You likely work hard to generate real estate leads for your business. But once you get the leads, are you doing everything you can to maximize the chance that they convert into clients?
If you’re not making the most of every lead and letting some fall through the cracks, you could be missing out on many easy sales opportunities – “low hanging fruit.”
In this post, we’re going to share four important reasons why your real estate leads may be falling through the cracks.
1. You’re making it hard for leads to contact you
I’ve been on Agent websites where the agent’s phone number and email address is very hidden, or not there at all. Make it easy for people to pick up the phone and call you by prominently displaying your phone number on your website’s homepage. Your leads aren’t going to do research to find your phone number. They’ll get frustrated, go to another website, and call the Agent down the block. As well, it’s a good idea to have a form on your site which lets people get in touch with you right there and then.
This goes for all the marketing you’re doing, both online and offline – make it easy for prospects to contact you and include a clear call-to-action.
2. You’re not responding fast enough
Fast response time is critical in getting the lead on the other line and converting them into a client. PCMS Consulting and One Cavo found that 75 percent of real estate leads were lost due to agents not responding or responding too late – an average of eight hours after the initial inquiry was made.
The faster you respond, the better. Try to answer back no later than one hour after the real estate lead contacted you. A study by Harvard Business Review found that responding to leads within an hour can mean that you’re seven times more likely to convert that lead into a client. Keep in mind that many prospective clients expect a response within 20 minutes or less.
3. Your web leads don’t automatically flow into your Agent CRM
In order to respond to your real estate leads fast and to stay organized, all of the leads you get from your website, Zillow, and any other online source should automatically be captured into your CRM for Agents. This saves you from having to manually input all the leads into your real estate database. It also gives you the peace of mind that:
- You’ll be notified the instant a new lead comes through so you can get in touch with them
- The lead will automatically be put into a group in your CRM so you’re staying organized
- The lead will automatically be put on a drip campaign or added to your e-Newsletter distribution list.
4. You’re not properly nurturing your real estate leads over time
Are you taking the necessary steps to nurture your leads long-term and build relationships with them until they’re ready to work with you (which could be even years down the road)? If not, you’re missing out on valuable future sales.
Start by assigning each new lead to a drip marketing campaign in your real estate contact management software. A good CRM will have campaigns you can use that are tailored to specific types of leads and their unique requirements, such as FSBOs, renters who may buy, seller leads, and so forth. It’s also a good idea to add the lead to your monthly real estate newsletter distribution list. There are myriad business benefits to sending out an e-Newsletter, including building trust and credibility with those in your database.
Don’t attempt to close too quickly or you’ll run the risk of completely turning off the lead. Nurture the lead over time using your real estate CRM.
When it comes to lead conversion, you need to make it easy for real estate leads to find and contact you, respond fast when they do, automatically capture the leads in your Agent CRM, and cement the relationship with them over time with a custom drip marketing campaign. All of this is vital to building a growing, lucrative business in both the short and long term.
Are you guilty of any of these things?