Thinking of ways I can pick up new leads or even just contacts.  I've seen a few telemarketers promoting this service, and usually charging accountants per lead generated.

Would you trust this sort of thing done in your business name?

How do the people on the receiving end feel about it, if it's cold-calls that are made?

Is this sort of service usually worth it? Do the leads usually turn into clients, or can they be some sort of way the telemarketers earn their keep?

I'm not really negative about it, just trying to think of reasons this might be a bad idea.

It's not an approach that I favour, for 2 main reasons.

1. The commission-hungry telemarketer is usually so effective at cajoling leads into making an appointment to see you, that often the lead is not really that interested, or is given an unrealistic idea about what you can do for them.  Then you have to both pay the telemarketer for the lead, and then waste time seeing someone who is not that interested or who just wants a bit of free advice.

2. I really dislike receiving such calls myself, so on principle I have an issue with encouraging the practice.

Never come across telemarketing agents selling leads, but there are some good web-sites out there offering people quotes from accountants in their area or nationally, rather than them having to find an accountant themselves.

You might want to consider contacting some of these sites to see how you can sign up as an accountant, as a lot of the owners of these sites actually contact the potential client first to ensure that it isn't a duff lead.

Some site owners only have a set number of accountants in each area, hence you are pretty sure to get some leads on a monthly basis.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards & best wishes,