It’s not often that a realtor contacts a new lead and that individual or couple agrees to list their home or work with that realtor as a buying agent right off the hop. In fact, that pretty much never happens and what’s going to be the best-case scenario is that those people will tell you that they are in fact ready to sell their home or buy one and that they’re open to possibly working with you as their agent. And that’s how it goes a lot of the time, and what most realtors will do in other instances is determine whether the lead is a warm or cool one. You won’t need to have an explanation as to what that means, but sometimes this has realtors expressing interest in choosing to sign up for a real estate lead nurturing service.

That is going to be different from getting paid real estate leads like the ones that we provide with our service here, and a real estate lead nurturing service would be something entirely different. But what most agents are going to be doing is nurturing these leads on their own, and constantly getting better at doing so with each one being an improvement on the last one. Eventually a realtor will be consistently good with nurturing leads and converting greater numbers of them into clients. What is going to be most ideal is if these clients agree to work with you as both the listing and buying agent if their plan is to sell their current home and then buy a new one for themselves.

There are ways you can do better with convincing them of that too, although there is something of a prevailing belief among people that it’s best to have one realtor as the listing agent and then another one as the finding agent. Although there’s really no reason at all why they can’t use one realtor they trust for both parts of the home buying process and hopefully you’re able to convince them of that. That’s a different topic of discussion, and instead of going in that direction what we’ll look at here with this week’s blog entry is the best approaches to real estate lead generation follow up.

It is something that agents will do very well to improve on, because as we mentioned it’s extremely unlikely a lead is going to commit to working with you as their realtors before the end of the first conversation you have with them. You’re going to have to meet / speak with them a number of times more to get to that point, and there’s a lot that goes into converting leads into clients for real estate. So the way you follow up with them is very important indeed, and it’s something that new realtors may be far from confident with doing. But if that’s you then not to worry, we have some good information for you here. Let’s get into it.

Touching Base

It’s true that one of the more overlooked aspect of real estate success is lead generation follow-up. And keep in mind that it’s generally agreed that a good amount revenue is lost from a lack of lead follow-up, and in some cases and for some realtors even more so than from a lack of real estate lead generation. There are estimates that rate for converting leads into clients in realtors estate is as low as between 0.4%-1.2%. This roughly works out to only one or two leads being converted for every 200 or so of them collected.

So if you’re only convert one or two of these to customers then you may want to sign up for real estate lead nurturing service. One that provides you with a comprehensive and proven lead-generation/CRM platform and all the necessary tools to convert at a higher rate than other agents. You may be surprised to lear that the conversion rate is that low. One of the primary reasons it is is because of poor, or often non-existent, follow-up. Take a look at these stats:

1. Only 25% of agents make a 2nd follow-up call
2. A mere 12% make a 3rd one
3. Fewer than one in 10 agents make three or more follow-up calls.
4. Nearly half (48%) of real estate agents don’t follow up after their first call

If they’re not consistent with making your follow-up contacts, it is going to be difficult for any real estate agent in Canada to convert prospects at a higher rate.

So what you need here are proven effective strategies for lead nurturing in real estate. But before we get to them, let’s first discuss why you need to focus on several reasons why lead generation follow-up is so necessary in real estate. You will already know that real estate transactions often involve significant financial and emotional decisions. Establishing and nurturing relationships with potential buyers or sellers is always going to be key to lead conversion, and follow-up helps maintain communication and trust. Plus helping the realtor understand the leads’ needs and preferences better.

Real estate is always going to be a competitive business, and potential clients may be considering multiple options. Regular follow-up makes it more likely you stay top of mind when they make their decision about which realtor they’re going to work with. This is particularly important in a market where choices abound, and clients may easily forget about a property or agent if not consistently reminded. Follow-up also makes the agent more able to address any concerns or questions potential clients may have.

By being proactive and responsive, you can help these folks get past doubts and provide the information needed for clients to make informed decisions. Real estate transactions often depend on timing and a potential client might not be ready to buy or sell during the initial contact, but much more prepared to do so in the near future. Regular follow-up allows you to be aware of these changes and engage with clients when the timing is right for them.

Consistent follow-up demonstrates your commitment to clients. It shows that you are dedicated to helping them achieve their real estate goals and that you value their business. This commitment can foster a positive perception of you as a reliable and trustworthy real estate professional, and when leads becomes clients that are satisfied with the sale or purchase of a home then they are more likely to refer your services to others. They’ll probably be more inclined to recommend you to friends, family, or colleagues who need real estate services and referrals is always a big part of having success in real estate.

4 Strategies for Effective Real Estate Lead Follow Up

Here are four tips to become much better with following up with leads and converting more of them into clients, either in the near future or even far into it as they finally become ready to put their home on the market or start looking at local properties.

1. Schedule Time for Follow-Ups Every Day : Block off a certain amount of time each day for follow-ups, and make it so that it is a minimum of 30 minutes daily to keep you connected and top-of-mind with your prospects.
2. Try to Understand Your Lead’s Selling / Buying Prerogatives : It’s good if you can have a grasp of what these people’s motivation is with relation to either buying or selling a home. Be sure to use your first call to learn about the homeowner’s hopes, dreams, and, most importantly, motivation to sell. If you can have a firmer grasp of what these people are hoping to do then it gives you a reference point for subsequent calls. Plus, you’ll reinforce that you heard what they said, which goes a long way to building trust.
3. Display Your Ability to Bring Value to Your Leads : It’s a good idea to start each call or emails with something interesting and worthwhile that your leads is going to be open to hearing or reading, and an example could be the most recent market stats. They will be more inclined to see you as coming at the process from a service perspective and this will make them more comfortable and see you as a reputable and trustworthy pro who’s genuinely here to help.
4. Be Patient with FSBOs : As most of you will know, FSBO is an acronym for For Sale by Owner. All agents will be reaching out to these homeowners if they become aware of them, but you will have greater success in gaining them as leads if you take a more strategic approach to your first contact with them, along with successive ones. Don’t challenge or make them feel like they’ve made the wrong decision, and instead try to put the focus on how working with a realtor can bring so many more potential buyers into the picture, and sell their home more quickly and for a greater sale price in nearly every instance.

Using a CRM for real estate is something that is highly recommended if you’ve been having difficulty nurturing leads in real estate, and there are many good options out there. Sign up for a real estate lead nurturing service and then choose a CRM that has features like folders to organize and help you maintain maximum efficiency, the ability to organize your contacts to meet your needs, and one-click access to all the information you need on each prospect.

Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and gain the immediate advantage of having a greater number of leads to work with and ones where you can put your newfound lead nurturing skills and better approaches to lead follow ups into practice. You’ll receive a monthly quota of qualified buyer and / or seller leads each month and they will be for people in your area who have expressed a genuine interest in making a real estate purchase, or listing their home for sale. It’s a great way to gain more momentum with your business and start seeing the commissions you’re aiming to have for yourself.