Real estate leads are people who express interest in buying or selling property. You can find leads from referrals, open houses, online inquiries, and marketing campaigns.
Generating leads is vital to your work as a real estate professional, and converting them to clients afterward is challenging. It is essential to have a strategy in place to help you stand out against other professionals and meet the needs of your leads.
This guide will detail the steps to remember when pursuing a lead. We will also explain why qualifying your leads and the questions to ask is crucial. Whether you are a seasoned agent or a newcomer, this article is for you.
Let’s get started!
Why should you qualify your leads first?
Getting real estate leads is only half the battle. By qualifying them, you determine the likelihood of them converting to clients. This process involves evaluating their needs, budget, and timeline.
Qualification helps you save time on leads willing to convert to clients. Some clients may be further away from deciding, requiring you to stay in touch.
Here are some questions to help you determine whether to pursue a lead.
- What property type are you looking to buy, sell, rent, or invest in?
- What is your budget?
- Have you worked with a real estate agent in the past?
- What features and amenities are important to you?
- Are you pre-approved for a mortgage?
- When are you available for a meeting?
Remember to keep your questions open-ended to prompt the lead to disclose more information. Avoid questions about your leads’ race, gender, religion, disability, or other factors. These questions can imply housing discrimination that will damage your reputation and reduce the chances of leads turning to clients.
Tips for converting real estate leads
Real estate is a service industry. Therefore the value you provide will determine your conversion rates. To convert real estate leads, follow up with them promptly, discuss their needs, and build trust.
Provide value and display your past work to build your credibility. Finally, cement your pursuit by staying in constant touch with leads.
Promptly follow up with your leads
A crucial part of converting a real estate lead is showing them your interest in building a relationship. A fast follow-up is an excellent way to express this interest. Ideally, you should follow up less than 24 hours after the first contact, and the best way to do so is with a face-to-face meeting.
Your follow-up presentation is just as important as your speed. Crafting a professional package sets the right tone for your relationship and helps you quickly jump into action whenever you come across a lead. What should you include in your follow-up package?
- A cover letter that mentions your first contact and emphasizes your enthusiasm.
- A clear resume that details your certifications and work experiences.
- Easy-to-understand reports and marketing materials about the real estate and locations they’re interested in.
Follow up using multiple communication channels to increase the likelihood of getting a response. Be careful not to overwhelm your leads. Remember, the goal of following up is not to pressure them into buying or selling real estate. Therefore be polite and professional and assure them their interests are your priority.
If your follow-up emails go ignored, a final tactic is to send a breakup email. The scarcity principle of persuasion says opportunities seem more valuable if they are scarce. Distancing yourself from the lead can pull them closer to you.
Discuss your lead’s needs
After establishing contact with a lead, it’s time to discuss their needs. Every lead has different preferences; some may not know what they want. Here are some of the needs real estate leads may have.
- They are buying property.
- They are selling property.
- They are investing in real estate.
- They are relocating.
- They are downsizing.
- They want to upgrade.
- They want to rent.
- They are looking for commercial real estate.
Providing personalized solutions to each need is an excellent way to turn a lead into a client. Discuss the preferences of buyer or renter leads, such as the size of the property, desired location, and budgets. Suggest ways to increase property value to leads looking to sell. Offer financing options for investor leads.
Build trust with your leads
Trust is the component that will keep your leads loyal and convert them to clients. It assures them of your competence and integrity. Trust is responsible for your leads and clients recommending you to others.
How do you establish trust with your real estate leads? You do so by being transparent with them.
Transparency with your leads makes them comfortable to ask questions and give suggestions and feedback. Always inform them if you cannot meet certain expectations and offer alternatives to compensate for this inability. You can do this using a proposal letter.
A proposal letter outlines your and your lead's expectations of each other. Here’s a simple outline to follow when drafting your letter.
- Introduce yourself and list your certifications to build credibility.
- Describe your services and how they will help your leaders achieve their needs. Examples of these services are helping them sell property, buy or invest.
- Outline the process you will follow if the lead becomes a client. These processes include how you will conduct inspections and negotiate offers.
- Provide a timeline that will guide your engagement. Include milestones and deadlines. A timeline helps keep expectations realistic and avoid undue pressure on one party.
- Define the terms of engagement, such as fees and expectations for the lead, such as providing relevant documents and making prompt payments.
- Include a call to action by requesting a phone call or meeting to discuss the proposal.
- Provide your contact information.
Remember to personalize every proposal letter to fit a lead’s needs. Avoid generic templates and language.
