Many Agents have more buyer leads than they are able to convert effectively. They generate them in large volumes from the Internet, ad calls, sign calls, and floor time. Currently, the Internet is the largest producer of leads. The problem with Internet leads is the conversion rate on them is less than 1%. Agents invest a tremendous volume of time working to convert buyer leads with a very limited return.
The reason the conversion ratios are so low on buyer leads is our approach. The strategy of most Agents is to send information to a prospect. Their hope is their information is better than the twenty other Agents who also currently possess the same leads.
Champion’s Principle in Lead Follow-Up: Don’t assume for one second you are the only person who has identified this prospect as a lead.
It amazes me how often Agents believe we are the only person who knows about this prospect’s desire to move, even if we secured the lead from a less than the exclusive source. Every time we acquire a lead from the Internet, we must assume that a person has been to ten other Agents’ websites, as well. It is not reasonable to believe that we are the only Agent who has the information from a buyer whose e-mail we just received or we met at our open house. It is also unreasonable to assume that an open homebuyer will attend our open house exclusively. We must assume they are gathering information from many sources.
As a typical Agent capturing or following-up on leads, we try to talk with them and attempt to build rapport. We capture these leads in person at our open houses; via e-mail when it’s a web lead; over the phone for ad calls, sign calls, and floor time calls. We tenaciously respond to our web leads through e-mail. We offer to send them information. For lack of a better strategy, we send them “stuff”! We are holding out hope that our “stuff” is better than the “stuff” that ten other Agents are sending them.
Finally, we pray that someday all the stuff we sent them will help us gain an appointment with this lead. For most of us, we are relying on the volume and frequency of the information we send them to raise their desire to work with us. My friends, the truth is that the objective of an inbound ad call, sign call, floor call, lead follow-up call, or face-to-face encounter at our open house is the same. Plain and simple, the objective is to get an appointment. That appointment objective is not to show them homes but to conduct a buyer interview. Because we are so single-mindedly focused on building rapport and sending them “stuff”, we often lose sight of the real objective… to get an appointment.
When we analyze the true differences between Champion Agents and other Agents in the business, the number of appointments makes the biggest difference. Champion Agents have more appointments than other Agents.
We must be able to convince the prospect on the initial call or initial e-mail that an appointment with us raises the possibility of them:
- Understanding the marketplace better
- Receiving a high level of valuable service
- Securing an advantage when negotiating for a home
- Securing a better lender for a smoother transaction
- Saving money in initial down payment
- Increasing their equity position initially
- Increasing their long-term appreciation because they selected a better property
- Receiving the representation they deserve
Any of these are valid reasons to do business with us and to do it now.
The definition of a Champion Salesperson is someone who can convince a prospect to do something that is beneficial to them and do so more quickly than their competition. Their doctor, dentist, attorney, and an accountant meet exclusively by appointment. We must reposition ourselves as appointment only Agents.
Many Agents have bought into the concept of “by referral” only. The strongest position for an Agent isn’t by referral only; it’s by appointment only. Driving a prospect to a face-to-face buyer interview allows us to serve them most effectively. It also allows us to better ensure our ability to be compensated for our time, energy, and expertise.
The truth is there are an unlimited number of prospects we can work with if we are willing to work for free. We must increase our value and show that value to the prospect, so they have a desire to meet with us.
For any salesperson, the largest cost we incur is the opportunity cost we lose by working with the wrong prospect. We spend vast amounts of time and energy sending stuff to these “wrong prospects” that we cannot get into the office. Most of us have huge opportunity costs that center around two core areas:
1) Wasted time with low probability prospects. The way to quickly separate out the best from the worst prospects is to ask for an appointment. The last place a low-level prospect wants to be is in front of a salesperson.
2) Managing all of our created but not converted leads. I read a marketing piece from another trainer the other day that I will use to illustrate my point. He was featuring a protégé who was closing about sixty units a year. His protégé was being marketed by this trainer as someone who has it together in lead generation because he generates 1200 leads a month. Most Agents would be attracted to this training, so they can learn to generate 1200 leads a month, as well. The truth is this trainer and Agent are living in a land of delusion.
There are only two options we have to conclude:
1) There are a lot of leads, and the leads are junk. It’s easy to create a lot of junk leads. If you have to invest your time to follow-up on junk leads, you’ll never be a Champion Performer. In the early days of computers, the techies had a term they use. The term was GIGO. It stood for Garbage In . . . Garbage Out. That’s exactly what’s happening to this guy.
2) This Agent doesn’t know how to manage, categorize, follow-up, and sell the lead on an appointment with him. He is unable to drive that prospect to a face-to-face meeting where he can make a service presentation.
For Agents to improve income and performance, we must solve these two issues. The first is to separate the junk leads from the high probability leads and Buy legal leads. The second is to sell the high probability that leads to the value of an appointment with us. We might not have as many leads as this person does, but that is really not the real issue. The real issue is what we are doing with them once we have identified them as leads?
About the Author
Andrew Thomas is a Content Marketer, Blogger, Best Lead Providers, and Real Estate Discount Broker. He is a professional storyteller at Zipbrands.com
He has studied the Real Estate Lead Programs Business for years. He enjoys connecting with people, keeping updated with the latest in the field of Real Estate and Business, etc. He has also discovered great shortcuts that can help investors make better decisions when it comes to buying and selling. His work across multiple disciplines broadly addresses narratives of human experience. You can also follow him on Facebook.
