Genealogy Leads: Pros and Cons

Working genealogy leads can be an effective method of building your network marketing business. One of the biggest hurdles that you face in recruiting has already been overcome for you - getting the prospect to buy into network marketing as a legitimate business model.

However, working genealogy leads is far from perfect. The person you call on a genealogy list may be very happy with their current opportunity and not open to looking at anything. They could be a wholesale customer, and not working the business. They could be inactive, and/or out of the industry altogether.

One of the biggest threats to working genealogy leads is the Do-Not-Call Registry. Recently, the number of phone numbers registered with the Do-Not-Call Registry surpassed 100 million. That number is significant, because the Registry has only been in operation for over two years.

We personally ran over 100,000 genealogy leads through a DNC scrubbing process, and found that approximately 1/3rd of the people on the list were on the Do-Not-Call Registry. In the North Eastern states, that number was over 50%.

We've even had several clients contacted by the Federal Trade Commission, because they were turned in by someone on a genealogy list who was also on the Do-Not-Call Registry. They faced the very real possibility of an $11,000 fine. Fortunately, none of our clients were fined, but they were certainly shaken up.

If you are going to call genealogy leads, protect yourself by having your list scrubbed against the Do-Not-Call Registry. Many companies provide this service ? make sure you deal with a reputable one. One company we usually recommend to our clients because of their excellent service is www.DNCScrubbing.com.

Even with these downsides, there are still plenty of reasons to work genealogy leads. They are very inexpensive when compared to most mlm lead sources (even after DNC Scrubbing), and if you happen to land a big player, it can be the best thing that could ever happen to your business.

There are many ways to grow your business. Working leads is one of the major methods for this ? and there are many types of leads, as well as a plethora of leads companies. No lead list is perfect. There are drawbacks and benefits to each one. Put yourself in charge of your leads ? know who you are buying them from, what they are exactly (i.e., genealogy leads), the conversion rate, and if they are DNC scrubbed (to save yourself a headache from the FTC).

Being smart about Genealogy Leads is a good business move.

Ed Forteau is the co-founder of http://www.OptimizedMLMLeads.com Optimized Leads is the first, and only, company in the world that can identify top prospects in any list. Visit their website for more details.

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United Auto Workers members listen to UAW President Ron Gettelfinger speak at a news conference at a meeting of UAW officials in Detroit, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008.  (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)AP - The United Auto Workers said Wednesday it is willing to change its contracts with U.S. automakers and accept delays payments of billions of dollars to a union-run health care trust to do its part to help the struggling companies secure $34 billion in government loans.



President-elect Barack Obama speaks at a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - President-elect Barack Obama signaled a clear desire Wednesday to use a significant portion of $700 billion in financial bailout funds to stanch foreclosures by helping struggling homeowners with their mortgages. "The deteriorating assets in the financial markets are rooted in the deterioration of people being able to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes," he said.



A bomb disposal squad officer, center, takes a suspicious box to the police station after diffusing a bomb at Chhatrapati Shivaji train station in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Police on Wednesday discovered leftover explosives hidden in a bag in Mumbai's main train station, a stunning new example of botched security after the deadly rampage that left the government open to accusations it missed warnings and bungled its response. (AP Photo)AP - Police on Wednesday discovered leftover explosives hidden in a bag in Mumbai's main train station — a stunning new example of botched security after the deadly rampage that left the government open to accusations it missed warnings and bungled its response.



President-elect Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary-designate New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson take part in a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - President-elect Barack Obama named New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary on Wednesday, filling a top economic post in troubled times and placing a second former campaign rival in his new Cabinet.



Pirates ride alongside the luxury American cruise ship M/S Nautica, in this photo take from the Nautica, during a hijack attempt on the vessel, off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008.  The M/S Nautica, carrying 656 international passengers and 399 crew members, was sailing through the Gulf of Aden on Sunday when it encountered six bandits in two speedboats.  The pirates fired at the passenger liner but the larger ship was faster than the pirates' vessels, and escaped being boarded.(AP Photo)AP - Ordered to get inside and stay down, Oregon tourist Clyde Thornburg heard the pirates' rifle shots hit the side of the luxury cruise liner — "Pop! Pop! Pop!" — then felt the ship speed up to escape.



This undated photo provided by the Tracy Police Department shows Caren Ramirez. Police were seeking Ramirez on suspicion of participating in alleged abuse against her 17 year-old nephew who showed up Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 at a northern California gym with a chain locked to his ankle. (AP Photo/Tracy Police Department)AP - The aunt and one-time guardian of an emaciated and shackled 17-year-old has been arrested, as police tried to determine how she knew the couple accused of holding the teen against his will for nearly a year.



