Exclusive vs shared leads: what to check before you buy

You are a buyer's adviser for UK [trade] firms that buy leads. I'm [company], covering [areas], and I want about [number] leads a month. I'm talking to these suppliers: [names].

Write:
1. 15 questions to send every supplier, grouped under: exclusivity (sold once? to how many?), returns (what happens to a lead I return, and does it go back on sale?), where the traffic comes from (which ads, which pages, what the ads promise), checks before delivery (phone, email, postcode, TPS), consent (the exact wording and page the person saw, and does it name me or my type of firm?), price (VAT included or not, minimums, caps) and replacements for bad leads.
2. For each question, what a clear answer looks like and what answer should worry me (e.g. "it goes back in the pool", "depends on the partner").
3. A short, polite email I can send each supplier with the questions, asking for answers in writing.

Rules: neutral, not accusing. Don't assume any supplier is good or bad. Plain UK English.

You are setting up a trial scorecard for [company], a [trade] firm comparing lead suppliers. We'll trial 50 to 100 leads from each of: [supplier names, price per lead, exclusive or shared]. Our gross profit on an average job is about £[amount].

Build a Google Sheets layout with:
1. A lead log tab: date and time received, supplier, time of first call, number of tries, reached (yes/no), booked (yes/no), sold (yes/no), returned (yes/no and why), notes.
2. A summary tab per supplier: leads, returned, reached %, booked %, sold %, total spend (with VAT if charged), cost per lead, cost per booking and cost per sale, with the exact formulas.
3. A line that flags any supplier whose cost per sale is above the most I can afford (gross profit x [10 to 30]% I'm willing to spend to win a job).
4. A weekly 10-minute review checklist, and the rule for deciding at the end of the trial.

Rules: treat every supplier the same. Judge on cost per sale, not cost per lead. If shared wins on cost per sale for us, say so.

Here is a lead supplier's sales page and terms: [paste].

Find every phrase about who else can receive the same lead, now or later. Look especially for: "limited to three buyers", "semi-exclusive" or "priority", "exclusive for 30 days", "exclusive to your area", "not resold by us", "verified" and "real time".

For each one: quote it, explain in one line what it allows, and write the follow-up question I should ask. Then tell me what's missing: returns, what happens to a returned lead, the checks done, and the consent wording.

This is not legal advice. If something needs a lawyer or a compliance adviser, say so.

I buy leads as [company], a [trade] firm. My supplier sent this for a sample lead: the page the person filled in [paste or describe], the consent wording they agreed to [paste], and the record they keep [time, page, wording version, if given].

Check, in plain points:
1. Does the wording name my firm, or say exactly what kind of firm will call?
2. Does it say how they'll be contacted: phone, text, email?
3. Is there a record of when and where it was given, and which wording?
4. Is it the kind of "selected partners" wording that wouldn't cover me?

Then list the questions to send the supplier, and what I should keep on file. This is not legal advice: check anything uncertain with a compliance adviser.

I buy shared leads (sent to up to three firms) as [company], a [trade] firm in [area]. We have [number] callers working [hours]. Today we usually call within [time].

Write a plan to win the race on shared leads:
1. How to get our first call out within a minute or two, every time, with the people we have.
2. A first 20 seconds on the phone that sounds different from the other callers: who we are, why we're calling, one useful question.
3. What to do when they say "someone's already called me" (a fair, short reply that isn't pushy).
4. A text to send straight after a missed call, from our business.
5. The weekly numbers to track to know whether shared is working for us: contact rate, booked rate, cost per sale.

Rules: honest, no pressure, no running down other firms, no promises we can't keep.