Automated attachment of segmentation data to hot contact leads for facilitating matching of leads to interested lead buyers

• US 8,571,951 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2006
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LeadPoint Incorporated
• Original Assignee: LeadPoint Incorporated
• Inventors: Diana, Marc, Pettersen, Per
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Eric T
• Assistant Examiner(s): BAIRD, EDWARD J
• Application Number:
  US11/412,238
• Publication Number:
  US 20060265259A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,744 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 40
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

In an automated leads-and-bids matching system, bid profiles are defined to describe desires of lead buyers. Received leads are matched to active ones of the bid profiles whose specifications the leads substantially match. Lead segmentation data is captured on-the-fly for example by inducing potential consumers to navigate their way through tree-organized web sites that categorize the consumers according to their geographic location, income/revenue range, class of products desired and/or other attributes. Live voice or other telecommunication connections to the pre-classified consumers are coupled to corresponding, pre-classified telecommunication nodes of a call processing system. The call processing system deduces the segmentation data of the consumers from the identities of the pre-classified nodes through which their connections pass. The deduced segmentation data is passed to an automated matching system or auctioning subsystem that finds the highest bids for each given lead.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing bid profiles in a machine memory associated within a leads processing system computer including a plurality of telecommunication nodes, each telecommunication node associated with its own telephone number, each bid profile including specifications for desired leads and a bid, each bid profile associated with a corresponding lead buyer;

subsequent to the storage of the bid profiles, receiving at a first one of telecommunication nodes a telephone call from a human caller;

within the leads processing system computer, identifying lead data based upon the telephone number associated with the first one of the telecommunication nodes;

within the leads processing system computer, comparing at least the identified lead data to the stored bid profiles;

responsive to the comparison of the identified lead data to the stored bid profiles, selecting a winning bid corresponding to a winning bid profile while the human caller continues with the telephone call; and

under automatic control of the leads processing system computer, transferring the telephone call to the lead buyer corresponding to the winning bid profile.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

interactively receiving lead data at the lead processing system computer from the human caller corresponding to a desired good or service responsive to a distribution of promotional materials to consumers, and wherein said promotional materials include promotional content posted on a web site accessible via a digital network, and wherein the interactively received lead data is used by the lead processing system computer to select the telecommunications node.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

interactively receiving lead data at the lead processing system computer from the human caller corresponding to a desired good or service responsive to a distribution of promotional materials to consumers, and wherein said promotional materials include emailed promotional content coupled to a prize offering, and wherein the interactively provided lead data is used by the lead processing system computer to select the telecommunications node.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

interactively receiving lead data from the human caller corresponding to a desired good or service responsive to a distribution of promotional materials to consumers, and wherein said promotional materials are included in publicly-accessible publications including billboards, magazines and newspapers, and wherein the interactively received lead data is used by the lead processing system computer to select the telecommunications node.