Kurt Black is a lead generation and insurance technology executive who helps agencies simplify lead acquisition and improve performance across multiple vendors. He is the CEO & President of Charcoal, a lead management platform that enables insurance agents to order, distribute, track, and evaluate leads in one system. Previously, Kurt served as COO and VP of Lead Generation Marketing at LeadAmp and Director of Lead Marketing at ThomasArts. With extensive experience across lead generation, direct marketing, and business operations, he focuses on helping insurance organizations improve lead quality, reduce waste, and build more efficient acquisition programs.

SR: Kurt, insurance agencies often work with several lead vendors, each with different platforms, processes, and reporting. What are the first signs that lead acquisition has become too fragmented, and what steps should buyers standardize to regain control?

KB:

Warning signs could include duplicate leads, inconsistent reporting, unidentified sub-sources, rising acquisition costs, and an inability to compare vendors using the same metrics. Because agents and carriers often work across multiple platforms and lead providers, they should choose a lead platform that consolidates all lead vendors in one place. This helps reduce the risk of buying the same lead more than once because the software can identify and remove duplicate leads at either the carrier or agent level.

Many lead vendors also rely on “sub-sources” to meet lead volume requirements. In the past, if a sub-source was found to be fraudulent or to provide recycled leads, a carrier could block leads from that sub-source without ever knowing its identity. Because the carrier or agent lacked visibility into the sub-source, that same source could simply move to another lead vendor and continue selling poor-performing leads. 

With partners like ActiveProspect, leads can now be tracked down to the domain level, allowing carriers and agents to block poor-quality sources regardless of which vendor they use.

SR: Lead sellers frequently describe their leads as fresh or high-intent. Which data points should buyers prioritize when evaluating those claims, and how should those signals influence what they are willing to pay for a lead?

KB:

Based on our analysis and experience, the time a lead form is completed is one of the strongest indicators of lead “freshness” and consumer intent. Leads tend to convert at the highest rate within the first two hours after form completion. Conversion rates then decline slightly until about nine to ten hours after completion, followed by a sharp increase in hours 11 and 12, when conversion rates are nearly equal to those seen in the first two hours. After hour 12, conversion rates drop significantly. For this reason, knowing exactly when a lead form was completed gives agents and carriers the clearest signal of lead freshness.

For intent, the standard still holds true: leads generated through paid search and SEO, or organic search, typically show the strongest intent. These consumers are actively searching for terms such as “auto insurance,” “home insurance,” and other high-intent keywords.

From a practical standpoint, remember:

  • Evaluate intent using source, time on page, form completion behavior, exclusivity, and prior contact attempts.
  • Verify the lead’s submission timestamp rather than relying on the delivery time.
  • Compare lead age with contact and conversion rates.
  • Pay a premium only when fresher leads produce a meaningfully better CPA.
  • Discount, reroute, or reject leads once their age exceeds the buyer’s profitable conversion window.

SR: Once a buyer identifies differences in lead quality or performance, what should determine whether a lead is rejected, repriced, rerouted, or placed into a different follow-up process? Can you share an example of how one of those decisions improved performance or reduced waste?

KB:

One method Charcoal uses is third-party data modeling to estimate how closely each consumer matches a client’s typical customer profile. Based on that model, we either reject the lead outright or adjust our bid according to the expected conversion rate for that lead’s segment. For example, the model may divide leads into 20 segments. 

If segments 15 through 20 do not convert at a high enough rate, we scrub any leads that fall into those segments. If segment 1 converts strongly enough to justify a higher price, we bid aggressively to win those leads, then reduce the bid amount progressively for lower-performing segments down to segment 14. In theory, we could pay $30 for a segment 1 data lead and $2 for a segment 14 data lead, as long as both convert at a rate that supports the target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).

SR: How can an insurance agency determine the lead volume its team can realistically manage? Which response-time, contact-rate, staffing, or follow-up metrics indicate that volume is beginning to hurt conversion?

KB:

If an agent cannot make an initial contact attempt within one to two hours of receiving a lead, they may be managing more leads than they can effectively work. While lead volume can fluctuate based on inventory and time of day, agents should generally be able to attempt contact within the first hour whenever possible.

If lead orders are open and the available inventory appears to exceed what one person can manage, it may be time to consider adding staff. Some agencies take a “build it and they will come” approach to staffing, but lead volume does not always justify additional hiring. A better approach is to: 

  • Staff accordingly
  • Open the lead orders
  • Evaluate the level of traffic coming in

SR: Last one for you, Kurt. What information should lead buyers and sellers regularly share with one another, and which outcomes should they review together to improve lead quality, pricing, and conversion over time?

KB:

This can be challenging because many carriers and agencies are reluctant to share lead-level conversion data directly with lead sellers. When lead-level data needs to remain private, there are two practical options:

1. Work with a third party to manage the lead-buying program. The third party can handle the conversion data and communicate with lead sources, sharing quote and conversion insights at both the vendor and sub-source levels. This gives the third party and lead vendors enough information to adjust spend, source mix, or other performance drivers based on conversion rates and key performance indicators the carrier or agency is prioritizing.

2. Share contact rates and any additional information you are comfortable providing. If the lead vendor can identify the lead source or generation method, such as paid search, organic search, or affiliate traffic, the carrier or agency can provide conversion data by source. This helps the lead vendor adjust the source mix and prioritize the highest-converting leads.

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