Qualifying leads

[subnet_rx]

I've just had a discussion with a real estate agent about his web site, and he told me that real estate web sites are a big waste of time because they just attract leads that will never buy a house, but will waste a lot of your time window shopping. He then told me of a lead he talked to for a week and even set up a meeting at the final house she had decided on, when she called and said that she couldn't come because of after-school cheerleading practice. My question is, what do you do to "screen" your internet leads?

[webmaster]

I think there is a lot to be said for your lead generation form itself

Lead forms that just require a name and either phone # or email are not going to be of to high of quality a lot of the time, but people who actually take the time to fill out a detailed form such as http://www.nashville.com/realestate/index.html are much more likely to want to buy or list.

I was actually surprised at "Your present home address" I would have thought that was asking a bit much, but one of my clients owns that spot and he said "if they are serious, why wouldnt they provide it?" Thinking back on it, it makes sense, and that spot produces great leads.

[Falcon Living]

I am divided on this issue. My website only asks for an email and a name. At the end of the day, the game we are playing is pull marketing rather than push. In the previous real estate firm I worked with, I remember getting a lead in July, and actually them coming to contact me in 6 months and signing a contract for a home in February next year. I guess I would rather have 1000 fish that are harder to catch in my lagoon than the two I surely will catch in my small aquarium.

Morgan, I also feel divided on the issue of "quick question". I guess I could use a quick question section on my website. But will it help? How many people actually use Ed's Jim's or Jake's or Marc's quick question sections? Do you happen to know?

[ResaleBroker]

I've just had a discussion with a real estate agent about his web site, and he told me that real estate web sites are a big waste of time because they just attract leads that will never buy a house, but will waste a lot of your time window shopping.

I hope all of my local competitors take this same position. If they new how many deals I get from my websites they would croak!

[kyle422]

I hope all of my local competitors take this same position. If they new how many deals I get from my websites they would croak!

Me too.
My forms are set up so that the only information required to be filled in is their name and email address. There are areas for phone number and some other things that help me figure out what they are looking for. The way I feel is that, the more information they give you, the more serious they are about buying. But I've sold homes to people that entered only their name and email.
When you put into perspective that not every lead is going to turn into a sale, you won't be let down when a lead seems to just disappear or says they are not interested anymore. Even when you have showed them multiple homes. That is real estate. Qualifying leads (I'm not saying qualifying for a loan) or filtering the ones out you don't think will turn into a sale is not a wise idea. You may turn away that multi-million dollar sale.

[SanDiego]

Morgan, I also feel divided on the issue of quick question. I guess I could use a quick question section in my website. But will it help?. How many people actually use Ed's Jim's or Jake's or Marc's quick question sections? do you happen to know?

I have a quick question on my site and more people use that then my "Contact me page" that has more detailed from input.

[webmaster]

Well, I suppose until you get to the point that you're less information type leads are to many to handle, I think I would limit the mandatory fields to just those you need to further the dialogue (Phone or email and name) and then make other fields optional.

[megrisoft]

I will say that many real estate clients like long forms in the web site to be designed because only serious clients fill the long form and give proper details, we can make some fields as required and other optional

[subnet_rx]

well, for those that do only have name and email, how do you prevent spending all your time on people that will never buy? Is this not a problem on your site?

[SanDiego]

I think it's a bit different story then spending all my time on it...
I don't get as many leads off my site (name and number) as I do off the MLS part of my site (where they don't know they are leads)... and I'll spend whatever time is needed to find out if they are going to buy or not.

I've over qualifed several leads that go out looking, get the loan set up and realize they don't want to buy anything... waist of my time, no... it was the possibility that they could, and the probability that they should have.
no big deal, NEXT.

One client earlier this year had contacted me via the "name and number" part of my site and she didn't seem like she was going to buy anything. She called me backafter talking to her the first time and bought a very nice condo she saw on my MLS two weeks later out of the blue.. If I have a form that asked for "all her info" I doubt (know) she wouldn't have filled it out...She didn't like giving out personal info until it was absolutely safe and needed.