Julie,

Go to the darkside and make note of agents in your area who are paying the darkside $1,000 a month to be called "Premier."

Now, go to your MLS and reveiew the number of transactions these agents have completed in the past 12 months.

Observe the Premier agents with highest productivity and question if this is the primary marketing method or if this is simply market share assurance.

The reason you have this 'oppurtunity'  to contribute to the darksides financial well being is because the previous ten agents found it to be a waste time and a cause for spending more time and money.

Finally, be aware, as a person of integrity, do you really want to contribute to the financial well being of an organization whose existence is dependent on stolen intellectual property, misrepresentation, deception and faulty data.  Be aware, many who sign the chorus 'We got ethics' do participate with the darkside. Will you?

I asked about buying leads and as most here tell you, it's not worth it. I gave realtor.com and Zillow both a shot for a month. The leads are horrible. They don't know you, they don't know you're not the listing agent, they rarely call back after you have given them your time. They just look at another home on these sites and call whomever's pic is there at that moment. The general public has no idea what they're looking at or how we get "paid". 

With that said, I am taking the money I would spend on Zillow and as others here said, market locally face-to-face. I am actually going to do a Home Show that's huge here in Miami Beach in September. The cost for 3 days would be a few months on Zillow but again, it's getting out there and working personally that is going to get results. 

I hope this helps.... looks like I have a great topic for a blog post on this. 

Did you not know Zillow is a 4 letter word?

Julie Chechik - been there, done that - not any more!

Zillow is after your money and before you know it- they will try to sabotage our jobs by trying to cut us out. A Zillow rep was forcing me to sign up for 6 months and when she figured I won't sign up- they screwed with my account. The story is too long to quote here. If you ask for our honest opinion- Don't waste your time or money with them. Work your website and blog to get seo and get your own leads. Leads who contact YOU are more prone to close with you than who are on a generic site and are contacting 10 thousand agents not knowing what they are doing. Spend time and money to build your brand- not Zillow's.

Although not so harshly stated ... I do agree with Ken Jones .... there is no reason to pay for leads. You may go broke before you get started working with any of them. 

You're barking up the wrong tree with Z IMO

Julie, It's like any other lead generation tool.  It's going to cost you, and whether or not it succeeds isn't so much up to Zillow but how well you work the leads once you get them.  If the Return on Investment is there, it makes sense. 

Personally, I prefer developing my own website and gaining my own leads.  Ideally, find a niche you can work and that's where you can beat the big syndicators.  Zillow and others have not yet gotten into the specifics of our local area, that's where each agent has the advantage.  Get to the subdivision level, specific type of home, homes with particular features.  You can rank and get found there.  Blogging helps gain that traction we all need. Good luck!

Here's how long I would recommend ----> ZERO.

Lots of people in the rain will assure you that it is a waste of money, and it probably is.

Several agents in my local market swear by it, but then they also dont know the magic of creating their own leads through blogging.

I don't know too many agents who find this financially beneficial.  Many say it gives the visibility, but generates few, if any actual leads.  Hold an open house door knock or work your sphere for best results.

Nope. Be careful with your marketing funds.

Nope so Afraid I can not add anything helpful to this question but I will read the other answers to learn more :-)

I don't pay for leads, and I think you will find that most agents don't do this. 

Have heard from many who have tried this, and had zero results.

Julie Chechik - work your sphere and post on your website - it's the most cost-effective method of marketing and drumming up business!

NO!! There is no reason to pay for leads.Market yourself and get out there and turn over some leads..

Never tried them, and thankfully they've quit calling.

I am not and would not invest my marketing funds with Zillow for leads.

I would run from that...They ake our listings and draw our clients away from us and then sell them to us at an extremely high price.   Do yourself a favor and put that hard earned money into a good marketing compaign that will last for years!

I try trulia and it was a waste.

 Waste of money.

I have not.

No; got it?

It's not my cup of tea. I don't like dependent relationships. You give Zillow money and they determine what you get.

Eh gads no!  Easiest way to flush money down the drain.  The leads have historically been few and not worth anything.

This program does not operate in our great nation.

You aren't going to find  alot of support for Zillow or lead buying around here.  I am not as opposed to lead buying as the masses here are, but I think Zillow is too expensive and not worth it.

I would not invest in Zillow for leads.

I believe it is a case by case. I know three top producers that swear by Zillow. They get the visibility and they are able to back it up by their productivity. But they also have over 50 reviews to support their visibility.

I've never been a Z or T fan... I market for my own leads....

Julie,

Among the agents we know accross the US, no one has benefited from Z.  And they have spent lots of money on it.  A

The problem with paying fo rleads is that they go to so many other people. They are not all real as every person whi inquires whether they are ready, willing or able to buy is classafied a lead. The best way to get leads is to generate them yourself using your active rain blog. 

Julie Chechik Forget buying leads and get back to basic face-to-face networking and prospecting.

Do not buy leads! Period!

I do not

Not a fan of Big Z

No.  I've heard second and third hand that some find this useful, but also from many more who didn't.

No.

I have a FREE profile that I keep updated, that's it.

No

I am not. Better ways to generate leads and probably cheaper.