AEP is a big opportunity to grow your book, but buying leads and calls is not as simple as finding the lowest price.

In Buying Leads and Calls During AEP, Alex Allen, Head of Leads at Spark, breaks down what agents should look for when evaluating lead and call sources, from pricing and close rates to vendor vetting and compliance.

Here's what agents should know before they start spending — and how Spark's Leads Marketplace can help.

Get the full picture

Buying leads during AEP is ultimately about more than volume. Before you spend, consider:

• What type of lead or call are you buying?
• Can you work the volume?
• How is the consumer being generated and opted in?
• What are the CPA and close rates?
• How does accretion look over time?
• What are the vendor's pricing and contract terms?
• Do you have backup options?

Know what you're buying

There are several types of paid opportunities, including live transfers, consumer-initiated inbound calls, real-time data leads, and direct mail.

Each works differently. For example, real-time data leads can be available at a fraction of what they used to cost, but agents need the capacity to make multiple outbound calls. With inbound calls, prospects call directly after seeing a phone number in an ad, landing page, or other marketing.

As Alex puts it, “the best lead is the one that closes for you.”

Look beyond the price

A low cost per lead does not necessarily mean a lower cost to acquire a client.

Alex recommends looking at CPA, or cost per acquisition, along with accretion, which measures how many enrollments stick. Close rates matter too. He gives the example of two lead sources with the same CPA, but one has a 10% close rate while the other has a 25% close rate. The difference can mean significantly more time spent on the phone.

The takeaway: evaluate the full economics, not just the price tag.

Vet your vendors

Before you commit to a lead source, understand who you're buying from and how the leads are generated.

Alex recommends asking other agents about their experiences and reviewing the full consumer journey, including the ads, landing pages, and opt-in process. Pay attention to the contract, too. Pricing and volume terms can change, so know what you're agreeing to before AEP gets underway.

And have backup options. If a vendor underperforms or disappears, you don't want to be scrambling for another source in the middle of AEP.

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Keep compliance in the process

Compliance should be part of your lead strategy from the start.

Alex emphasizes understanding how consumers opted in and making sure the lead or call you're buying matches what you expect. For virtual enrollments, he strongly recommends recording everything and properly capturing the verbal Scope of Appointment, including the client's name, the date, and an explicit yes. He also recommends using the required CMS-approved script and required language.

Turn a lead into a client

Getting the call is only the beginning.

Alex recommends creating a consultative enrollment experience and, when possible, presenting more than one plan so consumers can evaluate their options. For virtual enrollments, screen sharing and sending documents directly to the consumer while you're still on the phone can help keep the conversation moving.

And don't disappear after the enrollment. Following up once coverage is effective helps ensure the client understands their coverage and knows who to come back to if they need help.

Alex calls this “shark proofing” the sale.

One place to manage your lead strategy

If you're looking to buy leads and calls for AEP, the Spark Leads Marketplace gives agents a managed way to access lead and call opportunities from multiple vendors.

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Instead of managing each vendor separately, the Marketplace brings multiple sources together with reporting and dashboard capabilities, along with support for setup and optimization.

That means you can spend less time piecing together your lead strategy and more time working the opportunities that come in.

Want to dig deeper into the numbers, vendor questions, pricing, and compliance considerations? Watch Buying Leads and Calls During AEP for Alex's full breakdown, and learn how the Spark Leads Marketplace can help you put those insights into practice.

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