Property Lead Generation Companies: How to Compare Them
There is no shortage of companies offering to generate property leads, but they differ significantly in buyer type, qualification standard and pricing model. This guide sets out the questions to ask before choosing a lead generation partner for a new build project, rather than simply picking whichever has the lowest headline price.
Types of lead generation companies
Broadly, property lead generation falls into a few categories: portal listing sites that generate general enquiries across many properties, performance marketing agencies that run paid campaigns specifically for your project, and marketplace platforms that match pre-qualified buyers to relevant developments.
Each has a different relationship to lead quality. Portal listings generate volume but little qualification. Performance marketing agencies can target well but you are paying for ad spend and management fees regardless of how many enquiries convert. Marketplace platforms that only charge per qualified lead align their incentive with yours, since they only get paid if the lead meets a quality bar.
Questions to ask before signing up
A short list of direct questions tends to reveal more than any sales pitch.
- How exactly is a lead qualified before I am charged for it?
- Is pricing per lead, a monthly retainer, or a mix of both?
- Can I see examples of similar projects the company has generated leads for?
- How many active projects and developers currently use this platform?
- What happens if a lead turns out to be invalid or unreachable?
Pricing model comparison
Retainer-based agencies charge a fixed monthly fee for managing campaigns, which means your cost is fixed regardless of how many leads or sales actually result, putting the conversion risk on you. Pure pay-per-lead providers charge for every enquiry regardless of quality, which can be cheap per lead but expensive per sale if qualification is weak.
A pay-per-qualified-lead marketplace model, like Prompto's, only charges once a lead has met a defined qualification standard, at 65 EUR for a residential lead and 75 EUR for an investor lead, which shifts more of the conversion risk onto the provider rather than the developer.
Checking scale and track record
Before committing budget, ask how many live projects and developers the company currently works with. A platform actively supporting a meaningful number of active projects, which for Prompto currently stands at 154 active new-build projects and more than 75 developers, suggests there is a real buyer audience behind the platform rather than a landing page with limited traffic.
It is also worth asking whether the company has experience with projects similar to yours in location, price point and buyer type, since lead quality can vary significantly between a city-centre investment product and a suburban family home development.
Running a fair trial
Wherever possible, test a provider with a limited batch of leads or a short initial period before committing a full campaign budget. Track conversion to viewing and to reservation over that trial, not just the raw number of leads delivered, since volume without conversion is not a useful outcome.
Combining lead generation with your CRM
A lead generation company that cannot pass leads directly into your CRM creates manual work and delay, which hurts conversion since response speed matters so much. Prompto's Marketplace feeds qualified leads directly into Prompto's CRM, so sales teams can follow up immediately without re-entering contact details from a separate system.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a lead generation agency and a lead marketplace?
An agency typically runs paid campaigns for a retainer fee regardless of results, while a marketplace like Prompto charges only once a lead meets a defined qualification standard, aligning cost with outcome.
How can I check if a lead generation company has real scale?
Ask how many active projects and developers currently use the platform. Prompto currently supports 154 active new-build projects and more than 75 developers.
Should I trial a provider before committing a full budget?
Yes. Request a smaller initial batch or a short trial period and track conversion to viewing and reservation before scaling up spend.
Can leads be sent directly into my CRM?
With Prompto, qualified leads from the Marketplace flow directly into Prompto's CRM, removing the manual step of re-entering contact details from a separate lead source.