Best Practices for Managing Pay-Per-Call Leads
Some lead sellers sell phone calls alongside web leads. In pay-per-call, a buyer pays for calls that come in on a tracked phone number, so each call has a source, a cost, and a buyer waiting for it. Pay-per-call marketing covers how the model works, from tracking numbers to call routing.
For a lead seller, pay-per-call works when each call reaches a buyer who wants it and each call traces back to the campaign that produced it. Seven practices support that result: tracking each call to its source, qualifying callers before transfer, routing each call to a buyer by order or criteria, planning for calls outside buyer coverage or hours, serving callers in their own language, delivering each lead in the format the buyer ordered, and counting traffic, number, and minute costs. Reporting then shows revenue and cost by campaign.
ClickPoint Software makes LeadExec, lead distribution software for lead sellers and enterprise organizations distributing leads internally.
How should sellers track where each call comes from?
Call tracking starts with a distinct phone number for each source. Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) shows each website visitor a phone number tied to the ad, campaign, or keyword that brought the visitor to the page, so each website call connects back to its source. A seller with DNI in place sees which channels, campaigns, and keywords produce calls, and moves ad spend toward those sources.
Affiliates and publishers send calls from their own traffic, so a seller gives each affiliate or publisher a static tracking number. Each call to that number traces back to the partner that sent it, and the seller pays and reports on each partner by its own calls.
LeadExec includes Dynamic Number Insertion for pay-per-call campaigns, and its pay-per-call programs use tracked numbers shared with affiliates.
How should sellers qualify a caller before transfer?
Pay-per-call buyers set criteria for the calls they accept, so a seller qualifies each caller before the transfer. An interactive voice response (IVR) system asks each caller a few menu prompts, such as location or the service needed, and the answers decide which buyers can take the call. A seller keeps the menu short and asks only for details that buyers use to accept a call.
LeadExec includes an IVR with natural language processing and a drag-and-drop call flow designer.
IVR for lead generation explains how IVR menu prompts qualify callers and send calls to sales teams or lead buyers.
How should a call reach the right buyer?
A qualified call earns revenue when it reaches a buyer with an open order that fits it. Lead routing decides which buyer gets the call, based on the buyer's order or other criteria, and lead distribution sends the call to that buyer. Buyers also need to track the calls they received, so each buyer can check transfers against the orders it placed with the seller.
LeadExec routes calls to buyers based on orders or custom criteria, using rules such as round-robin, highest bidder, or percentage.
How should sellers plan for calls no buyer can take?
Pay-per-call revenue depends on a buyer taking each call, so a seller plans for calls that arrive after buyer hours or from locations outside buyer coverage. Before a call goes to a buyer, the seller confirms that a buyer covers the caller and is taking calls at that hour. The seller also keeps a next buyer in line for each call a buyer turns down.
In LeadExec, a call flow can check buyer coverage and time of day before delivery, and a rejected call moves to the next available client.
How should sellers handle callers who speak other languages?
Some pay-per-call campaigns reach callers who speak languages other than English. A seller serving those callers creates greetings and IVR prompts in each language the campaign targets, so callers can answer qualification questions in their own language and reach a buyer who can take the call.
How should sellers deliver leads to buyers that want calls?
Lead buyers differ in how they want to receive leads. Some buyers take web leads through an API or by email, and others want a live caller on the phone. A seller that offers several delivery methods can sell to both groups and send each lead in the format the buyer ordered.
In LeadExec, each buyer that takes calls has a Phone delivery account with the number that receives them.
LeadExec delivers leads through APIs, HTTP POST or GET, JSON, XML, webhooks, email, SMS, live call transfer, and the branded Client Portal.
What do phone numbers and call minutes cost?
Pay-per-call carries two usage costs on top of the software subscription: a fee for each tracking number and a charge for each minute of call time. Number fees grow with each number a seller adds, and minute charges grow with call volume. Before setting the price of a call, a seller counts traffic cost or publisher payouts, number fees, and per-minute charges against the revenue from each campaign.
The LeadExec pricing page lists pay-per-call usage fees of $3.00 for local numbers, $4.00 for toll-free numbers, and $0.050 per minute for calls on the Growth and Agency plans, or $0.045 per minute on the Premium plan.
How should sellers measure results?
Pay-per-call results are revenue and cost, measured by source, campaign, and buyer. A seller tracks billable calls, revenue from each buyer, and the traffic cost or publisher payouts, number fees, and minute charges behind each campaign. Those figures show which sources earn back their full cost and which buyers to send more calls to.
Before a campaign starts, a seller and each buyer agree on the minimum call duration that makes a call billable. Billable calls, the calls that pass that threshold, then set what each buyer pays.
LeadExec reporting includes custom pivot reports, real-time ROI, and lead forecasting.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best practices for managing pay-per-call leads?
A lead seller tracks each call to its source with Dynamic Number Insertion or a static number for each affiliate and publisher, qualifies callers with IVR prompts before transfer, routes each call to a buyer by order or criteria, checks buyer coverage and hours before delivery, serves callers in their own language, delivers each lead in the format the buyer ordered, and counts traffic cost or publisher payouts, number fees, and per-minute charges against campaign revenue. Reporting on billable calls by source, campaign, and buyer shows which campaigns pay off.
How does LeadExec route pay-per-call calls to buyers?
LeadExec routes calls to buyers based on orders or custom criteria.
How many languages does LeadExec support for pay-per-call?
LeadExec's Call Sound Studio supports more than 100 languages.
What does pay-per-call cost in LeadExec?
See pay-per-call in LeadExec. Request a LeadExec demo.
Sources
- LeadExec pay-per-call software (call flow designer, IVR with natural language processing, Dynamic Number Insertion, Call Sound Studio languages, call routing rules): https://www.clickpointsoftware.com/leadexec/pay-per-call
- LeadExec call flows and IVR system (coverage and time-of-day checks, rejected calls, Phone delivery accounts): https://leadexechelp.clickpointsoftware.com/en/articles/8641582-call-flows-ivr-system
- LeadExec product capabilities guide (tracked numbers shared with affiliates): https://www.clickpointsoftware.com/docs/Product/LeadExec-Features.pdf
- LeadExec lead distribution software (descriptor, delivery methods): https://www.clickpointsoftware.com/leadexec/lead-distribution-software
- LeadExec platform overview (delivery methods): https://leadexechelp.clickpointsoftware.com/en/articles/15591097-leadexec-lead-distribution-software-platform-overview
- LeadExec pricing plans (pay-per-call usage fees, real-time ROI reporting, lead forecasting): https://www.clickpointsoftware.com/leadexec/pricing-plans
- LeadExec enterprise lead distribution (custom pivot reports, real-time ROI, lead forecasting): https://www.clickpointsoftware.com/leadexec/enterprise-lead-distribution-software
