Skip tracing can be a complicated process. To make it more complicated there are hundreds of companies and thousands of freelancers who are trying to gain your business. Through all these factors there are a few words which mean the most when it comes to skip tracing; terms you need to understand.
Skip Trace Hit – The “hits” on a skip traced list add into the most widely utilized marketing term for skip tracing, the infamous “hit rate.” A “Hit” in skip tracing is another word for a result. If you have a list of 1 address and through the skip tracing process contact information for this address is found, it is referred to as a hit. If no contact information is found, there is no hit. (Note: other words for a hit can be a “Match”)
Hit Rate – A “Hit Rate” is the percentage or “Rate” of hits, results or matches your list comes back with after the skip trace is complete. If you submitted a list of 10,000 records and the hit rate was 70%, 7,000 records came back with results and 3,000 records came back with no results (blanks).
Skip Trace Search – A “Search” is when a skip trace is run on your list. This is simply an attempt in finding the contact information on your submitted list.
How This Affects You
These terms come into play when you are choosing a skip trace company, mainly in how they are charging for their services.
Being Charged For Searches
Some companies charge you for searches. This means if your list is 10,000 records you will be charged on the entire amount of searches on the list, 10,000 searches. If they are charging $0.20 per record a search, you will have to pay $2,000 for the skip trace. Here is where the hit rate comes in. If the company has an average hit rate of 70% you are paying $2,000 for 10,000 searches and only getting back, on average, 7,000 hits. In other words, 3,000 of the records you submitted and paid for come back with no contact information. Your effective skip trace “hit” rate is $0.29 per contact record.
Being Charged For Hits
While some companies charge for searches, others charge for record hits, or records that come back with matched contact information. This means if you submit 10,000 records for a skip trace you are only paying for the records which come back with contact information. So now, using the same $0.20 as above, you are paying $2,000 for skip tracing a list of 10,000 records but with a hit rate of 70% only 7,000 records come back with contact information. Since you are only charged for the hits, you would receive a refund for the non-hits, 3,000 records in this case, for a total of $600. Bringing your total cost for the skip trace to $1,400.
Knowing the difference between skip trace searches and hits can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars when it comes to your skip tracing needs. We hope you now can make an educated decision to choose which type of skip trace company you want to work with.
Do you Even Need Skip Tracing In The First Place?
How much money would you save by not having to skip trace your lists? How much time would you save knowing you have a 100% complete, ready to go list when your order a list?
If you’re able to skip trace a list with a company, shouldn’t they be able to provide you with the data? The holy grail in our industry is to have the property details, the homeowner names, addresses & demographic information & all the available cell phones, landlines & email addresses.
A company is currently changing the narrative in the real estate lead list industry by providing just that: 100% complete lead lists, ordered using the filtering you require. There is no need to skip trace a list, again, ever.
Geopoint Data, a lead list company out of Scottsdale, Arizona and provides the only lists you will ever need as a realtor, wholesaler or real estate investor. Whether you are cold calling, texting, mailing, emailing, door knocking or any other type of campaign you can rest assured Geopoint Data has the lead list solution for you.
With the freshest data in the industry, compiled from a variety of sources such as county assessor & recorder offices, the United States Postal Service & hundreds of other first & third party sources, Geopoint Data is armed with all the information you need to get the homeowner lead list you have always dreamed of.
Whether you are looking for a Vacant list, Absentee Owner list, Pre-foreclosure list or even a variety of stacked lists such as Vacant homes stacked with High Equity and a absentee owner, you will always be able to find the list you love to work with.
Stop by Geopoint Data’s website and take a look at all the options for lists you can create for your business.
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