Lead-company contract terms

Five clauses decide what a lead contract is actually worth: how the term renews, how “exclusive” is defined, what the territory language promises, what the credit policy accepts as a bad lead, and what happens to the contacts when you leave. Price is the sixth consideration, not the first — a cheap contract with a hostile renewal clause costs more than an expensive one you can exit. This page is a decoder, not legal advice; have a lawyer read anything you are unsure of before signing.

Renewal mechanics: the clause that keeps billing

The pattern to find: an initial term (often 3–12 months) that converts to automatic renewal unless you cancel in writing inside a notice window, commonly 30–60 days before the renewal date. Miss the window and you own another term. Three things to pin down: the exact notice length, the accepted cancellation method (email to whom? a form? registered mail?), and whether cancelling mid-term stops billing or merely stops renewal. Put the notice deadline in your calendar on signing day — the clause is designed for people who do not.

“Exclusive,” as defined rather than advertised

The word carries no standard meaning. Contracts variously define it as sold to only you (true exclusivity), sold to only you at time of delivery with remarketing rights retained, not sold to another agent in the same brokerage or team, or exclusive within a lead type while the same person is resold as a different product. Find the definition section and read what survives: whether the company may recontact the lead, resell after a cooling period, or keep the contact in its own nurture funnel competing with yours. If the definition section does not exist, the pitch word is unenforceable.

Territory language

“Your area” is a promise about competition, so look for the number attached to it: some contracts cap agents per postal zone or city, many cap nothing and simply sell by area. The questions that expose the difference: how many other agents currently receive leads in my territory, is that number capped in the contract, and can the territory be redrawn or resized during my term? A territory promise without a cap and a freeze is a description of today, not a commitment about next quarter.

Credits, refunds, and what counts as a bad lead

The credit policy is where per-lead economics are quietly set. Read for four things: the qualifying definitions (disconnected number and duplicate almost always qualify; unresponsive and not-actually-moving rarely do), the claim window (short windows void the policy in practice), the remedy (a replacement lead is not a refund — it is more product), and any monthly cap on claims. Model your real cost assuming the credits you will actually win, not the policy headline; the sourced Canadian per-lead ranges to sanity-check against are on buy real estate leads in Canada.

Data rights at exit

When the subscription ends, what leaves with you? Look for export rights over the contacts you paid for, whether “your” leads revert to the company’s pool, and any clause restricting you from contacting them post-term. If the vendor also hosted your CRM or landing pages, exit rights extend to that data too — the same ownership questions asked of website vendors apply here, and the checklist in who owns your website transfers almost clause-for-clause. Paying per lead without an export right means you were renting introductions, not building a database.

The quiet clauses

Worth a scan even when the big five are clean: minimum ad-spend commitments layered on top of the subscription, the company’s right to change per-lead pricing mid-term, mandatory arbitration or venue clauses, permission to use your name and results in their marketing, and performance disclaimers that contradict the sales projections. None is necessarily a deal-breaker; unread, each is a surprise scheduled for later.

Contract literacy pairs with vendor literacy: the questions to ask before this document lands are on questions to ask before buying leads.