHODS AND SOURCES 

When seeking a moving leads provider, ensure the lead provider is an expert at what they do and they understand data protection and privacy laws. 

At MovingLeads.com, our primary business is data. We monitor the real estate market and legally collect addresses for sale from multiple public sources. We do not use list brokers or lists from other companies. When you work with us, you work directly with the list publisher and the data expert. To learn more about how our leads compare with other lead lists, read: Not All Leads Lists are Created Equal.

2. DATA QUALITY - Why Internet leads & data from the MLS suck!

Why Internet Leads Suck

Internet leads are generated from a homeowner filling out a form on a website where they request a business contact them by either email or phone. These leads are often oversold, so if you are not the first company to contact that homeowner you will likely get an irritated response, no response, or worse, news that your competitor already won their business.

Why Data on the MLS Sucks

The MLS is a raw listing of all real estate activity in your area. About 50% of this raw data are non-viable leads such as new construction, empty lots, bank-owned properties, and empty properties where the homeowner has already moved. You could waste a lot of time and money marketing to bad leads if you are using raw MLS lists.

Why Our Leads are the Best in the Industry

Our leads are different. We monitor the real estate market closely. We collect "for sale" advertising from multiple public sources and then double verify the information is correct and that the homeowner in your area is planning a move. Learn more about the thorough steps we take to verify our leads.

Every weekday, you’ll receive only the best leads - large household moves that have been verified to be homeowner-owned and occupied. We provide you with everything you need to contact these homeowners via direct mail – sending either a postcard or a letter.

Direct Mail is the best way to reach 100% of the potential customers in your area – not just the small percentage that will take the time to fill out a form online. Plus direct mail household response rate is at 1-2%  (compared to .2% mobile, .1% email, .1% social media, and .02% internet display). Use direct mail as a friendly “ask” for a homeowner’s business rather than being the 3rd mover phone call they’ve received that day. 

Sign up today for a FREE no-obligation consultation to see if our direct mail service is a good fit for your marketing strategy. 

3. TARGETING CAPABILITIES 

When targeting any kind of lead, you should put in as many filters as possible to ensure you are targeting homeowners that:

• Can afford your services and

• Are most likely to hire you

You are ultimately wasting money, time, and your staff’s effort if you are using marketing services that do not allow you to filter out people that do not fit your ideal customer’s attributes. 

We offer two targeting options* to our customers that you can apply to your service to ensure your postcards are honing in on large household moves with the highest revenue potential to boost your bottom line. 

1. GEOTARGETING - 3 ways to define the geographic area: 

• • By mile radius around an address
  • By zip code
  • By Counties

For most, a mile radius covers their ideal market. But if you want to exclude an area in the mile radius, then the zip code and counties options might be the best option for your criteria. 

2. ASKING PRICE OF HOME

You can further tailor your targeting efforts by carefully selecting the asking price of the home you want your postcards to reach. 

Setting a minimum and maximum asking price of the homes, allows you to target the size of the moves you want to be included on your list. 

*We do not provide demographic information. We have found that the asking price of the home (which loosely equates the household income) is the most effective way to target.

4. AGE OF LEADS 

You should seek moving lead providers that provide the freshest leads available. What exactly does “fresh” mean? MovingLeads.com collects leads as soon as the house is advertised for sale. Each weekday, we filter the leads and provide you a new list of leads from the previous day’s collection. These fresh leads ensure your company’s mailer is in the hands of your potential customer the fastest, giving you the competitive advantage!

5. TIMING AND FREQUENCY SENT  

When we say fresh leads we mean they should be provided the SAME DAY the leads are available. Our daily service is offered for both our Leads Only and our Leads Plus Postcard Fulfillment to ensure postcards land in the homeowner’s hands as quickly as possible. 

If our customer opts to use our automated postcard fulfillment process, fast postcard delivery is guaranteed since we send all of our mailers with first-class postage. Our hassle-free fully automated service is like having a marketing assistant with no extra work or cost on your end. Reach out to homeowners as quickly as 3 - 5 business days after they list their home on the market.  

6. TYPES OF LEADS: NEW AND PENDING OR “UNDER CONTRACT”

NEW

Our new listing leads are fresh off of public sources like Zillow or Redfin (listing all of our sources would take all day!). These leads are then thoroughly filtered using proprietary software to ensure each lead is homeowner-owned and occupied and ready to move. 

Our filtration process helps weed out leads like vacant properties, second homes, investment properties, empty lots, bank-owned properties, etc. But even then, there is no such thing as a perfect list. There will always be some vacancies since people are in the process of moving. 

