Convert More Leads
Generating leads is your #1 priority. If you don’t have leads, nothing else matters. You can spend a ton of money on digital and print marketing to drive leads to your desk, but if you can’t convert them, you are wasting money. Even if you generate and convert leads, if you don’t properly qualify them, you are wasting time. There are five critical questions that will increase your lead conversation rate.
Are you hunting in the right market?
Most agents cast too large a net when it comes to generating leads. They spend a ton of money buying online leads for too large an area. They end up wasting time sifting through leads that aren’t going anywhere or dropping the ball and not following up on them at all because there are too many.
Are you going after the right prospects?
Your best leads will be prospects you have something in common with (age, background, education, income level, interests). The beauty of social media marketing (e.g. Facebook Ads) is that you can home in on the exact demographic you want to connect with in a specific location.
Are you using the right prospecting message?
If you don’t understand who your ideal client is, your ads won’t resonate with them. Once you know who your ideal client is, you must craft a clever marketing message that offers solutions for their specific problems. With the right ads, you attract better quality leads and have an easier time converting them. Hire professionals to design your ads. You are not a copywriter or a graphic artist. Crafting ads yourself is like a FSBO trying to sell their own house.
Are you following up quickly enough?
We call this “speed to lead”. Technology has changed consumer expectations. We now expect immediate responses to our inquiries. If you don’t follow up with leads immediately, your prospect will assume you must not want their business and you risk losing them to a competitor. You need to be enthusiastic, but not aggressive. There’s a fine line.
Are you qualifying your leads?
Most people start house hunting long before they are ready to make a move. If you don’t qualify them, you’ll waste a lot of time driving people around who aren’t buying a house. Here are three questions you can use to qualify buyers. Will they meet you in the office? If they are willing to go out of their way to meet you before looking at properties, they are signaling they are emotionally ready. Will they meet with your mortgage professional to get pre-approved? If so, they signaling they are financially ready. And the last question…if they saw the right house today, would they buy it today? The chances of finding the perfect house the first time out is rare, but it shows their motivation. When you are qualifying seller leads before you go on the appointment, ask if their partner will be home. There is no sense going on an appointment unless all parties are there. Ask how much they were hoping to get for their house. This will give you a sense of how realistic they are. And the last question…when would they like to be moved into the next property?
If prospects aren’t ready to make the move now, don’t discard them. Put them on an automated drip marketing campaign in your CRM system to nurture the relationship. Make a point of reaching out to them once a month to keep the conversation alive. Constant contact turns strangers into friends.
Chris Leader
President
Leader’s Edge Training