Speaking of Lead Follow up

[Mitch]

After I wrote the last post about my LCA, I realized I left out a point about the importance of lead follow up. I spend most of my days helping Agents around the country learn how to become stronger and better at lead conversion. Most of them have done a great job in converting more traffic to showings, but is that resulting in more sales? My answer is, I'm not sure. I can always use my Brokerage as a good measuring stick of what can be done and what should be done. For as good as many of my Agents are, I have others that just don't cut it.

So what separates the Agents who produce lots of leads and the Agents who produce lots of sales. To me, there are only two factors which I'll outline here:

1. Follow up - If you don't have a very strong follow up program, you can pretty much kiss success with this type model good bye. At some point you will realize that it doesn't make sense to spend all this money on PPC or on SEO websites if you don't do a good job following up.

2. Real Estate Skills - This is probably just as important as Follow up but I think it's probably the leads used and understood. Lead generation doesn't mean much if you don't have Real Estate Skills. How good at you at negotiating offers? How good are you are writing contracts? Do you Listen to your customer? Do you go above and beyond to help them accomplish their needs and goals? Do you know your local housing market? Do you educate your buyers and sellers on how you do business and why? Do you have basic sales training? I could go on and on.

The point is that generating leads is pretty easy for most of us. But just like making money (it's not how much money you make, it's how much you keep), it's not about how many leads you get, but how many leads turn into customers for life! This is the true measurement of your online success.

[HanzInvest]

Lead follow up has been very important in my business, and the fact of not following up on dead leads is even more important.

[Joelrunner]

Great point. (Especially #2) So many people just think if they could get more leads, they'd make a killing.

I'd bet that 90% of the time, a lot more progress could be made by just working existing leads & doing an excellent job for existing clients to increase the likelihood of getting referrals.

[Logan UT Real Estate Gal]

I have to agree with Joel, if you go above and beyond with your current clientele, as well as your leads you have now, I can bet you will get more deals close.

Great tips Mithc!

[Tim Shepard Destin]

Follow-up is important, but first impressions are more critical. Assmuming that you call all leads, my most effective technique is:

1. Review the listings that the prospect viewed prior to calling them. This is quick and easy to do with REW.
2. Call the lead and introduce yourself.
3. Then weave the following into the conversation: "....I see that you have been viewing homes in area, priced between x and y. There are certainly a lot of fine homes available but the absolute best one is 1122 paradise avenue because of reason 1, reason 2, reason 3."

If the lead is planning to buy something asap, you'll probably end up scheduling a showing appointment before the conversation is over. If the buyer is just researching for a future purchase, they will remember your name and read your follow-up.

In any event, the follow-up is easier if you make a good first impression.

[Borino]

1. Follow up - If you don't have a very strong follow up program, you can pretty much kiss success with this type model good bye.

Very true, Mitch... I converted more - a lot more - expireds into listings through a good follow up than through the initial contact.

[alohatony]

My broker used to say, "it's not just about doing the right things, it's about being the right person."