Every broker buying leads eventually faces the same choice: a cheap lead shared with three or four competitors, or a more expensive lead that is yours alone. On a spreadsheet the shared lead looks smarter. In practice, the data across several industries points the other way.

It starts with contact, not conversion

The conversion gap is really a contact gap. When a lead is sold to several brokers at once, the consumer is called five times in twenty minutes, picks whoever sounds best first, and stops answering the rest. When a lead is exclusive, you are the only call.

One US mortgage analysis (LeadPops) measured this directly: exclusive leads reached the borrower around 65% of the time, versus roughly 25% for shared leads. You cannot convert someone you never get on the phone.

Why speed decides everything

The reason exclusivity matters so much comes down to speed-to-lead, and here the research is genuinely robust rather than vendor marketing:

• A 2007 study by Dr James Oldroyd at MIT (with InsideSales.com) found that contacting a lead within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes made you about 100× more likely to connect and 21× more likely to qualify it.
• The same research found roughly 78% of customers buy from the business that responds first.
• Harvard Business Review's 2011 audit of 2,241 companies found firms responding within an hour were about 7× more likely to qualify a lead, yet the average company took around 42 hours to respond, and nearly a quarter never responded at all.

With a shared lead, "respond first" is a race you often lose. With an exclusive lead, there is no race, which is exactly why the same speed advantages land in your favour every time.

The maths most brokers get wrong

Cost per lead is the wrong number to optimise. Cost per funded deal is the one that pays your bills. A simplified industry example makes the point:

The cheaper lead is usually the more expensive customer. Once you factor in contact rates, close rates and the hours your team burns chasing people who already signed with someone else, exclusive almost always wins on true cost per acquisition.

An honest note on the numbers

Some exclusive-versus-shared percentages come from lead providers, who clearly have an interest in the answer, so treat the exact figures as directional rather than gospel. The speed-to-lead studies from MIT and Harvard, however, are independent and have been reproduced many times. The direction of the evidence is not seriously in dispute: fewer hands on a lead means more contact, more qualification and a lower cost per deal.

How we do it at TPR Leads. Every lead we generate is sold to one broker and never resold. You are always the first and only call, which is the single biggest lever on the numbers above. See our business loan leads →

Business loan leads are not one thing. An SME chasing $40,000 of working capital by Friday and a company refinancing a $1.2m commercial property are both "business loan leads", but they convert on different timelines, at different values, and reward completely different sales approaches. Knowing which you are buying matters.

The backdrop is healthy for brokers. SME loan balances grew about 6.5% in the year to mid-2025, the federal SME Guarantee Scheme had backed roughly 109,000 loans worth around $16.5 billion by June 2025, and the major banks have openly named small business as the part of the market they most want to grow. Demand and lender appetite are both up.

Unsecured business loan leads

These are businesses seeking finance without putting up property or major assets as security, typically for working capital, cash flow, stock or short-term needs.

• Faster and higher volume. Often funded through fintech and non-bank lenders with quicker processing, so these enquiries move quickly and there are more of them.
• Higher rates. Unsecured and fintech business lending in Australia commonly sits around 9.5% to 18% p.a., versus roughly 6.8% to 8.2% for bank secured loans, reflecting the extra risk.
• Urgency is the whole game. These borrowers usually want money fast, so the speed-to-lead advantage of an exclusive lead matters even more here. Reach them first and you often win by default.
• Metro-skewed. Uptake of unsecured and digital options is stronger in metropolitan areas.

Best for: high-tempo desks that can call fast, work volume, and place working-capital and cash-flow deals.

Secured business loan leads

These are businesses borrowing against property or assets. The RBA notes Australian lending still skews toward secured over unsecured, partly because borrowers choose it for the lower rate.

• Higher value, lower volume. Larger loan sizes and bigger commissions, but fewer enquiries and a longer sales cycle.
• Lower rates, more documentation. Cheaper for the borrower, but more considered and slower to settle.
• A more consultative sale. These leads reward rapport and expertise over speed alone, though being first still helps you set the tone.
• Regional strength. Property-backed, relationship-led lending is relatively more common outside the major cities.

Best for: desks that prefer fewer, higher-value deals and are comfortable with a longer, advice-led conversation.

So which should you buy?

It is less about which is "better" and more about which fits your desk. If your team converts on speed and thrives on volume, unsecured leads suit you. If you place larger, property-backed deals and value depth over pace, secured leads will return more per enquiry. Plenty of brokers run both and let the mix follow their pipeline.

How we split it at TPR Leads. We generate both, exclusively, and price them to match how they behave: $79 per unsecured lead and $109 per secured lead, 20-lead minimum on each. Compare the two →

Last updated: [DATE] · Supplier: TPR Leads (ABN 55 623 845 262) · Contact: brad@tprleads.com

By purchasing leads from TPR Leads, or by submitting the Broker Intake Form, you ("the Broker") agree to these terms.

1. What we supply

We supply finance enquiry leads on a pay-per-lead basis. Each lead is supplied exclusively to one Broker, we never sell the same lead to anyone else.

2. Pricing and payment

• Unsecured lead: $79 AUD each
• Secured lead: $109 AUD each
• Minimum order: 20 leads, prepaid
• Payment is one-time, in advance. Leads are released once payment clears. Prices in AUD and exclude any applicable taxes unless stated.

3. What counts as a valid lead

A lead is valid when it includes a real person's name, a contactable Australian phone number, and a genuine enquiry for the relevant finance product, generated through our own marketing.

4. Refunds and replacements

We will replace (or, at our discretion, refund) any lead that is:

• a disconnected or invalid phone number;
• provably fake or false contact details;
• a duplicate (the same person supplied to you more than once); or
• the wrong product type to what you ordered.

To claim, report the lead to us within 5 business days of delivery with the reason. We'll verify and replace it.

Not grounds for a refund or replacement: the lead didn't answer, wasn't interested, didn't proceed, or didn't convert; or you contacted them late. We supply the enquiry, we don't guarantee a sale.

5. Broker responsibilities

You confirm that:

• you hold all licences and authorisations required to provide your finance services to the lead (including any Australian Credit Licence / credit representative status, and any AFS licence or authorisation that applies to you); [TPR Leads' own AFS position pending legal confirmation]
• you will be the first and only point of contact with each lead, and will contact them promptly; and
• you will comply with all applicable laws when contacting and handling leads, including the Privacy Act, the Spam Act, the Do Not Call Register, and credit laws, and will handle each lead's personal information accordingly.

6. Exclusivity

Each lead is sold to you and you only. You may not on-sell, share, or transfer a lead to another party.

7. Liability

Leads are supplied "as is". We make no guarantee about conversion, loan value, or outcome. To the extent permitted by law, our total liability for any lead is limited to the fee you paid for that lead, and we are not liable for any indirect or consequential loss.

8. Acceptance and changes

You accept these terms by purchasing leads or submitting the intake form. We may update these terms; the current version applies to each new order.

9. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia.

1. Who we are

TPR Leads (ABN 55 623 845 262) generates finance enquiry leads and supplies them to finance brokers.

2. What we collect

When individuals enquire through our campaigns we may collect their name, contact details and information about the finance they're seeking. From brokers we collect business and account details needed to deliver leads.

3. How we use it

We use enquiry information to connect individuals with a broker who can assist them, and to operate and improve our service.

4. Who we share it with

Each enquiry is shared with the single broker it is supplied to. We require brokers to handle that information in line with the Privacy Act.

5. Your choices

Individuals can ask us what personal information we hold and request correction or deletion by contacting brad@tprleads.com.

6. Contact

Privacy questions: brad@tprleads.com.