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The 7 Deadly Sins of Web Lead Follow-up

Reblogger
Real Estate Agent with HUFF Realty

A very good article for Real Estate Agents to read and work on. Lead Generation is what this business is all about. Service is right there, but you have to have leads first to service somebody!

 

Original content by Jim Kimmons 15067

What percentage of your commission income last year came from pure website leads?  

  • 80% to 100% -  You're a lead generation & follow-up rock star!
  • 50% to  80% -  You're doing better than around 90% of your competitors.  Keep it up!
  • 30% to  50% -  You're doing OK, and doing a lot of traditional marketing as well.
  • 10% to  30% - I hope you're out knocking on doors, and handing out cards.
  • 0%   to  10% - A website is something you look at on a computer.  A computer is...
PMCS Consulting released survey results, and this is a quote from their release:

Nearly 75% of online generated real estate leads are lost


Asleep On The Web
 
 
The simple fact is that we're asleep on the Web, and we're simply not following up properly on the leads that come in.  So, let's take a look at The 7 Deadly Sins in follow-up:

  1. You just plain DON'T! - 48% of agents do not respond to Internet leads.  48% of Web requests went unanswered.
     
  2. You're slower than a turtle with a limp. - Today's searcher for any information on the Web expects a fast response, not in days, not even in hours, but in minutes.  They may settle for hours, but you better show up with the goods when you do respond.
     
  3. "I'll get back to you when I'm ready". - The old "Your email is important to me..." response is useless and not appreciated.  They don't believe it, and your auto-responder actually verifies that you are simply trying to get them to wait until you want to respond.  They're as tech savvy as most of us, and this just says to them "I know how to build an auto-responder."
     
  4. You ASK instead of ANSWER. - If you receive a request for information, give them the information they want FIRST, then you can try to get more information from them.  Don't pepper them withEmail Spam Filter Abuse questions first that send them packing.
     
  5. Humans buy houses, so prove you're one. - Spam filters that require proving you're human make it easy for you, but are losing you deals ... believe it!  It's far better for you to spend a couple of minutes a day looking at your spam box to check for good emails than to make every new prospect jump through hoops and fill out a form or take another action just to get their email delivered.
     
     
  6. Buy now or I'm going to the beach. - The average real estate buyer or seller now begins their research months earlier than they did before the Web.  They may like your initial response, but forget about you when they're ready to act, simply because you failed to continue to follow up.
    Email Overload
      
  7. "I'm going to be an email nightmare." - If you immediately start up an email drip campaign that is the same old stuff they see everywhere, and you send them an email every day for a month, THEY'RE GONE.  Drip email follow-up is good, but make sure that what you're sending them is useful information about your local real estate market, and not just "I am the greatest!" stuff.  And, space it out a little.
 
 
The punishment for committing email deadly sins is banishment to NO LEAD PURGATORY, where you'll suffer alone, devoid of Web human contact, and worse yet, you won't be cashing many commission checks.

About Jim Kimmons:

Jim Kimmons, with more than 16 years experience as a licensed real estate agent and broker in 3 states, is a consultant to Realtors in how to use technology to market and manage their businesses. He has also written books and eBooks on Internet marketing and real estate. Jim is RealtySoft's chief evangelist and is a compensated regular contributor to the RealtySoft.com blog.

 

Comments (2)

David Burrows
Classic Realty - Fairfax, VA
No Pressure, Just Seriously Devoted to Real Estate

Mike, thanks for reblogging..... Very important information, especially when it comes to timing - doing what we say we will do in a timely manner.

Aug 12, 2011 09:25 AM
Sam Miller
RE/MAX Stars Realty - Howard, OH
Knox County Ohio Real Estate Specialist

Mike - I agree that lead generation is where all the magic starts.

Aug 27, 2011 05:18 PM