How I work leads

Following-up with leads is how to get new business, but how you follow-up with your leads dictates whether that consumer stays a "lead" or turns into a prospect or client.  Here are some tips in making the most of how you follow-up with your leads and how to ensure your message reaches them.

1.       Follow-up immediately - Every minute that you don't follow-up with the lead someone else can, or the consumer may take it upon themselves to contact another agent directly.  There is an old saying that should be your mantra for each lead, make haste, not waste.

2.       Try all avenues - If you try to contact the lead via phone and it doesn't work, try e-mail, then try the White Pages - a user may have inadvertently mistyped their number or e-mail address - don't just try one avenue and then give up. 

3.       Ensure that leads are being delivered to you - add e-mail addresses where leads come from to your Safe Senders list to guarantee that these time sensitive leads aren't being sent to a Junk or Spam folder but rather directly to your Inbox.

4.       Test your email address through your different marketing systems on a regular basis.  Spending a few dollars or just a few minutes of your time to make sure your email account is delivering everything it should (and not going into someone's Junk or Spam folder) is well worth it.

5.       Contact old leads - Just because a lead is a month or a year old doesn't mean that they're no longer a viable contact.  This person may have never completed a real estate transaction and is still looking for a property or waiting for the right time to sell.  Follow-up with these leads with an e-mail or phone call, you have them in your database, use them!

6.       By maintaining contact with old leads, you will gain valuable insight as to what is happening in the marketplace.  They might not be ready to buy or sell but they can probably tell you what conditions would persuade them to enter into a transaction in the near future and this can help you target current leads more effectively.

These tips will assist you in making the most of each and every lead that you receive, immediate contact and by multiple methods is the key to getting in front of the consumer and winning their business so try everything available to you.