Why Lead Conversion Rates are So Low
There is a wealth of information available via the Internet to prospective home buyers and sellers around the country.
Unfortunately, that wealth consists mostly of fool's gold.
The ZRT portals feed the consumer false information about property values either directly through their faulty home valuation tools or indirectly by supplying outdated listing information.
Of course, there are the real estate gurus and hucksters to contend with that prey on the desperate, uneducated and credit challenged. Promises of loans for basement level credit scores, no money down or down payment assistance, rent to own schemes and so much more.
When these "prospects" finally stumble upon their local real estate expert they are so clouded by false claims and mis-information they are nearly impossible to convert into bonafide buyer or sellers.
What is the local expert to do?
How do we communicate effectively with consumers when presenting information that conflicts with what they think they already KNOW?
The conversation always starts out the same...
Generic seller: "I'm ready to list my home for sale, I want to list it for and I need to sell it in "
Generic buyer: "I'm ready to buy a new home, I recently filed for bankruptcy and I have no money down. I want a 4 bedroom home in and I want to pay no more than . I need a great loan officer because I also need to close in 3o days or less because my apartment lease is expiring."
I'm not trying to be a "NEGATIVE NELLY", this is only an attempt to understand why our lead conversion rates are so low, 1% on the bottom to the stellar conversion rate of 4% with an average incubation period of 6-18 months. Whether they are leads generated & captured online through our own marketing efforts or some form of purchased web lead through ZRT the results are about the same.
One approach that I have taken in an effort to overcome this issue of low conversion is to stop forcing registration on my site for information that the public wants.
I don't need to capture a host of contact names, phone numbers and email addresses (40% of which are bogus in the first place) of people that I am going to have to endlessly chase down in hopes of converting them to an actual client.
I provide excellent local content for the areas that I service and valuable information on the niche markets that I serve. I promote local businesses, review local restaurants and share information on local news and events. I interact with my community via social media outlets such as Facebook groups, YouTube, Google+ and, of course, ActiveRain.
I don't buy leads but I do buy a lot of postage and I generate valuable responses through my targeted direct mail campaigns.
I stay in touch with past clients and customers through email and phone conversations but I don't have them on an email drip campaign that bombards them with weekly or monthly contacts.
My goal, above all, is to have my phone ring.
I want consumers who are READY WILLING AND ABLE to participate in the market, who have determined that, based on my online presence, I am the person that they want to work with, that I am someone that they can trust and that I am someone who understands my local market area.
I may not generate 100 leads a week but the ones that I do generate are much more valuable to me than any 4% conversion rate!
Share your best advice for lead conversion...
Jenna Dixon
Associate Broker
DRA Homes
Buy Cobb County Homes
JennaDixon@Outlook.com
(770) 374-4230DRA Homes - An affiliate of Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realty
5041 Dallas Highway, Suite 700, Powder Springs, GA 30127
Office Phone: 770-919-8825 ext. 318
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