Many real estate agents focus too much on lead generation and not enough on the follow-through that's necessary to convert them. It takes a well-organized and strategic approach to convert real estate leads into clients. So we've laid out the essential aspects of streamlining real estate lead management, emphasizing efficiency and effectiveness.
Streamline Real Estate Lead Management
Efficient real estate lead management begins with a structured approach to organization. Here are some best practices:
Consolidate your leads: It’s important to consolidate leads from all your different sources in one place to make sure no one slips through the cracks and interactions are tracked. A good real estate CRM integrates with hundreds of different lead providers and provides you with automated follow-up tools to convert them into clients.
Organize your leads: Qualifying your leads as they move through the client lifecycle not only ensures your attention is directed towards high-priority prospects, it also gives you an accurate view of your sales pipeline. And if you track where your leads come from, it’s easy to determine your best lead sources.
The Crucial Role of Initial Follow-up
The initial follow-up with a lead is a make-or-break moment. If you respond within 5 minutes, you’re:
- 100% more likely to connect
- 21x more likely to qualify
The demands are high, but using technology and automation ensures a fast response and a consistent approach. Here are some tips to connect and impress right out of the gate:
Mix up your communication methods: Emails, text messages, phone calls—trying multiple different methods increases your chance of connecting and allows them to choose their preferred method. If they don’t pick up your call but text you back right away, you know they prefer text messages to phone calls.
Building trust should be a key goal: Asking lots of questions and recording details in your CRM can go a long way in establishing your credibility and building trust. They’ll be impressed when you remember their love for the Hillcrest neighborhood and send them market reports and other educational content that is tailored to them.
The first hour with a lead on the Top Producer Lead Response Plan
Nurture Leads for the Long Game
Because of the extended timeline of the home-buying process, it’s important to have a plan to consistently reach out in the weeks following the initial contact. You’ll want a solid plan to nurture leads with regular touchpoints. Here are a few tips:
Use automation: Technology can automate the lead nurture so you stay top-of-mind while being able to focus on other important aspects of your business. Some real estate CRMs include drip campaigns and allow you to automatically apply plans to incoming leads, so you don’t have to do a thing.
Create compelling content: Maintain engagement and position yourself as a reliable resource by sending quality content that matches their intent and use multimedia (videos, PDFs, etc). Good CRMs include drip campaigns, such as MLS-powered market reports that include valuable sold data, home buying tips, and more.
Example of the next-level lead nurture in Top Producer CRM
Achieving success in real estate lead management requires a strategic blend of organization, timely responses, and a commitment to the long game. By following a few best practices, focusing on delivering value, and using technology to automate a lot of it for you, you’re well on your way to converting more leads and growing your real estate business.