View Part 4 of the Q&A

Following the TARGUSinfo Summit and APSCU, we’ve heard the buzz. But what IS LeadiD?

LeadiD had a unique vision to allow Lead Buyers (Schools, Agencies, and Aggregators) and Lead Sellers (Organic Lead Providers, Call Centers and Aggregators) to operate in a trusted environment. The LeadiD Platform has been developed in collaboration with lead providers and lead buyers to provide an independent neutral technology. LeadiD allows Lead Sellers to definitively prove that they are generating and selling authentic quality leads. LeadiD allows Lead Buyers to make the best decisions about the leads they buy based on the true history and origin of the lead. For an easy analogy, think of LeadiD as the issuing agency of an auto VIN number, a Universal LeadiD, combined with the definitive data of the CarFax Report, a LeadiD Audit. Founded in January 2011, LeadiD traces its roots to conceptual conversations as early as 2007, when industry insiders and influencers began discussing how to solve the last fundamental problem in lead generation.

So, what “last fundamental problem in lead generation” does LeadiD solve?

In three words: authentic lead origination.

Let me share a short story that I believe Today’s Campus readers will identify with. A lead with good data, even if validated by outside companies, is not necessarily a good lead because it could be old, recycled, fraudulent, a false-duplicate, oversold, incentivized, non-compliant, low intent, or altogether fake. Where did the lead data actually come from?

As a result, the current lead market is highly inefficient:  Good leads are discounted, and bad leads are subsidized.  Good lead suppliers cannot realize the true value of their leads, while bad suppliers are incentivized to do bad things.  Schools and Agencies are frustrated with the wasted energy, expense, and opportunity cost of processing bad leads, as well as managing complaints. Lead Sellers are frustrated with getting returns, having to integrate into multiple pre-ping systems, and the bad apples that are causing the trust issues in the first place.

After spending 12 years on the Executive Management Team at TARGUSinfo, Ross Shanken, Founder and CEO of LeadiD, decided it was time to build an independent neutral open platform after witnessing the stresses and pains that existed between Lead Sellers, Schools, and Agencies. And thus, LeadiD was born.

You say, “independent neutral open platform;” what does this mean?

This actually has two intentional meanings. First, LeadiD is privately held and self-funded. The Q4 2011 $650M acquisition of TARGUSinfo by NeuStar provided Ross the ability to launch LeadiD and recruit an All-Star Team from across the space (I’ll admit some bias here!). Thus, LeadiD has no affiliation, financial or otherwise, with any lead supplies, agencies, schools or third party technology firms. This is crucial to the second piece of our neutrality.

The LeadiD Platform is an open technology platform that tracks the origin and history of every lead event that utilizes the LeadiD system. No supplier-proprietary data is exposed, but rather, LeadiD allows Lead Sellers and Lead Buyers to make real-time decisions based upon origin and history flags that are predetermined.  LeadiD fosters an environment of trust, one where both Lead Sellers and Lead Buyers alike can benefit.

For years, the industry has been discussing transparency. This infamous buzzword is oft talked about but never truly achievable. LeadiD provides both trust in the transaction and a level of translucency that both lead supplies and lead buyers are comfortable with.

For more information on LeadiD, stay tuned next week for Part 2 of Rob Rokoff’s Q&A with Today’s Campus.

ROB ROKOFF is the Vice President of Business Development for LeadiD, where he drives strategy and channel partnerships for the LeadiD Platform. Mr. Rokoff has built and managed call centers in the U.S. and Canada for American Express, CitiGroup and Merrill Lynch, was a part of the strategic leadership team with Leads360, Inc., and supported TARGUSinfo’s growth in the Bay Area where he is currently based. He has presented on lead management best practices at the Google Summit and other industry conferences. LeadiD will be presenting with Kaplan University and ClassesUSA at LeadsCon East in NYC on Tuesday, July 24. Mr. Rokoff can be reached via:

Twitter: @LeadiD

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rokoff