In a busy estate agency, the number one commodity is time. You’ve got vendor calls to make, viewings to follow up, enquiries to reply to.
So, when it comes to talking to potential vendors who are clearly not serious about selling, what do you do? How many of these cold leads make it on to your call list? And even if they do how often do they get called in favour of your hotter leads?
It makes sense that when your time is at a premium to focus energy on the leads that will provide the best results. What is interesting is that whilst many estate agents talk to us about lead generation, many overlook this long-term potential source of income. Even worse some are trying but get their approach wrong, damaging the chances of a future conversion.
You may well be spending money on expensive lead generation when you have a potential source of long-term leads right in front of you.
Cold leads can be a challenge to convert
One of the challenges is that a high number of leads won’t convert. This can leave you feeling tired and frustrated. However, to maximise this opportunity we must overcome this feeling and turn it into a positive. Let’s for a moment, think about the consumer at the time of their initial enquiry.
In the scenario of an instant online valuation quite often they were just curious about the value of their home. The majority will not be ready to sell and simply looking to get a rough guide on price.
Now, thinking about an applicant who registers with you. When they registered with you their main goal was to be notified of the best properties that suit their needs. Of course, as part of your qualification, you should get to know their circumstances and identify if there is an instruction opportunity. But again, many will tell you they are fine or not ready because you have not yet earned their trust.
How to improve your results
There are however two key areas that you can focus on to improve your results. Some of the leading UK estate agents are taking action and in return growing more rewarding and profitable businesses as a result.
There are many reasons for their success but we have identified two in particular:
1. Ensuring their staff are well trained professional and happy
They have happy staff who have mastered the art of listening as well as selling to deliver great customer service. Industry trainers like Julian O’dell and Matt Giggs can have an amazing impact on both your team’s happiness and motivation. Not only that, but they can transform how staff speak to potential clients. To get more valuable information but in a way that builds a relationship and trust.
Look to build a solid foundation for your business. This will increase not only your success with these cold leads, but also referral opportunities, repeat business and your ability to get social proof for your future marketing.
2. Understanding that they can’t speak to everyone 24/7
Becuase dealing with so many leads and conversations presents a real challenge, they complement their personal service by adding technology which can help them nurture these relationships and identify timely opportunities for action. In particular, introducing email nurturing can be one of the lowest cost ways to achieve this.
Create an effective follow-up plan which combines email, SMS and phone calls to build a trusting relationship over time. It must be geared towards their unique situation, not simply full of self promotional messages. Allowing you to stand out as the local experts and estate agent of choice.
What about GDPR?
With GDPR and changes to e-privacy coming very soon, following up cold leads will become increasingly challenging. Establishing a strong relationship, coupled with creating a relevant nurture program could help you convince potential leads to let you keep in touch. In comparison, your competition will become trapped, unable to contact recent leads, because they failed to get consent.
Conclusion
Smart estate agents ensure their teams are well trained, that they continue to be engaging with a high level of customer empathy. When they ask the question about keeping in touch they are able to clearly communicate the benefits to the client. Ensuring the client opts-in to continue to receive their message. They often look for ways automate this to deliver the same high standards even when they get busy. Maximising their long-term opportunity from cold leads and boosting profits.
If you are interested in implementing a nurture program for your leads, check out our software or get in touch.