What has received the best response when you follow up a lead?

[kyle422]

I would like to know what type of response you use on a lead from your website and what has worked best for you? Also, I would like to know what you typically write in the subject line of an email? I think that a lot of leads may think my email might be spam because of the subject line. Any help would be appreciated.

[Duncan Pollock]

To my mind, the one sure way of getting back to people is to use the Reply button and leave the subject line the way it was when they e-mailed you.
In turn, your reply should go something like this:
1. Thanks for getting in touch with me. It's much appreciated.
2. The answer(s) to your question(s) is/are as follows:
a)
b)
c)
whatever.
3. Please feel free to contact me again if you need any additional information.
The main idea is to demonstrate both your knowledge and ability to be of service. In other words, your reply should be the first step in building up a relationship with them. If it's done right, it will meet with a response that can then take both of you a step further towards them becoming a client who'll deal with no one else except you.

Duncan

PS. I am, of course, assuming that -- heaven forfend -- you aren't making them fill out a form to reach you. Their contact should be the result of an invitation on your web page(s) to "Click here to e-mail me".

[beachgal]

I agree with Duncan, hit the reply button. As well as answering their questions, you might want to try and think of a question or two that you can ask them, that way you'll get some communication going.

[Barry]

you might want to try and think of a question or two that you can ask them, that way you'll get some communication going.

Such as?

When I call them, I always ask "have you been looking for a while?"
I usually do not get past that.

The problem that I am having is that 90% of the time they say "No we are just trying to get a feel for the market". At that point I put them on my drip mail campaign and set them up to receive emailed listings from me. That's all good and fine for 9 months from now when they are serious...maybe...

I am too new at this to know if they will really be serious about buying, further down the road.

[beachgal]

Hi Barry,
Can I suggest that you don't ask questions that can lead to just a yes or no answer. If you ask "have you been looking for a while?" you're inviting a yes or no answer and then you're left trying to think of things to keep the conversation going. You'd be better off asking "how long have you been looking for?"

By asking leading questions like this, you'll find that people will soon feel comfortable talking to you, because you're letting them do most of the talking, and people love nothing more than talking about themselves. I have clients that call me up and in the end I can't get them off the phone, but thats ok because they pay me well to listen. If you ask questions that lead to yes or no replies the conversation becomes stilted and people may feel like they are being quizzed.

[denns25]

I agree with Beachgal about getting them talking. When I call people I let them know that I'm responding to the real estate inquiry. Then I'm off into the Bullsh*t session. I ask them what they do, how many kids they have, how old - anthing to get them talking. In just a minute or two you'll find something they love about themselves, and they'll not be able to tell you enough about it.

One example comes to mind about a guy that called. He was so stiff I thought I was about to loose him. Then I found out he repaired church organs. I tell you I ended up learning WAY more than I cared to about organs!

[SEO Jason]

Hi Barry,
Can I suggest that you don't ask questions that can lead to just a yes or no answer. If you ask "have you been looking for a while?" you're inviting a yes or no answer and then you're left trying to think of things to keep the conversation going. You'd be better off asking "how long have you been looking for?"

By asking leading questions like this, you'll find that people will soon feel comfortable talking to you, because you're letting them do most of the talking, and people love nothing more than talking about themselves. I have clients that call me up and in the end I can't get them off the phone, but thats ok because they pay me well to listen. If you ask questions that lead to yes or no replies the conversation becomes stilted and people may feel like they are being quizzed.

Great reply beachgal, excellent advice. That was one of the first things I learned back when I was a car salesman. Always use open-ended questions.

PS. I am, of course, assuming that -- heaven forfend -- you aren't making them fill out a form to reach you. Their contact should be the result of an invitation on your web page(s) to "Click here to e-mail me".

I would give the person the option to fill out a form or to send an e-mail. I know that when I'm on a website sometimes i prefer filling out the forms because it ensure that I give the person all the information that they will need and also gives me an idea of what other information they might need that I don't have.

One way I was just playing with in my mind is when using a form to either show the subject line at the top of the form or to create a field where the user can create there own subject line. That way when you reply, you can use there subject line as the response and the person will probably clue in faster that your replying to the form that they filled out.

[Barry]

Great advice about the open-ended questions.

Of course it is best to call the prospects as soon as they log off the site, but if that is not an option, what is the best time to call them at home.
I question if it is wise to call during dinner hours. Do families still eat dinner together? What the heck is "dinner hour"?

On one thread I saw someone mentioned that they had someone log on their site at 1:30AM. They happened to be up, so they called that person. But what if they had a spouse or children that were sleeping?How late is too late in the evening to call?