Phone Scripts For Lead Follow up

[Ryan Ward]

Was working on this and I have two right now. I would appreciate any feedback or insight into what others are doing here. Ok, here are the first two I have completed. One is a voicemail (still not sure if I want to leave a message or not, but, that is another post) and the second is something for the initial call when they answer. Certainly we all know that scripts are just a starting point, but, that means we have to have one...

Hi (Lead First Name),

My name is Ryan Ward with the Ryan Ward Group and I wanted to thank you for using our website to search homes for sale. I realize that you may be in the early stages of your home search, but, if you have any questions about any of the homes of interest to you, please don’t hesitate to inquire about them while you are online or if you are more comfortable, please feel free to call me at 404.630.3187 and I will be happy to get you any information that you are looking for.

Once again, this is Ryan Ward with the Ryan Ward Group and my phone number is 404.630.3187

Thank you very much and have a nice day.

and the second one is:

Good afternoon! My name is Ryan Ward May I speak with (Lead First Name) please?

Hi (Lead First Name),

I wanted to thank you for using our website to search homes for sale… you know, actually…Is this a good time to talk or would you prefer that I call back at a later time? Perfect. I’ll be brief. I wanted to let you know that if you have any questions, we will be happy to get you any information that you are looking for on any of the homes of interest to you and I also wanted to find out if you had any specific questions that we can answer for you at this time?

OK great! I would like to thank you for your time and for using our website and if you have any questions in the future, please don’t hesitate to call me or send an inquiry directly from the website itself and we will be happy to help any way that we can….thank you for your time and have a great day!

OK, Tear it Up!

[Micheal Pannell Realtor]

i dont use scripts, i am just my self and i tell them what i can do for them. everyone has different needs.

Like i tell my agents, i dont know what it is that i do but i have a very high conversion rate on internet leads. For some reason i cant tell them how i do it neither.

[RESteve]

I like the voice mail, but I think the phone conversation could use some work. I'm a strong advocate of encouraging conversation by staying in curiosity, so you'll find a lot of my scripts include this belief.

I would lean more on something like this:

Good afternoon! My name is Ryan Ward May I speak with (Lead First Name) please?

Hi (Lead First Name),

I wanted to personally thank you for using [insert site name] to search homes for sale. Did you have any questions or any homes that I could do some research on for you?

What kind of time frame are you working with?

Did you hear that interest rates have been dropping? [Wait for answer]. I'm excited for our past clients, and new ones. We have plenty of folks refinancing, though it is a tad bit harder for new clients to get approved. [showing a little bit of expertise of the market]

Well, I didn't want to take up too much of your time as I'm sure your busy, but I'm here for you if you need anything with regards to real estate. Do you mind if I send you a quick email with my information? [Get email!]

Great! I really hope you and your family have a great day. Take care!

[BarryC]

Ryan,

I'm kind of with the others on this (I think). I like the voicemail script, but agree with Mike regarding the phone conversations. I just try and be myself and let the conversation flow. I've never been good with scripts.

[metaylor9]

Thanks for starting this post Ryan, I think this is a very important topic. I like the first one for the voicemail...it reinforces who you and your website are without taking up the entire message machine.

The second one is way more difficult, because if you get them on the phone these people are not exactly asking you to call them and presumably reluctant to talk. I am currently using something very similar but I know there is something better I can be doing. Sometimes people open up and are appreciative of the call and sometimes they can't get off the phone fast enough. Maybe it is just a pure numbers game, but I would like to optimize it as much as possible.
I think we would all agree that a natural flowing conversation is much preferred over a script, but a script provides a starting point to get your message across.

[RESteve]

I personally feel that scripts allow you to monitor your conversions. Sure; if you plan to be in business for yourself as a company of one for the rest of your life, feel free to use your natural rapport building skills to convert leads. It's just you in your business.

However, if you plan on expanding to a team, a group, a real estate company, then scripts are VITAL. Scripts will allow you to hold your associates accountable, and help you track conversion ratios. Phone conversion not so hot? Look at the scripts!

Imagine if you had a team of agents just "winging it". How do you go about talking to an agent and helping them get on the right path?

Sure - you don't want to sound like a telemarketing robot out there, but scripts are meant to memorize, internalize, then personalize. They provide a foundation.

[Mitch]

Hey Ryan! We don't use scripts in my office. We do have a guideline to follow, but no scripts. In a former life one of my businesses was opening telemarketing centers for companies. The first thing I did was tear up all the scripts they used. I then met with each employee and tailored talking points around how I felt their personalities would create a positive conversation. It was extremely successful.

For my Brokerage, one of the most important traits they must have for me to hire them is personalities. If they are honest, ethical, work ethic and have a good personality I can teach them to be successful. I teach them to use their personalities with each person. Our goal is to refine their search and find out when they are looking to buy. Because of our lead capture system, we know the city they were searching when they first logged in. We also, within an hour of registering, send them a list of properties that match what they are looking at on the site. When we call we go over that list, refine the search, have a nice conversation about real estate and go from there.

In my opinion scripts sound like scripts. Guidlelines to make sure they cover all that needs to be covered are usually much more effective and easier for the Agents to follow.

[Mitch]

I did forget to say, we do leave messages when we call and keep them short and sweet. "Hi, This is Mitch from Tropical Realty. You were on our site today and I just wanted to take a moment and discuss how I can help you."

We get lots of call backs by keeping it short. You have about 10 seconds or so for them to actually listen. If you go on, they are not paying attention and most likely won't call you back.

[DMG]

While I think its good to be scripted conversion seems better on any follow up whether it be web, sign, print or whatever if you are scripted but don’t sound scripted. In other words be ready for objections, common questions but like others said here keep it natural by being yourself. My team and I are very scripted and practice them but we don’t talk like we are reading, there is a clear difference.

If you get a voice mail though something along the lines of #1 is better, much easier to follow, to the point - good one.

[Ryan Ward]

Derrick, I agree.

Mitch, I to can see what they searched for, how they arrived and will also send them houses based on the search prior to our intial contact. This is a great idea. It actually gives you something to talk about when you call. Simple and brilliant.