If you’re looking for fresh leads to grow your business, then it’s likely you’ll have heard about the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation being introduced by the European Union on 25 May 2018.

GDPR is designed to give consumers more power than ever before over their personal data and information. Businesses looking to contact potential leads from May 2018 – estate agent or otherwise – will have to be given explicit consent to contact leads who have chosen to share their details.

In short, estate agents who operate online are going to have to go through their privacy policies with a fine-tooth comb to collect and store potential lead data in compliance with GDPR, or may face penalties of up to 4% of their annual turnover or a maximum fine of €20,000,000.

For estate agents that use a B2B provider to source new leads, that can throw up a potentially enormous set of problems if those leads aren’t collected properly.

 

 

Why you need a B2B lead provider that’s GDPR- and PECR-compliant

A lot of GDPR revolves around consent and introducing much higher standards of data protection to the general public. There will be no grace period; be prepared for 25 May 2018 or else.

That goes for companies, too, who use a third-party source to source leads and grow their business. A lot of people are predicting troubling times for the third-party data market; cold calling is one practice in the marketing industry that’s almost certainly going to be heavily impacted, but what does GDPR mean for third-party leads in general?

Simply put, third-party companies that collect and supply those leads are going to have to be as thorough and transparent as possible when collecting data, making people explicitly aware that their information will be passed onto other companies for commercial benefit.

Ignorance won’t be much of a defence if you’re accepting leads from a third-party company that isn’t GDPR-compliant and gets caught out by regulators. The Privacy and Electronics Communications Regulation (PECR) is also being rewritten as part of GDPR, and this too could seriously affect the way that B2B marketers do business.

Why that’s good news for online estate agencies

By partnering with a GDPR-compliant real estate lead generation service, built explicitly to respond to changes enforced by new data legislation, online estate agents can navigate all those problems and acquire a healthy volume of GDPR-certified, qualified leads from homeowners looking to sell.

InstantCompare is a fully transparent online estate agent comparison service, dedicated to collecting the most relevant and reliable data from individuals actively looking for an estate agent to help them sell their home.

Individuals can use our unique service when selling their home to be matched with estate agents most suited to their needs. In turn, we collect as much information as possible from sellers in a completely organic and ethical manner.

From a B2B standpoint, this equals more relevant leads for your agency, better quality information, verified contact details from sellers and more, all collected with GDPR in mind and providing excellent service for both parties.

If you’re looking for a higher volume of better-quality, qualified leads for your online estate agency, and futureproofing against GDPR download our guide here.