As a realtor, the resources you provide your real estate leads set you apart from your competition. They don’t want you to constantly ask, “Are you ready to buy or sell?” You have to curate an experience so valuable that they have no choice but to work with you.
Here are ways you can provide value to your leads.
1. Simplify the buying and selling process
Buying or selling real estate is complicated, especially for people without insider knowledge like you. If you take this load off their shoulders, a lead will likely convert to a client. These are some ways to simplify the buying or selling process.
- Educate your leads on the process involved in buying or selling property and the risks involved in every step.
- Keep track of tasks and deadlines for your leads to help them map out the buying or selling process.
- Provide clear communication and regular updates on the progress of the transaction. Make yourself available to answer their questions.
- Streamline the paperwork involved.
- Use technology to ease the process, such as virtual tours and digital signature software.
- Offer guidance on financing options and introduce them to lenders you trust.
2. Offer free consultations
Have you heard of the zero-price effect? The effect explains that people place more value on free services because they carry no risk of losing money. A free consultation removes a barrier for your leads and makes you more accessible. It takes away the pressure for them to commit, thus making them comfortable. As a result, more real estate leads are likely to convert to clients.
3. Offer in-depth knowledge of the local real estate market
As a realtor, you have insider information, such as emerging real estate trends and financing options. This information boosts your reputation, establishes your expertise, and converts leads to clients.
4. Provide a network of real estate professionals
Share your valuable network of professionals with leads to boost their confidence in you. Professionals such as contractors and brokers solve different problems for real estate leads. Additionally, doing this saves the time they spend looking for these professionals.
Sharing your network increases the chances of your leads referring you to other interested prospects. Every pleasant experience they have with your network is a chance to convert leads to clients.
5. Set up property inspections
Contact property landlords and managers to organize inspections for your real estate leads. Afterward, be proactive and invite them to these inspections. Suggest contractors that can handle repairs or upgrades to the properties to put their minds at ease.
6. Refer them to trusted lenders
Most real estate leads will look into financing options to purchase a property. Walk them through mortgage pre-approval. Connect them with your network of lenders who offer the best rates and payment plans. This effort will lock in any doubtful leads and turn them into enthusiastic clients.
Display your past work
Your bid to convert leads relies on you showing evidence of your work. 98% of people read online reviews before engaging a business, and your real estate leads form part of this demographic.
Why are testimonials and reviews important?
Testimonials and reviews build your credibility and exploit the power of social proof to convince leads to work with you. They highlight your strengths and address concerns leads have before they contact you.
If you are an online-based realtor, reviews help your website rank better on search engines. As a result, more leads can find your agency and turn to motivated clients.
Getting those reviews requires you to prompt your former clients to submit them. Here are creative ways to do that.
- Add a line in your emails asking for a review and providing a link to do so.
- Teach your associates to ask for reviews after making transactions with clients.
- Write a post on your social media sites asking for reviews.
- Hand out personalized “leave us a review” cards to satisfied clients.
- Use the phrase, “…leaving us a great review will help our business grow.” after a successful transaction.
- Offer an incentive for satisfied clients to review your service, such as a free consultation or home staging in the future.
Stay in touch with your leads
A critical step in converting leads is staying in contact with them. Doing so keeps you on top of their minds and helps you build a relationship with them even before they convert to clients.
Here are some practical ways to stay in touch.
1. Emails
Use emails to share market updates, tips, and real estate updates with your leads. It is crucial to segment your email list so you send targeted information to different real estate leads. This touch of personalization is sure to convert your leads.
2. Social media
Use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to update listings and respond to comments and messages.
3. Phone calls
Talking to leads on the phone is a personal way to get in touch and answer any questions they have. Ensure you take notes during the call and refer to them in your next meeting. Doing so will show you are attentive and have their interests at heart.
4. Direct mail
If you have the physical mailing address of your leads, send them postcards and letters. These letters should contain updates, new listings, or helpful advice related to real estate.
5. In-person events
A great way to interact with leads is through events such as open houses. Such events facilitate natural conversations and help you make a lasting impression. Open houses not only attract new leads, but they also convert already existing ones.
Prepare adequately before these events by having documents such as brochures, disclosure forms, and marketing material available.
However, if your leads are not responding to you, it is better to let them go. You want to avoid coming off as aggressive and ruining their chances of changing their mind in the future.
Conclusion
Real estate leads are a crucial part of any transaction. Nurturing them requires you to build a relationship and provide personalized solutions. Follow up with leads as soon as they inquire about your services. Discuss their needs afterward and provide them with valuable resources that set you above other real estate companies.
Remember to showcase your previous work through testimonials and stay in touch with them. All these practices leave a lingering impression and will turn any lead into a motivated client.
