Leads are the bread and butter of any real estate business. Whether agents pay for leads or generate them through more traditional prospecting methods, there are elements that should be standard across the board for converting and closing leads. These were discussed in RISMedia's recent webinar—"Agents: Stop Losing Out on Leads – How to Cultivate, Convert and Close Like a Top Producer"—moderated by Verl Workman, CEO and founder of Workman Success Systems, and sponsored by Homes.com.
Panelists included Mike Coke, leader of The Mike Coke Team with Terra Firma Realty in Wisconsin and Workman Success Systems coach, along with Josh May, REALTOR® and owner of May Group REALTORS® with RE/MAX Grand Rapids, Inc. These top-producing agents shared their strategies for generating and converting more leads to boost revenue.
Generating Leads
It all depends on the source, says Coke. Leads from Facebook, for example, may have a longer path to conversion than a Homes.com lead has, he explains. And it is all about mindset.
"There are no bad leads. Some leads are just not ready to buy now," he says. "They are going to choose when a house is going to be right for them, and we can only position ourselves to be their agent of choice when that time comes."
May agrees, and says reviews are a great way to attract leads and convince them of your value.
"Reviews are important. If you're not doing them, focus on building them and also responding to reviews," says May. "Letting the general public see how you communicate is huge."
The end goal, according to Coke, should always be to set the appointment. Why? Because once they're in, chances of converting them to a client status dramatically increase.
"We feel very strongly that if we can get somebody in our office, they are going to be our client for life," says May.
Converting Leads
To get to that point, however, agents should follow a series of steps. The first? Consistent follow-up.
When converting, Coke recommends that agents call, call again and also text if they don't answer when reaching out to leads on day one. He also has a strategy for calling and texting regularly over eight days before assigning the contact a more long-term follow-up plan.
May puts all of his leads through a comprehensive lead generation system.
"The lead immediately goes into our CRM and then we are funneling every single lead through a marketing machine," says May. Part of this process includes using a monthly 3x3 video series that focuses on the community as a touchpoint.
"Our monthly 3x3 video series is our favorite marketing piece," says May. "We have not missed a single month. It lets people see who we are and that we are community-based."
Overall, the foundation of a lead generation system is simple: rank prospects using the *ABC's of lead management, nail down scripts, have routine phone conversations to check in, set up in-office consultations and hand off the client (if on a team). Most importantly, however, is to stick with the systems.
*ABC's of lead management:
- A – Ready to buy or sell immediately.
- B – Not ready to buy or sell for 30-60 days.
- C – Not ready to buy or sell for 90-plus days.
May says his marketing machine is necessary for guaranteeing that nothing "slides through the cracks." And Coke says that as long as you show you're interested in these leads as people, then they feel like they are valued.
"Be interested, not interesting," says Coke.
To learn how you can convert more leads, view the webinar recording below:
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