September
2006 Newsletter
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| Lead
Generation Sites: Whom Can You Trust? |
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| It's
no secret that many well-known lead generation sites abuse
prospective franchisees' trust by distributing their personal
information to unknown third parties. Hence, the unsuspecting
prospective franchisees find themselves bombarded with
phone calls and emails from companies that they had no
intention of contacting and, correspondingly, have absolutely
no interest in. |
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| Fortunately,
there is a simple, five-step procedure that you can follow
to steer clear of illegitimate lead generation sites. |
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1 |
Create
unique "prospective franchisees" (name,
company, etc) with "real" email addresses
(solely for the purpose of this investigation) and
"real" phone numbers (i.e., an office
line). |
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2 |
Go
to a lead generation site and submit
a "prospective franchisee's" unique information
to request information about a franchisor of your
choice. When given the option, be sure to decline
any opportunity to sign up for information about
additional franchise opportunities. |
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3 |
Under
the name of a different "prospective franchisee,"
go to another lead generation site
and repeat the above process using that "prospective
franchisee's" unique information. Be sure to
request information about the same franchisor as
above for consistency’s sake. |
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4 |
Repeat
Step (3) at
your discretion. |
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| NOTE! |
| It
is very important that you use a different "prospective
franchisee" for each lead generation site.
That way, you will be able to determine which sites
sold your personal information and which sites did
not. Make sure you record which "prospective
franchisees" went with which lead generation
sites. |
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5 |
Within
48 hours, you (or, in this instance, your "prospective
franchisees") should potentially be receiving
calls or emails
from the franchisor of your choice. If you receive
calls from solicitors not affiliated with your designated
franchisor, you can be sure that that lead generation
site is distributing your personal information to
companies other than ones you specifically request
information from. Reference your record of which
"prospective franchisee" went with which
lead generation site to determine what sites are
illegitimate. |
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| Just
for kicks . . . |
| Interrogate
the "illegitimate" solicitors:
Ask them where they got your number. If the solicitors
answer honestly (that is, if their answers correspond
to your records), they get a star; if they beat
around the bush or refuse to answer, they get a
sad face and an extra low rating on the integrity
scale. |
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| Be
sure to make a note of what you find during the course
of this experiment -- it might just come in handy someday. |
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