Networks including Mortgage Intelligence, The Professional Mortgage Network (PMN) and Network Data said lead generation will be an important component to securing business next year.
Intelligence said while this year was the year of the broker, 2005 will be the year of the consumer.
Sally Laker, managing director of Mortgage Intelligence, commented: “With the market as it is we will be looking at ways of securing more leads for our members next year.
“As we make more deals with lenders to provide exclusive deals for our AR members, we obviously then need to sell these products onto the consumer, so generating more leads is crucial.”
Intelligence has recently launched a website whereby the consumer can be put in direct contact with the broker.
Dale Knight, managing director of PMN, commented: “Lead generation will be a crucial part of next year. The way to win members is to genuinely know your ARs and what they want, and lead generation is one factor that plays an important role. This service will be particularly important as the market will be quieter next year.”
John Stewart, director of PMI Independent Financial Advisers, a member of Sesame, said: “Sesame doesn’t provide us with leads but we did not join it for this service anyway.
“We’re quite sceptical about lead generation. They need to be well sourced. And you have to ask yourself, will your network charge you for these leads and how much?”
Dale Knight said his PMN members got leads at a reduced price of £66 while Richard Griffiths, managing director of Network Data, said: “It is the third-party lead generation websites that charge for these leads, not us.”
