The secret sauce to getting around the barrier to entry issue that most will face is just sheer volume of availability. While it's fantastic if the quality is of a high caliber (aka exclusive!), the reality of the way things really work tend to prove otherwise.
You should do some recon on what mortgage brokers think about LT and other lead selling sources these days. Their opinions should be taken into serious account and if you're going to go the direct route and sell to them, make sure you play that "We're unique and we stand out because..." game to match their needs.
Dealing with corporate entities and banks when coming from nowhere is pretty challenging. Most do not give a fuck about logic or profit potential. They rely mostly on old school forms of doing business, like building long term relationships that are proven and safe before jumping into bed with the leadgen stuffs. But, maybe smaller regional banks aren't as stuffy as the big boys? So you won't really know until you try.
I do think the best spot to be is the one I was in myself from 2003-2006'ish... And that's the lowly affiliate/publisher. Even though the profit potential is lower than say going direct to the big boys, it's also the quickest and simplest but many times the lower risk option. After you establish a sweet rapport with one of the agencies/corps then by all means, ramp shit up and get serious. But only commit to it if you plan on being all in and seriously focused, otherwise, play it safe and fast and just stick to being the aff/pub. You don't want those kinds of big boy headaches.