University of California, Los Angeles, Professor of Psychiatry  Dr. Gary Small plays with a digital memory electronic device at his office at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior in Westwood, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)AP - What does a teenage brain on Google look like? Do all those hours spent online rewire the circuitry? Could these kids even relate better to emoticons than to real people? These sound like concerns from worried parents. But they're coming from brain scientists.



This undated file photo provided by the Illinois Department of Corrections shows Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law William Balfour. Balfour has been arrested Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 in Illinois in the deaths of the singer's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. (AP Photo/Illinois Department of Corrections)AP - Prosecutors allege Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law killed three family members because he was angry the singer's sister was dating another man.



AP - The one that didn't get away held an unlikely surprise for a Texas man. The blue-stoned class ring of Joe Richardson, engraved with his name, turned up inside an 8-pound bass 21 years after he lost it while fishing on Lake Sam Rayburn.

In this Aug. 31, 2008, file photo, Boston Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia walks back to the dugout during a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park in Boston. The Red Sox have agreed to terms with the 2008 AL Most Valuable Player on a six-year contract, the team announced on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)AP - AL Most Valuable Player Dustin Pedroia and the Boston Red Sox agreed Wednesday to a $40.5 million, six-year contract. The deal includes a club option for 2015. He would not have been eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season.



General Motors employee Eddie Webster rests his hand against a new Chevy Tahoe at a rally held to support federal aid to the U.S. auto industry at the GM assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, November 18, 2008. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama said on Wednesday struggling automakers have put forward a "more serious" restructuring proposal to Congress but withheld judgment on the plans until hearings are held.



Trading specialists work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, December 3, 2008. (Chip East/Reuters)Reuters - Record declines in the vast U.S. and European service sectors and more bleak U.S. employment news on Wednesday sparked fear of an economic "free fall," setting up another round of deep interest rate cuts.



Posters are displayed close to Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, December 2, 2008. (Arko Datta/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Pakistan on Wednesday to cooperate "fully and transparently" in investigations into the Mumbai attacks that have upset India-Pakistan relations.



An employee works on a 2009 Ford F-150 on the assembly line at Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri, October 2, 2008. (Sam VarnHagen/Ford/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - All options were on the table on Wednesday as congressional committees scrutinized auto company restructuring proposals and an urgent appeal for $34 billion in aid ahead of make-or-break hearings.



The U.S. Senate and Congressional Democratic leadership attends a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee/Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee election watch party in Washington November 4, 2008. From L-R are: DSCC Chairman Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), DCCC Chairman Christopher Van Hollen (D-MD), and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - Senate Democrats will be able to do plenty over the next two years -- despite falling just short of their goal of winning a majority big enough to end Republican procedural roadblocks.



Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson speaks at a news conference at the Treasury Department in Washington, November 25, 2008. (Jason Reed/Reuters)Reuters - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is weighing whether to ask Congress for the remaining $350 billion of the financial bailout fund, with White House aides approaching President-elect Barack Obama's transition team about the idea, an Obama aide said on Wednesday.



A U.S soldier stands guard during a graduation ceremony at Al-Furat Iraqi Police Training Center in Baghdad December 2, 2008. (Saad Shalash/Reuters)Reuters - A string of departures by the U.S. military's allies in Iraq is turning into an exodus as violence subsides and the end of a U.N. mandate permitting their deployment to the country approaches.



Tourists from Greece pose as they exit an Thai Airways flight from Phuket, the first to land at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport December 3, 2008, after a week long anti-government protest paralyzed air travel. (Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)Reuters - Anti-government protesters lifted their crippling, eight-day blockade of Thailand's main airport on Wednesday, raising the hopes of 230,000 stranded tourists even though there is no end in sight to the wider political crisis.



Indians pay homage to those slain by the militants during the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. India has warned that all options were open in dealing with Pakistan after last week's attacks on Mumbai. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has meanwhile told Pakistan to AFP - India on Wednesday warned that all options were open in dealing with Pakistan after last week's attacks on Mumbai, as the United States pressured Islamabad to show urgent cooperation with the probe.



Children go to fetch water at a plant in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, on December 1, 2008. Baton-wielding riot police broke up protests in Harare and detained dozens Wednesday, as the death toll of a cholera epidemic neared 600 in Zimbabwe's worsening health and economic crises.(AFP/File/Desmond Kwande)AFP - Baton-wielding riot police broke up protests in Harare and detained dozens Wednesday, as the death toll of a cholera epidemic neared 600 in Zimbabwe's worsening health and economic crises.




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