When you buy transport leads, you're paying for a chance to quote a shipper. How good that chance is depends mostly on one thing: how many other brokers got the same request.
- Shared lead: the same request is sold to several brokers. The shipper often hears from all of them within minutes, and the call tends to come down to price and speed.
- Exclusive lead: the request goes to one brokerage. You still have to win the job, but you aren't racing other buyers of the same lead.
Most providers describe their leads in similar words, so the label alone doesn't tell you much. The questions below show what you're really getting. They're worth asking any provider, including us.
Is each inquiry sold to one brokerage, or several?
Ask what "exclusive" covers. It should mean the provider won't sell or pass the same inquiry to anyone else. It can't mean the shipper won't shop around on their own — no provider controls that.
What's checked before a lead is delivered?
Ask which fields are required, whether duplicates are filtered and whether the provider claims to verify phone numbers or emails. If they say "verified", ask how.
At LeadSignal we require both ends of the route, the unit and a contact, we check for duplicates, and we pass contact details on as submitted. We don't claim they're verified.
Did the shipper agree to be contacted?
A quote request should come with the shipper's permission to be contacted by a transport broker. Ask how that's recorded.
At LeadSignal, an inquiry can't be assigned to a brokerage until the shipper's agreement to be contacted is recorded with it.
What happens when a lead is bad?
Get the rules in writing: which problems qualify (for example duplicates, contact details that don't work, fake requests, leads outside your agreement), whether you get a refund or a credit, how long you have to report it and how long a decision takes. "No answer" and "went with a cheaper quote" usually don't qualify anywhere.
At LeadSignal, you report a bad lead from your account with the reason and evidence. Qualifying reasons are a duplicate, both the phone and the email being unusable, a person who never asked for a quote, an inquiry outside your agreement, or an exclusivity breach. An approved report returns the lead's credits to your balance (an account credit, not a cash refund), and a declined report comes with the reason. The reporting deadline and decision time are set in your agreement.
What does the provider promise about volume and results?
Be careful with fixed numbers. A provider that's new or growing can't honestly promise a monthly count or a close rate. It's better to hear "we don't know yet" than a number with nothing behind it.
Who else can see your leads and notes?
Your leads, statuses and notes should be visible only to your brokerage and the provider's team.