As a real estate coach, I’ve worked with countless Realtors over the decades. What’s one of the most common questions I get? How do you generate more leads and more high-quality leads?
And this is an absolutely excellent question. After all, when it comes down to it, your business is likely founded on a steady flow of prospects or leads. Well, after buying and selling countless properties over the decades, I’ve learned a thing or two about what works.
So this month, we’re going to look at some tips and tricks when it comes to your real estate leads and prospects.
Understanding Prospecting and Lead Generation
Let’s look at two very important rules that many Realtors overlook in their quest for that next level. Too often, even with seasoned agents, there’s this expectation that your sales pipeline is magic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your generation of ideas or connection with qualified prospects is a formula, and one I’ve mastered over the years.
- Your Marketing Touch Points
Let’s say you have a lead come in, and you immediately call them. But after a week, they haven’t selected you as their agent. What’s wrong? Think about it this way: imagine you’re about to spend $250,000 or more or sell something worth the same… how long does it take you? For many people, it’s not uncommon to take months, even as many as 12, of marketing communications to choose their agent.
- The 90-day Rule
At its core, this old sales rule is about perspective into the lifecycle your own sales process and efforts. Those marketing touch points? They don’t just take time; they take active work on your part to deploy and optimize. And each one has a beginning point. Why does this matter so much? So, let’s say you skip a month or two of generating leads or adding prospects to your list. Probably doesn’t feel like there’s much impact, right? Well, not until after 60 to 90 days, when the bottom of your sales funnels dries up.
3 Insights for Your Real Estate Sales Efforts
But let’s look at 3 insights that offer a starting place for any agent to re-think their current sales process.
- Be hungry but not starving
Through my real estate coaching, I’ve met thousands and thousands of agents in the course of my career. And there’s nothing wrong with being hungry for the sale. But your leads and prospects will likely shy away if you’re starving to the point of creeping them out.
- Create a marketing plan
You do have your marketing touch points planned out, right? So often, I see even experienced agents with absolutely no plan beyond an Excel spreadsheet. Now, there’s nothing wrong with spreadsheets, but if your real estate marketing takes up to 12 months to close a lead… doesn’t it make sense to chart out that journey?
- Stop avoiding those follow-ups
I’ve said this before, but I cannot stress how many agents don’t answer their phones, return calls, or reply to emails. It’s staggering. And then they wonder why they’re not working with tons of clients. It’s simple: follow-up with people, every single time.
In the coming weeks, we’ll look at a great deal more info on real estate leads and prospecting. But if you have a question right now, I’m always just an email away!
Terry Records
Broker/Owner
Records Results Real Estate
Residential Sales and Property Management Service