You’ve seen those nifty diagrams about the life of a lead. Sure, you have. Pull one out and take a closer look – right there, between real estate lead generation and conversion. Nurturing real estate leads – See it?
Lead nurturing
You can’t get from one to the other without lead nurturing.
So, why do so many agents get all ticked off when their leads don’t convert – despite the fact that they’ve done zilch to get them there?
Because they’ve left out the most important step.
Don’t let “I’m too busy” stand in the way. You simply MUST focus on nurturing real estate leads.
Don’t surrender
What “location, location, location” is to real estate agents, “Don’t give up before the miracle happens” is to those in recovery. It’s a mantra, sure, but it expresses a truth just as valid as how important location is to a property purchase.
What’s the “miracle” in real estate lead generation?
It’s that moment when a lead – some random person who visited your website or real estate blog called you from a marketing piece you sent out or found you on Zillow – reaches out to you.
Out of all the agents in town, what are the chances this lead chose to call you?
Rather than dwell on the existentials, let’s get down to the basics of what to do with this miracle – how to keep it going and get you to a paycheck. That’s where nurturing real estate leads comes into play.
Let’s do it
That’s the end result – the three simple words you most want to hear (aside from “We’re on record,” that is).
Your goal, then, is to get your leads to finally decide it’s time to pull the trigger – to move them from what you think is that immovable “I’m not ready” to “Let’s do it”
Naturally, not all of your leads are in the same position in your funnel, at the same time. Yeah, it’s frustrating as hell. But that’s the sales cycle, so accept it or be forever irked. Of course, it helps to be generating new leads all the while, and that’s where leadsites can be a big help (Easy Agent Pro).
Console yourself with the knowledge that most of these leads will end up transacting. They will eventually buy or sell property. Now, it may be with you, or it may be with another agent.
Most likely, it won’t be immediate
But, you’re not two-years old, so you can handle deferred gratification, right?
So, use the time between now and then to become their agent of choice. The guy or gal whom they wouldn’t think of NOT using to help them. That’s the end result of nurturing real estate leads.
This requires follow up
Everybody says that, right? But what does it mean?
It means forging a relationship with these people. It means consistently following up with them, offering valuable information, without being pushy.
It’s a tall order, we know.
That all important CRM
When I was an agent, Top Producer was brand new. Yeah, I’m a dinosaur. Their CRM (although that’s not what they called it) was high-tech for the time, but rather clunky.
Today’s CRMs, including Top Producer’s, are an indispensable part of an agent’s business.
NOTE TO ROOKIES: Get one. You will never be sorry you made the investment
You absolutely must keep track of every lead and then keep track of where they are in the sales cycle and what you are doing to nurture them.
Consider using Corcoran Consulting’s method: Leads are classified as A, B, or C. The “A” leads are the hottest (those who are ready to pull the buy/sell trigger), “B” folks are getting there and “C” leads are the looky-lou’s (but NEVER count them out).
If you’re alphabet-intolerant, use “Hot, Warm, Cold.” In fact, we like that one even better.
Then comes nurturing real estate leads
Whichever method you choose determines your follow-up efforts. Those “A,” or hot leads need your love right now. Contact them, leave messages and keep calling. In fact, commit to four or five follow-up calls before resigning these folks to the drip system.
Those “B” leads are the ones that typically fall through the cracks. Don’t let them. As an agent, those were the ones that most commonly came through for me.
Consistently stay in touch with them, giving them relevant and valuable content. A newsletter works well here.
Although a simple reminder that you have the world’s best real estate blog on the world’s best real estate website will work as well
Keep dripping on your “C” or cold leads as well. In fact, drip until they die or buy/sell.
How?
With content that is relevant to their position in the sales funnel.
- New listing alerts that match their criteria
- Market updates
- Your spiffy newsletter
- What neighborhood did they express an interest in? Give them news about happenings in and around it.
- Basic buying and selling stuff – down payment assistance programs in your area, repairs to skip and those worth making, how to get ready to sell/buy.
Think “speed”
Agents with beefy contact management solutions have the advantage of being able to monitor what leads do on their websites and then tailor their campaigns to those actions.
When you know what a lead is thinking, you can accelerate your responses, in kind.
Imagine knowing that one of your leads forwards one of your blog posts or clicks on a link in your newsletter or keeps visiting a particular property in your IDX. THAT is knowledge that is oh, so powerful.
When nurturing real estate leads, knowing when to accelerate a lead from one level to the next gives you a distinct advantage.
Sure, a phone call is the logical next step, but don’t let up on your drip campaign. In fact, it becomes even more pertinent because now you know how to laser-focus your content.
Experts (who I am too lazy to look up and refer you to now – so you’ll need to take my word for it) claim that six to 18 months may pass before a lead is incubated.
This is where your blog comes in
realtor talk with his clients. real estate agent have a deal with a couple. House developer and customer have a meeting. businessan with a man and woman. sale and purchase property with house model and signing contract document
This is where you can be more personal, allowing these leads to get to know you, to appreciate your expertise and to learn to trust you.
Those red-hot or even simmering leads should get an email blast with blog links. They will come, and they will engage, if your content is engaging and relevant to their needs. Utilize the right tools to nurture your leads.
If you pay attention to nurturing leads you’ll know when the time is right for you to pull the trigger.
Dump the canned scripts and use sincerity as your main sales tool. Few others do – think how refreshing it will be to your leads when you actually nurture them instead of tell them how amazing you think you are.
Owner & Operator,
Chad Hett
The Elite Group
Largest Home Inspection Company in North America
Best Selling Author “Secrets Of Top Producing Real Estate Agents: And How To Duplicate Their Success.”
