Most real estate agents try lead generation or face to face prospecting to grow their sphere of influence. The problem that many agents face is actually converting these leads into long-term clients.
So, let’s say you are prospecting, exchanging business cards, doing some online ads and your pipeline is full of new prospects.
However, you are having a hard time re-connecting with them and closing them into clients. If this sounds like you, then you should stick around. We will show you a step by step process to improve your close ratio for your real estate business.
Why Aren’t Your Leads Converting?
The first thing that you should do is figure out why you are failing to convert your leads and prospects. During our research, we found out that the number of reason for a real estate agent missing out an opportunity is because they do not have a systematic follow-up game.
Getting your leads and prospects into your CRM is just 50% of the work. You need to connect with them actively and make sure that you are following up with them on a periodic basis. Remember, not everyone is ready to buy or sell their home right away. Home buying and selling is often the biggest investment that someone will make in their lifetime and it takes times. Moreover, the prospect will always choose a real estate agent that they can trust.
Here are 4 things that you should implement to improve your follow up game and close more real estate leads into customers.
#1 Organize Your CRM to improve your follow up game
First and foremost make sure you are logging all of your incoming new leads and prospects into your CRM. Most real estate marketing software integrates with popular CRM’s. You can also use a forward email (ask your CRM provider) to send any new leads directly into your CRM.
Start by segmenting your leads and prospects based on the source. The lead source should give you an idea as to where the lead came from.
For example, if you meet someone at a coffee shop and he/she gives you their information then the source should be “face to face prospecting”.
In case you get referred a prospect from an existing client, make sure that you log that as well. The best way to track referrals is to create a custom field called “referred by” and attach a contact to it.
Create follow up tasks for each of your prospects and assign dates for them in your CRM. This will help follow up when they are ready to make a decision 2-3 months from now.
The more data you can get about your prospects in your CRM, the better.
#2 Personalized Drip Emails
Have you ever wondered how someone keeps closing all of their new leads consistently? Well, let us share a secret that very few agents actually implement with their prospect list.
Create and send personalized drip emails to all of your prospects using an email marketing system. When you start doing this, your close ratio will increase dramatically.
The first thing that you should implement in your drip campaign is to separate potential buyers, sellers, and investors. Send a weekly email update of new properties according to their preference and target areas.
For potential real estate investors, you should email them updates of new investment opportunities and real estate market trends.
#3 Retarget Your Database To Grab Attention Throughout Their Decision Making Process
In order to improve your close ratio, you need to use retargeting ads to re-engage with your database and existing leads. You can upload your existing database and showcase your ads all over the internet using Google Adwords.
Retargeting allows you to maintain your presence in front of your database and prospects. If you want the best possible results then try to create custom ads based on specific pages people are visiting on your website.
Retargeting ensures that you stay on top of mind for existing prospects. Couple this will periodic follow-ups and email, you will see more people closing as real estate clients.
#4 Give More Value Before Calling
Another neat trick to close more clients is to offer valuable content to all of your prospects. The more value you give to your prospects, the higher your chances of converting them into customers.
There are several types of valuable content that you can offer once a lead comes in. Here are a few examples:
- free home valuation (comparative market analysis)
- first time home buyer’s guide
- weekly articles on mortgage rates, industry reports etc.
- client testimonials and case studies
- neighborhood news and events
Value-based marketing works the best in today’s fast-paced world. It’s the simple law of reciprocity that states that if you give someone something valuable then they are more likely to do business with you.