I quit buying Zillow leads and made an extra $76K that year

About six years ago, I was spending roughly $3,000 a month buying internet leads.

Zillow, LendingTree, you name it.

Every month, my credit card would get hit, and every month I'd tell myself:

"This is just the cost of doing business. Everyone buys leads."

And to be fair, I was closing deals from those leads... just not many.

Out of every 50 leads I'd buy, maybe 2-3 would actually close.

The math:

$3,000/month × 12 months = $36,000/year in paid lead costs.

I closed about 30 deals from those leads.

30 deals × ~$5K average commission = $150K gross.

Subtract the $36,000 in lead costs, and I netted about $114K.

Not bad, right?

Wrong.

Because here's what I didn't factor in: the TIME cost.

Every internet lead required 5-7 follow-up calls (most never answered), dozens of emails and texts, and competing against 3-4 other lenders who got the same lead.

I was spending 15-20 hours a week chasing internet leads, and it was exhausting.

AND I was entering every sales conversation in a high-tension, low-trust state. So I had to work extra hard to build rapport and show my value.

Then one day, I was having coffee with another LO who was crushing it, and I asked him:

"How many internet leads are you buying?"

He laughed.

"Zero. I haven't bought a lead in three years."

I was shocked.

"Wait, how are you getting business then?"

He said:

"I stopped chasing strangers on the internet and started investing that time into the people who already know me."

That conversation messed me up (in a good way).

So I did something crazy…

I cancelled all my lead subscriptions that week. Cold turkey.

$3,000/month back in my pocket.

Here's what I did instead with that time and money:

I took the 10-15 hours/week I was spending chasing internet leads and reallocated it

• 5 hours/week: Calling past clients with a value-add conversational framework (no more “hi, just checking-in!”)
• 5 hours/week: Adding 3 new Financial Advisors to my network
• 2 hours/week: Hosting an educational leveraged event for specific Realtors

And I took that $3,000/month and invested some of it on:

• Gifts for past clients on home anniversaries ($300/month)
• Lunch/coffee budget for Financial Advisor meetings ($400/month)
• Private dining room space to host 10 Realtors ($500/month)

Here's what happened over the next 12 months:

My referrals from past clients went from 15% of my business to 30%.

My Financial Advisor referrals jumped to 30% of my total organic lead count (AND many of those referrals were qualified and need MY Realtor recommendation.)

My Realtor referrals increased AND were also higher quality.

My conversion rate went from 4-6% (internet leads) to over 20% (referrals and warm pipeline).

I closed 38 deals that year instead of 30.

38 deals × ~$5K = $190K gross, with a much less CTA: cost-to-acquire

Net difference? About $76k more in my pocket, plus I got 15-20 hours of my life back every week.

TLDR: I stopped paying for strangers and started investing in relationships, and my business exploded.

The issue is, buying leads is a band-aid for a deeper problem: most LOs don't have a system for generating their own leads through relationships.

So they outsource it to Zillow, pay the premium, and wonder why they're working harder but not making more money.

Here's what I want you to do this week:

Pull up your lead costs from the last 6 months and calculate your ROI:

How much are you spending on internet leads?

How many actually closed?

How many hours per week are you spending chasing them?

Then ask yourself: what if I took that time and money and invested it into the people who already know me?

I'm not saying internet leads don't work for anyone, but for me, quitting them was the best business decision I ever made.

Because here's the truth: you can't buy your way to a sustainable business.

You have to build it one relationship at a time.

Let's GO! 💪

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you!

1. Book a call to speak with one of our advisors about joining the Growth Only Community.
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3. Connect with me on social.