According to NAR 48% of real estate agents do not respond to their internet leads with a plan or schedule. Yikes! Why in the world would you spend money on leads from Zillow, Facebook ads or any other service without a real estate follow up plan in place? Worse yet, take days to get back to the lead? The fact is the consumer is most likely to work exclusively with the real estate agent who responds to the prospective lead first. Don’t you want to be that agent?
The reality is that before people start any kind of online purchase, as many as 98% of people do research. So, with that said, if you are not on the internet via website, social platforms or email blasting – you are most definitely missing the boat.
Here is the scary thing…there are plenty of real estate agents out there spending a butt load of money trying to get leads and then proceed to communicate with those leads off an Excel or Google spreadsheet. Killing me! Whether you are spending $500 or $5k on lead generation you absolutely must have a real estate follow up CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system in place. Just imagine the possibilities? How MUCH more could you do if you were set up for real estate follow up in the correct way?
When is a lead really dried up for you? The only time a lead is dried up is when they flat out tell you they don’t want to talk to you and/or their contact information has gone bad. That’s it. Even if they have an agent or other salesperson, the lead is definitely not dried up.
You may have a goal of closing on 3% of your leads a month – but in actuality you are only closing on 1%. It’s great to have that goal, but what is really most important is that you are filling up a pipeline of leads and adding those contacts daily. We know that buyers and even sellers for that matter do not buy or sell from us tomorrow. It’s time consuming but so worth it because 80% of any sales are made on the 5th to 12th contact.
What things can you do to stay in front of them long term? How can you engage with them in a way that will instill trust and lead to a sales conversion in the future?
So, what are the 5 MOST IMPORTANT real estate follow up steps?
1. Phone call and/or text
“How can I help you at this time with your research?”
When a lead comes in…pick up the phone and call immediately. If they send in their contact information, including their phone number, it means they are ready right at that moment to receive information. But it’s not just a phone call, depending on the contact it could be as simple as a text. If you have a template prepared for this, you can send a text immediately.
2. New contact follow up introduction email
Thanking them and providing a listing or ad that offers info on your services. Just make sure you are sending them information that they are actually asking for.
3. Listings, product updates or specials should be sent regularly and automatically
Real-time and daily if possible for buyers and at least weekly for sellers. Set up pre-set saved searches.
4. Drip Campaign using a CRM
At least a year of engaging content via email and texts that are automated. This would include personal touch messages like holiday greetings, birthdays and anniversaries (if you have that information in your contact info).
What is a drip campaign? A drip campaign is a set of automated emails and/or texts that are sent to targeted potential customers which are triggered by an event. A proper drip campaign will automatically send your contact amazing and engaging lead scripts with information the very moment they sign up or log into your designated landing page or website.
5. Respond quickly and follow-up
Fast and personalized via phone call, text, video message, email and messenger.
The most important thing is get out there and perform amazing real estate follow up with a drip campaign.
As always…we appreciate follows, comments and questions. You can find us at EngageMoreCRM on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
