1K Post: AMA Time



Hope I'm not too late:

Are there any lead gen business models that you particularly like? I mean, if you were to start one as you had mentioned earlier...
 
How do you determine when something you're doing is worth scaling, and what do you use as metrics for managing the cost and risk of scaling that process or business? Favorite mixed beverage?
 
greenleaves said:
Hope I'm not too late:

Are there any lead gen business models that you particularly like? I mean, if you were to start one as you had mentioned earlier...
Click to expand...

There's some under the radar companies killing it on lead gen for home repair (bathroom remodels, decks, etc), think Angie's List style stuff. No shortage of customers, with huge payouts just for filling out an interest form.

I know of at least one company that just did auto sales lead-gen that got bought out by a Fortune 500 company for 8 figures, and they had been around less than 2 years. There's tons of guys doing the auto insurance lead space right now that are growing 100%+ per year, every year.

Me personally, I love the mass tort legal lead gen game lately. The companies that made Androgel, Actos, Propecia, Lipitor, TVM Mesh, Xarelto, etc are some of the deepest-pocketed companies in the world. Settling with class action clients and their lawyers for even pennies on the dollar would be hundreds of millions of dollars, that leaves a lot of cash available to pay for the leads generated that could each turn into a huge settlement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: greenleaves
mont7071 said:
There's some under the radar companies killing it on lead gen for home repair (bathroom remodels, decks, etc), think Angie's List style stuff. No shortage of customers, with huge payouts just for filling out an interest form.

I know of at least one company that just did auto sales lead-gen that got bought out by a Fortune 500 company for 8 figures, and they had been around less than 2 years. There's tons of guys doing the auto insurance lead space right now that are growing 100%+ per year, every year.

Me personally, I love the mass tort legal lead gen game lately. The companies that made Androgel, Actos, Propecia, Lipitor, TVM Mesh, Xarelto, etc are some of the deepest-pocketed companies in the world. Settling with class action clients and their lawyers for even pennies on the dollar would be hundreds of millions of dollars, that leaves a lot of cash available to pay for the leads generated that could each turn into a huge settlement.
Click to expand...

Pure awesome. Thanks man.
 
boatBurner said:
How do you determine when something you're doing is worth scaling, and what do you use as metrics for managing the cost and risk of scaling that process or business? Favorite mixed beverage?
Click to expand...

Before I get into it, I make sure there are at least a full page of paid ads on the frontpage of the SERPS, that tells me there is a big enough pool of potental buyers with money to spend to justify why multiple businesses are buying targeted traffic. If it's a physical product, I buy enough inventory/traffic to last me for 3 months, then evaluate if its worth doubling-down and trying to scale for the longer-term. If it's a service, I can afford to have a little longer time horizon to see if it's worthwhile.

Once I've launched, its mostly trial and error (sometimes mostly error). I got into one supplement biz because it was a huge potential pool of people, only to realize too late that the audience couldn't differentiate between any of the merchants, so shopped solely on price. That was a fail, but another product I got into as a niche product mostly to be a compliment to another product I was selling suddenly blew up when a pro athlete hit the news for using that niche product. That was mostly luck, I had the right product in place, but the market suddenly grew 20x through something outside my control.
 
  • Like
Reactions: boatBurner
mont7071 said:
Before I get into it, I make sure there are at least a full page of paid ads on the frontpage of the SERPS, that tells me there is a big enough pool of potental buyers with money to spend to justify why multiple businesses are buying targeted traffic. If it's a physical product, I buy enough inventory/traffic to last me for 3 months, then evaluate if its worth doubling-down and trying to scale for the longer-term. If it's a service, I can afford to have a little longer time horizon to see if it's worthwhile.

Once I've launched, its mostly trial and error (sometimes mostly error). I got into one supplement biz because it was a huge potential pool of people, only to realize too late that the audience couldn't differentiate between any of the merchants, so shopped solely on price. That was a fail, but another product I got into as a niche product mostly to be a compliment to another product I was selling suddenly blew up when a pro athlete hit the news for using that niche product. That was mostly luck, I had the right product in place, but the market suddenly grew 20x through something outside my control.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the time, awesome insights.
 
mont7071 said:
... but another product I got into as a niche product mostly to be a compliment to another product I was selling suddenly blew up when a pro athlete hit the news for using that niche product. That was mostly luck, I had the right product in place, but the market suddenly grew 20x through something outside my control.
Click to expand...

Something I am learning is how cheap celebrity and athlete endorsements can be. These "blow ups" can be orchestrated for a reasonable price as long as it does not hurt their career...
 
mont7071 said:
I don't even balance my checkbook on a very regular basis.
Click to expand...

Can confirm, 3 checks on my desk right now and 2 more at the post office dating back months and nary a complaint from Mont or his accountant.

mont7071 said:
Me personally, I love the mass tort legal lead gen game lately. The companies that made Androgel, Actos, Propecia, Lipitor, TVM Mesh, Xarelto, etc are some of the deepest-pocketed companies in the world. Settling with class action clients and their lawyers for even pennies on the dollar would be hundreds of millions of dollars, that leaves a lot of cash available to pay for the leads generated that could each turn into a huge settlement.
Click to expand...

All he do is outs...seriously though, great AMA. I'd suggest someone do another one when this fizzles out but it'd be a tough act to follow.
 
If someone wanted to develop his own physical product for further distribution - what would be the top 3 products you would recommend. Not necessary specific, but maybe the top 3 niches.
 
Question I'm sure many of us have wondered at one time:
Have you ever cashed a check or do you prefer to stack them neatly on your desk until they fossilize?
 
Deliguy said:
Question I'm sure many of us have wondered at one time:
Have you ever cashed a check or do you prefer to stack them neatly on your desk until they fossilize?
Click to expand...

We have a magic check scanner from the bank that allows us to deposit checks instantly, and isn't limited like the app photo deposits are. They just gave it to us, it's great.
 
Deliguy said:
Question I'm sure many of us have wondered at one time:
Have you ever cashed a check or do you prefer to stack them neatly on your desk until they fossilize?
Click to expand...

I was going to make some witty comeback, then looked down at my desk and realized I have a check dated January 28th still sitting there...
 
Alright guys, think I'm going to wrap this up for now, thanks for all the questions, they definitely gave me some good perspective and made me think about some things I haven't focused on as much as I should lately.

I agree with Grind's idea, someone else should grab the torch, and we should have more AMA's from different members, they are great perspective on how people do a lot of things in business and why.

Any volunteers, or should we do AMA nominations? ;)
 
mont7071 said:
I was going to make some witty comeback, then looked down at my desk and realized I have a check dated January 28th still sitting there...
Click to expand...

grindchecks.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom