A cottage industry of companies lining up to take your money. The seemingly hundereds of emails a day I get from HomeValue, House.com, k12 schools and new ones created every day lining up to give you the same pitch, to sell you the same zip coded territory, all tell me, anyway, that their business (selling you leads) must be flourishing.

Now, picture in your mind what would happed if realtor.com didn't exist. That IDX wasn't "out there." That MLS data stayed in the originating MLS. That John Q. Public didn't have access to all these data. What would happen?

Well, my guess is that your phone at the office would be ringing off the hook; that your email in box would contain legitimate leads from consumer's that people would actually stop in to your office; and make floor time meaningful and productive.

In other words, there wouldn't be a cottage industry of internet companies lining up to take your money and charge you for leads. The leads would call you on the phone, email you, and walk through your office's front door.

Do any of you feel compelled to buy into these lead generating companies? For those that have, was it worth it? For those that have, and found out it wasn't worth it, why wasn't it?

Regards,

Casey Wilkening