Every lead vendor's website says the same four words: exclusive, verified, high-intent, compliant. Some of them are describing their product; the rest are describing their competitors'. Since the marketing is identical, due diligence has to happen in the questions. Here are the nine that separate them, and what good and bad answers sound like.
1. Do you generate the leads yourself?
The foundational question. A vendor who owns the funnels controls quality, consent, and exclusivity. A reseller controls a spreadsheet. "We work with a network of trusted publishers" means the vendor cannot actually verify anything else they're about to tell you.
2. Will this lead ever be sold again?
Not "is it exclusive" — *will it ever be sold again*. Plenty of "exclusive" leads are exclusive for 30 days, then quietly recycled into aged inventory or sold into a different vertical. Get the answer in writing in your order or agreement.
3. How is the phone number verified?
The strongest answer is OTP verification — the prospect enters a code sent to their phone, proving the number is real and in their hand. Weaker answers ("we ping the carrier," "we validate format") catch disconnected numbers but not fake ones. No verification means your dialers do the verifying, at payroll rates.
4. Can you show me the consent record for a specific lead?
Ask for a live example: TrustedForm certificate (or equivalent), the exact consent language, the timestamp, the page. A real generator pulls this up in seconds. Then ask how long records are retained — TCPA claims arrive years after the call, and a consent record that's been purged is a defense you don't have.
5. What exactly did the prospect opt into?
Read the funnel. Was it a real coverage conversation about the line you write — IUL, final expense, home — or a "You may qualify for a $9/week benefit!" clickbait ad whose leads will feel bait-and-switched on the phone? Ask to see the actual creative and landing pages. A vendor proud of their funnels shows you; a vendor cagey about them just answered a different question.
6. How is the lead delivered, and how fast?
The right answer is API-to-your-CRM in seconds, with routing by state and capacity. Email or CSV delivery silently converts real-time leads into aged ones before your agents ever dial — the decay is measured in minutes.
7. What reporting do I get?
You can't manage what the vendor doesn't show you: delivery timestamps, source attribution, per-agent outcomes. Vendors who provide a real platform are betting you'll like what the data says. Vendors who email you a weekly spreadsheet are betting you won't look.
8. Who do I talk to when something's wrong?
A named account contact who knows your states, products, and capacity — or a support ticket queue? Lead flow is operational infrastructure; when routing breaks on a Monday morning, the difference matters.
9. What happens when I want to scale — or pause?
Ask how volume changes work, how quickly campaigns adjust to new states or capacity, and what commitments you're actually signing. The structure of the answer tells you whether you're buying from a partner or a list broker with a logo.
The pattern behind all nine
Notice what these questions have in common: every one is trivially easy for a vendor who owns the whole pipeline — funnels, verification, consent capture, delivery, reporting — and awkward for everyone else. That's not an accident; it's the actual quality bar in this industry. (It's also, transparently, how Slate is built: our answers to all nine are on the leads we supply and in the FAQ.) Whoever you buy from, make them answer in writing — the vendors who can, will.