Even with our filtered list, you should expect a single-digit vacancy rate and some inevitable return mail. Returns should be thought of as a normal expense of a direct mail campaign,  just like the cost of printing postcards or buying stamps. Focus on using the total cost of your mailing to figure out your cost per call or cost per booking.  As long as these are meeting your budget targets then returns shouldn’t deter you from direct mail.

PENDING OR “UNDER CONTRACT”

Want to retarget homeowners once their house goes under contract? We also monitor the active listings and can provide a daily list of homes that have just changed to pending or “under contract” status. 

A follow-up mailing at pending status is a perfect time to check in with homeowners. At this point, homeowners are now almost certainly ready to hire a mover. The clock is ticking towards their imminent moving date and a second postcard increases visibility and keeps your company top of mind. 

PRO-TIP

To hit the nail on the head even harder, MovingLeads.com leads plus fulfillment customers can send unique postcard designs - one version to NEW listings and one to PENDING status. With this option, homeowners get a personalized postcard that speaks directly to their situation. Check out the graphic design services we offer our customers. 

7. PERSONALIZED LEADS

Avoid generic MLS or Internet leads that are not customized with the homeowner’s name and just say “Current Resident” or “Homeowner”. Studies show the response rates plummet without personalization. Postcards addressed to the homeowner and delivered with first-class postage, mentally translate into:

 “This mail is for me and grabs my attention."

Versus

“This is junk mail.”

Addressing your postcard with the homeowner’s name better grabs the attention of the homeowner and establishes a stronger initial personal connection. 

All of our leads include the homeowner’s first and last name for a more personal touch. We print this information directly on your postcards above the address for our Leads Plus Postcard Fulfillment customers, and the homeowner’s name is also included on the PDFs formatted for label printing that we provide our Lead Only customers. 

8. AVOID GENERAL SALES LEAD PROVIDERS

One of the biggest mistakes movers make when committing to a leads provider is not picking one that specializes in moving leads. There is a reason why services like EDDM® (Every Door Direct Mail®) do not work for movers. EDDM® is a “spray and pray” tactic where movers are mailing to every household in a specific area regardless if that household is moving or not. By not exclusively mailing to homeowners that have an imminent move, you will see high return rates, low response rates, and very low to no ROI.  

At MovingLeads.com we understand the housing and moving industries. We’ve been working with movers for close to 20 years. Our customers average a 1 -3% response rate off of the mailers sent to the quality moving leads we provide. Those same customers report that the jobs they end up booking off of those responses are the largest and highest revenue jobs they prefer to add to their calendars.

9. NO CONTRACTS OR LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS

When you are shopping around for moving lead providers, you should also ensure you are not partnering with a moving leads provider that is going to lock you into a long-term commitment or a monthly subscription. With direct mail campaigns, you also do not want upfront costs for postcard inventories or postage deposits. 

We know the moving industry ebbs and flows and that is why we offer our customers the flexibility to start and stop service easily. There are no monthly subscriptions or long-term commitments when working with us. To cancel your service with us at any time, simply notify us by 3 pm MST on weekdays to suspend service for the very next business day.

10. FLEXIBLE AND TRANSPARENT PAYMENT OPTIONS

Finally, the last thing you want when partnering with a moving leads provider is paying upfront for a service you do not even know will be effective (think monthly subscriptions). We emphasize testing all of our own marketing tactics, so we give all of our customers the luxury to do the same (think no long-term commitments or contracts and the ability to test different targeting options, postcard designs, etc.). 

At MovingLeads.com there are no setup fees for our Leads Only service. A setup fee of just $50 is charged for your postcard artwork submission for our Leads Plus Postcard Fulfillment service. Additional fees may be charged if you use our graphic designer for customizing a template or creating a custom postcard. See our 3 design setup options.

LEAD ONLY - $.30 per lead

LEAD & POSTCARD FULFILLMENT (includes Lead, Printed Postcard, Postage)

• • 4x6 Postcards - $.94
  • 5.5x8.5 Postcards - $1.18
  • 6x11 Postcards - $1.28

Daily Service delivers leads and postcards mailed every weekday (M-F).  Daily service is billed once per week. You will receive an invoice on Mondays.

Invoices are conveniently and automatically paid using a credit card on file for your account. The paid invoice is sent showing a zero balance due. This invoice should be kept on for a record of the charge.  

Charges to your credit card will appear as "First Movers Advantage".

IN THE END...

Just like any other partnership, we cannot emphasize enough that you should put in a lot of research and vet the options you have available to you. We invite you to check out what sets MovingLeads.com apart from the competition and why we will help you book your largest and most profitable moves. We’ll help you start mailing so you can start moving!

Contact Us Today to Get Started!