Remember what it felt like to see the front lawn covered with colorful Easter eggs as a kid?  It was so exciting!  As a real estate agent, you feel a rush of excitement when you receive a real estate lead, knowing you’ve been given the opportunity to help someone buy or sell a house. So what could go wrong? Maybe you reach out and never hear back from the lead.  Maybe the lead stops communicating after a couple of emails.  Real estate leads are important to your success as a real estate agent, but you could unintentionally be ruining your chances of getting them into your sales funnel.  Let’s look at some effective B2B lead-nurturing examples to help you grow your real estate sales funnel.

Unpreparedness

You just received a lead, call them back immediately, then freeze when they answer the phone.  You can’t remember what to say, or you bluntly say something about receiving them as a lead.  Before you ever call a lead, make sure you have outlined and practiced what you’re going to say.  Remember, they reached out to you, and now you’ve got to show them you’re capable of serving their needs, whether they want to buy or sell a house.

Slow Followup

If you aren’t following up with your real estate leads within 5 minutes, someone else will.  The longer you wait to call a lead, the higher the likelihood the lead will reach out to another agent, leaving you in the dust.  A quick text or short email is enough to keep the lead warm.  Take advantage of any technology that will send an automatic reply to keep the lead engaged and follow up as soon as possible.

6-8 Touchpoints

No one wants to waste money on real estate leads, but that’s exactly what you’re doing if you aren’t reaching out to them a minimum of 6-8 times.  Reach out 2-3x the first day, 2x by phone and then by email or text.  Keep trying to make contact with them, even if it means you have to reach out 12 days in a row via phone/email/text.  After all of that, put them in a drip email or text campaign and nurture them with your friendly expertise.

Unresponsive Lead

One of the biggest mistakes real estate agents make when managing leads is assuming the lead doesn’t want their help.  Just because a lead doesn’t respond to your messages after a week of reaching out, it doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in buying or selling a house.  Remember, they reached out to you, so there is some level of interest.  Perhaps the timing isn't right for the lead.  For example, they may want to buy a house, have just started looking, and want to save more for a down payment before getting serious about their search.  Get creative and ask questions to get to the bottom of their unresponsiveness.  Consider sending a 3-4 question multiple choice survey via email or text.  Questions like the following will help you determine where to put them in your lead nurturing campaign:

“Where are you in the home-buying process?”

1. 1. 1. 1. Just looking for fun
         2. Saving for a down payment, so it will be awhile
         3. Want to buy within the next 6-12 months
         4. Want to buy after 12 months

“What's most exciting about buying a home?”

1. 1. 1. 1. I'm buying my FIRST home
         2. We're growing our family and need more room
         3. I'm going to take care of my parent and need more room
         4. Earning equity and not paying rent

“How many homes for sale have you visited?”

1. 1. 1. 1. Zero
         2. 1-5
         3. 6-10
         4. Too many to count!
            
            

Double Dial

If you are not double dialing your lead the first time you reach out, you could be missing a major opportunity to connect.  A lot of the time, a lead will pick up the second call because they want to know who keeps calling them.  So when you call your leads for the first time and they don’t pick up, hang up and immediately dial them again.  Any chance to have a conversation with a lead is an opportunity to convert them into a sale!

Managing Leads

A mistake real estate agents continually make is buying more and more leads but not following up with them.  A large number of leads, many of which you have never spoken to, isn’t going to drive your success.   If you are too busy to call your leads within 5 minutes, hire an assistant, utilize a member of your team, or invest in lead nurturing technology. Remember to continually nurture your leads with a drip email or text campaign to set yourself up for long-term success.

“Consumers are more likely to open text messages before any other form of mobile communication.” - OpenMarket

Texting Opportunities

If you aren’t texting your leads, you’re losing business.  Unless the lead initially contacted you via phone, there is no reason to assume they want to receive a call from you. In other words, most people would rather not talk on the phone.  Utilize text (messages, voice recording, video) to make a connection with your leads and keep doing so until they say stop.  If the lead doesn't respond to your initial text message, text them a message about a new listing and put some warm fuzzies into it.  Whatever it takes to get them to engage!

Text message:  "I recently listed this home in _________, and I think you'll love it.  Check out the wrap-around porch and shady backyard.  Imagine your family gathered around the gas fire pit and smores all around.  Yummy!"

Communication Options

Remember drive-up burger joints and how you would talk into the speaker next to your car to place your order?  Now imagine a similar gadget at a modern car dealership.  You park in front of the building, and there is a tablet on a stand next to your parking spot.  The tablet reads, “Would you like to have a salesperson show you around?  Yes/No”.  If no, “May we follow up with you via email or text?  Yes/No”. You could ignore the tablet and just start looking around but guess what?  A salesperson is going to rush out of the building to help you.  Not what you wanted, right?  Avoid becoming the unwanted car salesperson by assuming your real estate lead wants to receive a phone call.  From the beginning, ask your leads how they would like to communicate (phone, text, email).  Because you asked, the lead will be more receptive to your inquiries, and you’ll increase your chances of building a relationship.

Don’t become the car salesman who rushes out to greet the customer the moment they step out of their car. 🙄

Disarming the Lead

If your leads aren’t responding to your calls, emails, or texts, they might be frustrated by your inquiries.  Consider trying a different approach.  Instead of continually reaching out and asking if you can set up an appointment with the lead, take them by surprise with a disarming approach.  For example, start your text or email with the phrase “I’m not sure if this is for you but…”.  This type of opening results in less rejection from the lead and possibly more engagement.  You could finish the phrase with something like “... there’s a new listing near the home you first looked at on my website”; “... a new listing hits the market tomorrow, and I thought you would want to be one of the first to see it”; “... a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house is being built in your neighborhood”.  Try some of these suggestions with a lead who isn’t responding to your messages, and you might disarm them and open the lines of communication.

Conclusion

Your rate of success as a real estate agent will dramatically increase as you overcome common lead-nurturing mistakes.  By implementing the lead-nurturing examples in this article, you’ll grow your lead-nurturing funnel in no time.  Ready?  Let’s go! 💪

Take advantage of more lead-nurturing tips in Reazo's comprehensive guide: