Ok, it's official. It's comforting to have scientific proof of something great agents have always accepted as truth.
In a Buyer's market like we're experiencing here in central PA (and elsewhere I understand according to the evening news...) the best way to generate leads is to go out and get them, don't wait for them to find you. Chris Pullig, Ph.D, and a team from the Keller Center, of Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, set out to "...understand what really works in the area of lead generation..."
I shouldn't poke fun at that, they do some great work there. The Keller Center was established in March of 2007 through a generous donation from Gary Keller, Founder and Chairman of Keller-Williams Realty International. They are a good resource for any real estate professional to go to for strategies and ideas.
But seriously, the study polled 50,000 active real estate professionals in an anonymous email survey, generating 1176 responses. So here's my conclusion; Most of us out here know that we need to change marketing and prospecting strategies as the market changes. Any one who's ever heard of Mike Ferry, Floyd Wickman, Craig Proctor, Carla Cross, Tom Hopkins, Rich Levin,...and on and on...and Me by the way, knows that proactive prospecting, or as Dr. Pullig calls it, a "seek" prospecting activity, is the most effective method.
Dr. Pullig's research report is pretty interesting, but I warn you it's not written for the average sales professional. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out http://www.baylor.edu/business/kellercenter/index.php?id=55741
The study also confirms another legendary myth, faster follow-up contact means more lead conversion. Again, I'm poking fun, but it's long been a fundamental truth that now has a solid scientific validity.
So if you are struggling to believe what your manager has been telling you all this time, check out this study of top sales professionals. Top producers do what the rest of the industry doesn't, or won't do!
So what's the lesson for today?
1) Activity on your part sparks activity on the consumer's part. Do something; call your sphere and past clients, hold an open house, pass out fliers to the neighborhood around a new listing or an upcoming open house, visit or call a FSBO or Expired listing - I like visiting them because it's active.
2) A lead or inquiry should get a follow up with in hours to capture that lead and have any chance at all of turning it into a sale. Try to answer every call as it happens, but if you can't, return every call with 30-60 minutes. If it's a buyer inquiry, they have a list of properties and they're going down that list until they find a warm body to talk to - make it be you!!
Go out and make it a great day!
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