LeadsForAgents, a Web-based lead generator,
is scheduled to launch this week after completing a beta test.
LeadsForAgents.com is working with 300-plus agencies
for the beta test, said Clay Carson, chief marketing officer and a
co-founder.
The first six days
produced 1,155 leads, he said, and the agents are snapping up the
big trips or those involving multiple travelers. They are not quick
to bid on nonsexy trips. For example, Carson said he sought bids on
his own business trip to three cities with hotels in each, but it
was a few days before he got a bite.
Based on the beta
experience, he plans to get more personal data from consumers,
which may drive some consumers away but gets rid of shoppers. Also,
he said, Leads- ForAgents will limit to three (down from nine) the
number of agencies the consumer can ask for bids, so agents will
feel they can compete.
Fees for leads will
range from $2 to $9 depending on how many bids the consumer
solicits. Carson said beta-testing agencies include a lot of
home-based agents. Agencies are not being
screened.
Houston-based
LeadsForAgents is entering a niche dominated by Travants.com, based
in New York, and 4Vacations.com, based in Simi Valley,
Calif.
Travants, which
counts about 200 participating agents, seeks to have enough
specialists to cover the globe, said Travants owner David Feit, who
founded the site in 2001 as Webeenthere.com.
After applying to
be listed, agents are screened and then interviewed, he said. Their
cost is a $25 sign-on deposit, which is applied to fees for
leads.
Travants model
calls for advertising, mostly on the Web, Feit said. Travants aims
to attract people who have their destination in mind and are not
merely price shopping, which annoys the agents, Feit
said.
Consumers see
destination information at the site and lists of specialists by
destination. Consumers select their agent based on profiles
supplied by the agents, then provide a detailed description of
their proposed trip. The agent has three days to say yes (an
accepted lead costs $5) or no. If the agent declines, the lead is
offered to other specialists on a first-come basis.
4Vacations counts
1,000 agents or agencies that either buy leads or buy advertising
on its sites. The ads, starting at $100 a month, provide links to
advertisers Web sites, said Heidi Cox, vice president.
Fees for leads vary
based on exclusivity and on the type of trip being sought. For
example, the fee for a Disney or Las Vegas prospect is $1.75 if the
lead goes to two or three agencies, $3 if it is exclusive. The most
popular cruise leads are $7 if they go to two or three agencies,
$16 if it is exclusive. Honeymoons and several destinations fall in
between.
Agencies seeking
leads pay $24 a month plus lead fees. They can request leads based
on location of the prospect, type of lead, cost of lead, time of
day or days of the week.
Cox said most of
her customers spend $100 to $300 a month, but some of the big
cruise travel agencies spend $15,000 to $25,000 a month.
In 1996, the
companys owner and president, Bill McCoy, a former travel agent,
bought a number of Web domains, including 4Cruises.com, 4Airfare.com, 4Hawaii.com, 4Mexico.com and
4Weddings.com, to attract travelers with a range of
interests. Those sister sites dont sell travel but include links to
booking sites. The sister sites sometimes produce hundreds of leads
a day for 4Vacation.com, Cox said.
Consumers fill out
a form detailing what they want, and their messages are
automatically distributed on a real-time basis. Agents pay for
leads received.
Cox said 4Vacations
does not screen agents. We figure they must be legitimate if they
are willing to spend the money, and we have had no complaints from
customers, she said.
To contact the
reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Nadine Godwin at [email protected].