DMS ’10: Is Leads-Based Sales the Future?
Is leads-based selling the future of local online sales? Perhaps, but it could take many forms.
The directory publisher Dex One revealed on this afternoon’s panel “Leads-Based Sales: Salvation or False Hope?” that it will introduce what it calls “action-based advertising” in one of its major markets in order to understand how the product works.
Stephen Gibbons, VP of marketing, urban strategies, Dex One, laid out how Dex One is making a significant transition in the direction of leads-based sales. The company has targeted one of its major market (not identified) where it will offer an action-based model to all accounts.
In setting up this announcement Gibbons noted that the perception of print is out of sync with its real value. Rather than focus on print, lead the call with new products like online, mobile and so on, while still relying on print to drive leads.
He said DexOne’s approach is focused on action-based rather than leads-based selling. Basically the company is going to offer advertisers a given number of “actions” for a fixed price, with accountability for the results.
Gibbons said Dex One’s approach is to trial in a major metro and make it available to every advertiser, with the condition that the advertisers have to agree to be on all Dex One’s platforms (print, IYP, SEM, 411, mobile, etc.).
“We want to put the whole suite of solutions to work for our customer,” Gibbons said. “One of the tenets of this program is complete transparency.”
Daniel Shaked is CEO of No Problem, an Israeli company that has developed a real-time lead bidding platform. Today the company announced a deal to provide the Brazilian directory publisher Telelistas and the Israeli directory company Golden Pages with No Problem’s pay-per-call platform.
Finally, Andy Sims from Skype addressed the work it is doing with Marchex on pay per lead.
Shaked of No Problem demonstrated his platform, which is built around the idea of using a bidding platform to let the market determine what is the price of a lead.