Generating Leads Is Easy. Converting Leads...Now, THAT Takes Effort.

If you follow me at all...you know that in just about any given moment, you can find me involved in one conversation or another on Twitter.  Usually more than one...And the day that this conversation occurred is no different. 

See, I was talking with my friend Tamara about lead generation and conversion.  We were talking about the fundamental importance of lead generation and the fact that most agents simply don't have enough leads and why I think most agents simply fail when it comes to this activity.  Below is an exerpt from that conversation from Twitter (If you don't use Twitter, I am talking to Tamara here):

@tamaradorris A high percentage of agents are just lead starved. They just don't have enough leads in the first place.

@tamaradorris Most agents operate on a subsistence level and then wonder why they don't have more clients.

@tamaradorris Whether they use their own lead generation efforts or rely on brokers, websites, etc...

@tamaradorris Lead generation should rank within the top 3 things an agent must do DAILY. Cold calling, buying leads, etc.

@tamaradorris What ever the effort used, it MUST be done daily.

@tamaradorris And, those that have the leads to work don't dedicate the time required to do it effectively...or lack the ability to do it right.

Yeah, I went there.  Most agents simply fail at being able to work a "lead" into a client.  More on that in a minute...

During this conversation with Tamara, a fellow Twitterati sent me an email with a story that directly proves that last point.  Todd's email is listed below:

"My business partner made $365K last year.  He compiled a list of all of his leads, internet generated or other, and, while at the copier, was asked what the list was (by a newer agent).  Instead of answering, he simply grabbed the list, handed them to the agent and said, "If I told you that you could make $365K just simply by calling these folks, would you do it?"

Know that the agent said????

"Nope. (That's) too much work."

Never mind agents having enough leads or not, they don't want to work (the ones they have)!!

This entire conversation was also witnessed by another fellow gentleman that I know who stated that it "made his jaw just drop".

TOO MUCH WORK!!  *That* was his answer?  It's too much work???  It's too difficult to make a phone call??  It's too hard to follow up with YOUR potential customers to ensure that YOU have an income????  Good grief....

Now, many of you know that I work for an internet-based referral service.  And, in my position, there is no more powerful tool than the phone.  That is how we sell our product...over the phone.  Roughly around 75% of my sales on any given day are to people that received a cold call from me at some point.  Whether that be the same day or weeks prior, at some point I had to speak with them...usually numerous times.  If I didn't speak with them, they would never know who the heck I am or what I am doing. 

Also, without that initial point of contact, they would never have become my customer.  And, without continued follow-up contacts from me, they never would have remembered who the heck I was or why I was calling in the first place.  It was me speaking to them and developing a rapport with them and discussing their needs that lead them to the decision of working with me.  And, agents are no different.

Opportunity is usually passed by because it comes knocking on your door dressed in dirty over-alls and looking like hard work.  (Im fairly certain Edison said something like that once.)

You see, much like Mr. Too Much Work above, these activities appear to be hard and scary.  Most agents fail at this activity simply because it's "too hard" or "too time consuming" or "never leads to anything for me" or any number of excuses. Yet, according to NAR's own 2009 study on home buyers, nearly 70% of all buyers only interviewed with one person prior to determining who to work with. 70%!!! That means that by making a phone call, you have a 70% chance of getting a new client!

I hear a lot of excuses from agents as to why they are in such dire straights.  Unless you are independently wealthy and can just sit back and wait, you have to make one of these two choices.  Taking the current state of the economy and the industry as a whole out of the equation, with regard to this fundamental requirement of lead generation, it boils down to laziness or fear. 

Laziness usually cures itself.  Either they realize that they just can't sit back and wait for business to land on them and must become proactive to seek it...Or, they go and get a "real job". 

Fear, on the other hand...that's a much harder obstacle to overcome.  One of the best quotes about fear I ever heard was from the movie REMO WILLIAMS: AN ADVENTURE BEGINS by a character called Chun played by Joel Grey.  "Fear is nothing more than a feeling.  You feel hot.  You feel cold.  You feel hungry.  You feel afraid.  Fear can never kill you."

Agents have to realize that they are in an industry where rejections occur.  If you are scared of hearing the word "no", you are in the wrong business.  And, if you do not overcome that fear of rejection...and the fear of hard work...you will fail.  End of story. 

Agents like the one in Todd's email lack both the skill set required to be successful at effective lead generation and the intestinal fortitude to be able to actually get it done.  Even if Todd's partner had given the list to the agent and the agent overcame his fear and called, would he be able to effectively convert those leads to clients with the attitude that it's just "too much work"?  Probably not. 

So, how do you make lead generation (Or, more importantly, lead conversion) easier?  Well, there is really no way to make it "easier".  But, there are thousands of ways to make it more effective.  One of the ways that I make my conversion efforts easier is blogging and social networking as a whole.  But, not because that is the solution...because its not.  I use it because it allows me to build a rapport with others so that I can effectively trip a "trigger" that will spring them into action.

You see, there is a set of emotional triggers that every single human uses when making a decision.  There are 7 of them in total and I added a quick line or two after explaining what the trigger is and how effective agents use them to help push contacts into becoming clients.***

The Friendship Trigger - Activates both trust and agreement through bonding on a social level. (SOI at its core.  These are friends, family, close acquantances, etc, that you rely on as your base clientele. You want them to react to your friendship and work with you as a result.)

The Authority Trigger - Activates acceptance through expertise. (A perfect example of this is people that specialize in REO property...or specialize in luxury property. That makes them an "authority" and those that need this type of specialized help would instinctively choose them as a result.)

The Consistency Trigger - Motivates consistency with past actions and repeat contacts. (Follow up!  Follow up!  Follow up!  Remember, it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.  So, squeak!)

The Reciprocity Trigger - You give, you receive. (Use the services and businesses that your clients own or work at...and they will do the same for you.)

The Contrast Trigger - Side by side comparisons of options to make one more attractive than the other. (From listing presentations to financing options, we do this all the time probably without knowing it.)

The Reason Why Trigger - Emotional reasons to make decisions and actions. (Buying is an emotional thing. So, we keep coming up with emotional reasons to say yes.)

The Hope Trigger - Instills positive expectations to help persuade one side of an argument.

Whether you know it or not, you are using something to your advantage to get someone to buy from you.  Regardless of which trigger you are trying to hit, you are doing one of the 7 above.  Or, perhaps more truthful, you are applying pressure on more than one of these triggers.  Either way, one of these 7 things above will make someone buy from you.

I'm not going to sugar coat it.  Lead generation is hard work.  Well...lead GENERATION isnt really that hard. Leads are everywhere...especially in real estate. FSBOs expire every day. That is just a steady stream of leads just begging to be worked. It just takes some effort.

Lead CONVERSION, that is the hard part. That requires follow-up and diligence. But, without it...you are not going to survive for long.  It MUST be done.  And, it must be done EFFECTIVELY!  If you don't know how to do it, ask someone for help.  If you don't know how to do it right, ask for help!  Make sure you gain the knowledge to be able to do it right before you are forced to make a choice between real estate and Burger King.  Or worse yet...develop the attitude that it's just "too much work".

If you would like help with your lead generation, contact me on Facebook and follow Clint on Twitter.

*** For more information on the 7 triggers, go to www.seventriggers.com!