How to Choose an MVA Lead Vendor: 15 Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Single Lead
Most attorneys choose a lead vendor the way they choose a phone plan — on price and a pitch. That is exactly backwards. The wrong vendor burns your ad budget, demoralizes your intake team, and leaves you with a CPA so high you would have been better off doing nothing. Before you buy a single lead, run every vendor through these 15 questions. The answers tell you everything you need to know.
Why most lead vendors fail attorneys
The MVA lead market is full of vendors who sell volume instead of results. They optimize for their revenue per lead — not your cost per case. Shared leads, hidden setup fees, no replacement policy, no conversion data. You pay for activity, not outcomes.
A real partner is the opposite. They sell exclusive leads, publish their pricing, replace bad leads without a fight, and talk about your CPA before they talk about their CPL. The 15 questions below are how you tell the difference on the first call.
The 15 questions
1. Are your leads exclusive or shared?
If the answer is anything other than "exclusive, never shared, never resold," keep looking. "Exclusive for 24 hours" is a shared lead with a delay. See our breakdown of exclusive vs shared leads.
2. Do you charge setup fees or monthly retainers?
Setup fees and retainers mean the vendor gets paid whether you close cases or not. Performance-based pricing aligns their incentives with yours. We charge neither — see our lead generation without setup fees.
3. What is your replacement policy?
Get it in writing. Bad numbers, duplicates, and out-of-state leads should be replaced automatically — no credits to track, no loopholes. Read our MVA lead replacement policy guide.
4. Will you work off my CPA target?
A vendor who only talks CPL is selling leads. A vendor who asks for your target CPA and builds around it is selling cases. Learn how to calculate CPA for personal injury cases.
5. Which states do you cover?
If they say "all 50" without asking about your practice area or licensing, they are not screening. We are live in every state except Nevada.
6. Are phone numbers OTP-verified?
Unverified numbers mean you are calling disconnected lines. OTP verification is the baseline.
7. How fast are leads delivered?
Real time, via API to your CRM. "Daily email batch" is not real time — it is a 24-hour head start for your competitors.
8. Do you integrate with my CRM?
Go High Level, Lead Docket, Law Ruler, Litify, or any webhook/API system. If they cannot integrate, you will be copy-pasting leads.
9. What are your close rate benchmarks?
A vendor who generates real leads tracks conversion. If they say "we don't track that," they are not measuring outcomes.
10. What are the contract terms?
Month-to-month or campaign-based. Any vendor demanding a 12-month commitment before you have seen results is betting against you.
11. What is the minimum order?
50 leads, 10 transfers, or 10 signed cases is a real test batch. If the minimum is tiny, you will not get statistically significant data.
12. What reporting do you provide?
Daily disposition reports with call recordings attached. If you cannot see what happened to every lead, you cannot manage your CPA.
13. Are call recordings included?
Recordings let you audit qualification and coach your intake team. No recordings means no accountability.
14. What case criteria do you filter for?
Accident recency, not at fault, insurance, not represented, injured. Treatment-within-30-days is a premium filter. See what makes a qualified lead.
15. Can I speak to references?
A confident vendor gives you two or three firms to call. A vendor who dodges this has something to hide.
Red flags to watch for
If a vendor stumbles on more than two of these, walk away:
- Will not give a per-unit price on the first call
- Sells shared leads
- No written replacement policy
- Requires a long-term contract
- Cannot quote close rates
- Never asks about your intake team
How Mind Your Business Media answers each question
Exclusive leads only. No setup fees, no retainers. Automatic replacements for bad numbers, duplicates, and out-of-state leads. We work off your CPA target. Real-time API delivery to your CRM. Daily disposition reports with call recordings. Month-to-month. 50-lead test batch. We ask about your intake team before we quote you a price — because your intake capacity determines which model works.
Book a strategy call
Run every vendor through these 15 questions. Then book a strategy call with us — we will answer every one, give you exact pricing for your state, and tell you honestly whether leads, transfers, or signed cases fit your firm.
See Exactly What Your CPA Would Be
Want to see exactly what your CPA would be with exclusive leads, live transfers, or signed cases? Book a 20-minute call or use our case calculator.
Written By
Mind Your Business Media is an MVA lead generation agency that delivers exclusive leads, live call transfers, and signed retainers to personal injury attorneys across the US.