The Secrets of Successful Lead Conversion

I can’t count how many times I’ve gotten ready to cook a meal only to find out I’m missing a critical ingredient causing me to run out to the grocery store. This is inconvenience is made infinitely more annoying when I get to the check out lane with my one item and have to wait behind five other customers, all with full carts. So, as I pace back and forth, hoping to spot a faster moving lane, I see a clerk motioning to flip the light switch broadcasting to the world that their lane is now open for business. Angels resound ‘Hallelujah!’ in my head and I book it to that open lane, throwing my money at the cashier, snagging the receipt and bagging my item, I’m home free!

There are consumers, out there right now, searching for a home online. About 90% in fact. When conducting their searches, they’re inputting factors like price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, and neighborhood. The one factor they aren’t searching for is YOU, the Real Estate Agent. In all honesty, the thing that catches their attention will be the homes that best meet their search criteria. What happens next is up to you.

Most Real Estate Agents do some form of lead generation at some point in their day. Hours upon hours spent in the office on the phone. How many of these calls actually reach a live person and not their voicemail? If you do reach their voicemail, do you reach out to them in any other way, via text message or email? Or do you just go to the next number on your list? If you want to make your time spent on the phone count, there are some vitally important things you should understand about successful lead conversion.

First, once you receive a lead, call them. Immediately. Especially internet leads which tend to go cold after about five minutes. When a consumer is searching for a home online, they don’t necessarily care who calls them back, as long as they get a call back. This is why approximately 78% of sales go to the first responder. Just as I was impatient while waiting in line at the grocery store, so are consumers waiting for service. They will quickly pass you over for another available agent if it means getting the information they want more quickly.

So what are you supposed to do if you get their voicemail? The next part of the process comes down to follow through. Many times, the information captured when a prospective client gives their contact information includes their name, phone number, and email address. Just because you get someones voicemail doesn’t mean that the lead is dead. Don’t be apart of the 48% of agents who never follow up on a prospect. Be prepared to leave a lasting impression by letting them know how you’re different from other agents in a short marketing message, no more than about 12 seconds long or approximately 10 to 20 words. You can also connect with them via text message and email. Introduce yourself with another brief marketing message and ask them when the best time to call would be. If you don’t receive a response from any of your messages, wait a little while and call back at a later time in the day. Statistically, 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact! The take away? Don’t give up so easily. Be apart of the 10% of Real Estate Agents that share 88% of all sales simply because you contacted your prospects three or more times.

Lets tie this all together with a neat little bow. If you want to make your time spent working leads count, you must develop a solid plan for converting online leads. This is vital to your business considering about 90% of all consumers are searching online before turning to any other source. Another important element is to have a working, automated lead follow up system. All of your leads should flow into your lead management system. Use industry best practices and run the same plan consistently. Finally, measure yourself. Reporting is paramount to success. Your plan should have a built-in way to measure it’s effectiveness based on these three factors: Leads, Lead Activity and Your Activity. Categorize the leads by time frame and commitment level and focus on those that are ready to act in 30 days or less.

Remember, just because you may end up reaching out to fewer leads in the day does not mean that you are missing out on sales. What it means is that you care enough about your business to take the time to nurture those prospects so that you can convert them to clients and ultimately, money in your pocket. The saying, “work smarter, not harder” definitely applies here. Your new goal is to be apart of that 88% of agents with all the sales. Don’t let your inaction contribute to your leads switching lanes.