Effective lead management and follow-up doesn’t have to be hard. In this blog post, I’ll discuss four easy ways to convert your leads into listings.
It’s important to note that a real estate contact management system is essential to all of the points I mention below. It’s the tool that will enable you to carry out these important activities.
Before I begin, you need to understand that following-up right away and qualifying leads effectively at the start is absolutely essential. If you’re not fast to respond, there’s a good chance you’ll lose the lead. And if you spend time and energy chasing an unqualified lead, you’re wasting time.
Here are four great ways to maximize the likelihood that your leads convert into clients:
1. Automated Email Campaigns
Automated email campaigns, or drip campaigns, are a fantastic means to nurture leads and build ongoing long-term relationships. And because these campaigns are automated, they’ll save you a ton of time.
A drip email campaign is composed of a series of emails that get automatically sent out at various time intervals. A good real estate contact management system will have a variety of drip campaigns created for you for every type of lead.
Time and again, I’ve seen the effectiveness of drip marketing campaigns. They’re designed to get the lead to pick up the phone and give you a call.
2. Ongoing “Keep in Touch” Calls
Schedule phone calls on a consistent basis (the frequency will depend on the lead and when they’re looking to buy or sell) as a way to stay top of mind and ensure the lead doesn’t forget you.
During the call, you can ask if they have any questions about the emails you’ve sent them. Make the phone call about relationship-building (don’t make it a sales call). Try to learn something about the lead. You’ll be surprised at how much information you get by a simple “How are you?” Record this information in your real estate contact management system and on your next call, you can bring up Jimmy’s baseball tournament or Bob’s acting classes, for instance.
3. Monthly Real Estate Newsletter
A monthly real estate e-newsletter is an easy and cost-effective option to stay in touch with your leads. People look forward to a good e-Newsletter with useful and interesting content. One of the best things about sending out a monthly real estate newsletter is it can help to position you as an expert and authority in your field.
4. Home Expert Seminars
A home expert seminar is an event where you invite a “home expert,” such as an Interior Designer, to speak in front of a number of people. They’ll share tips and useful information. The “home expert” is usually happy to attend these types of events because they’ll more often than not walk away with some quality leads.
Home expert seminars are instrumental at getting people to develop a positive impression of you. They’ll think, “Wow, Sara is really in-tune with the industry and has all these knowledgeable people at her fingertips.” Also, events are much more memorable than an email or phone call which means that people will remember them, and in turn, remember you!
Make sure you’re using your real estate contact management system to take advantage of automated email campaigns, schedule important activities, get prompts and reminders, send out your e-Newsletter, and plan and organize key events.
If you want to turn your leads into lifelong clients, start by trying out some or all of what I’ve discussed above. Good luck!
photo credit: RealEstateClientReferrals via photopin cc
Matthew Collis
Matthew Collis is part of the Sales and Marketing Team at IXACT Contact Solutions Inc., a leading North American real estate CRM firm. In addition to overseeing many of IXACT Contact’s key sales and marketing programs, Matthew works with REALTORS® to help them achieve their real estate goals through effective contact management and relationship marketing. IXACT Contact is a web-based real estate contact management and marketing system that helps REALTORS® better manage and grow their business. The system includes powerful email marketing capabilities and a professionally designed and written monthly e-Newsletter.
Matthew has written articles on sales, marketing, and social media for publications such as AGBeat, InmanNext and Chicago Agent Magazine.
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