Lead Conversion
Lead conversion is the process of converting a lead or prospect into a client or customer. The best real estate agents have lead conversion systems and strategies in place that respond and nurture leads automatically.
The 3 Types of Conversions
Most agents overlook this and assume there's only one type of 'conversion' and that's the one where a prospect becomes a client but that's not accurate.
The 3 types of conversions that can take place are:
- Unknown to Contact - They didn't know about you and now they do.
- Contact to Warm Lead - They know you and are considering working with you.
- Lead to Client - The like and trust you enough to work with you.
You can be the best marketer and know how to generate a ton of leads for cheap, which is great. However, none of that matters if you don't have the skills to convert those leads into appointments and those appointments into clients.
"Generating leads is only half of the battle; the war is won in closing them"
The 6 Rules of Lead Conversion
- Have a detailed lead-process system in place that plays to your strengths.
- Respond lightning-fast.
- Profile the buyer and property before calling.
- Only text to get on the phone or meet in person!
- Pro-actively communicate, foresee issues and address them ahead of time.
- Help get buyers preapproved for a loan (if they need one).
Below are a list of resources, blog posts, courses and videos that can help you learn how to become a conversion monster.
Timing is critical
The 1st Conversion
According to a study by InsideSales.com, 47 percent of all buyer leads were never responded to. Average response time for agents to call online leads is more than 2 days (61 hours!).
To make money from any lead source and especially online leads, the first step is responding fast. Really fast and with a phone call.
"An agent is 100 times more likely to make contact with an online lead if they call with 5 minutes compared to 30 minutes."
The first conversion is where most agents fail and then proceed to waste time following up after already giving a bad first impression.
Best Practices
The number one way to instantly boost your conversions is to respond really fast. When I say fast, I'm saying you should aim for a response time of 2 minutes or less.
You want to "wow" them because most online leads become a lead an average of 14 times and this is your chance to really differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd.
The goal is to secure a live telephone conversation. This is easily the most impactful change you can make in your business — and the key to doubling your appointments from online leads.
- Set up an auto-responder to automatically send an email and text message the moment a new lead arrives.
- Create custom alerts to notify you the moment you get a new lead. Many CRMs include this feature.
- Hire some help. As you scale your business, it will eventually be impossible for you to manage lead response along with all of your other responsibilities. Hire an assistant to respond to new leads.
Recommended Tool
FOLLOW UP BOSS
Follow Up Boss is my number one recommendation for converting online leads. Follow Up Boss makes following up with your leads with personalized texts and emails so easy and user-friendly.
