Shared vs Exclusive Life Insurance Leads: What's the Difference?

A shared lead is sold to multiple agents simultaneously. Everyone receives the same name and number, often within seconds of each other. The consumer typically gets several calls in a short window.

The practical consequence is that speed is the whole strategy. If you are not first or second to dial, you are usually inheriting a consumer who has already been pitched, has already said something they now feel committed to, or has stopped answering unknown numbers.

An exclusive lead is delivered to a single agent. You still need to call quickly, because consumer intent decays regardless of who else has the record, but you are not racing peers who bought the same submission.

Broker Buddy leads are exclusive and are not resold or recycled later as aged data.

Compare cost per conversation, not cost per lead. Take your cost per lead and divide by the share of records you actually get a live conversation with. A shared lead at a low price with a low contact rate can easily cost more per real conversation than an exclusive lead at a higher price.

Then add the cost you rarely write down: the minutes you spend dialing records that were already worked. Time is the input most agents underprice.

Shared leads can work for agents who sit on the phone all day, dial within seconds, and are comfortable with high-volume, competitive conversations.

Exclusive leads fit agents who work a smaller number of records more thoroughly, run appointment-based conversations, or split their day between selling and servicing existing clients.

Compare like for like: same product type, same states, same verification standard, and the same delivery speed. A shared aged lead and an exclusive real-time verified lead are not two prices for the same thing.