10 Ways to Dramatically Improve Lead Follow-Up Results


Lead follow-up in Real Estate is akin to running a marathon. It takes patience, dedication, and most importantly, you must never give up. Roughly 44% of salespeople give up after one “no.” Another 22% give up after two. This means that 66% or two-thirds of agents will never follow up a third time.

Yet according to several studies, 80% of “non-routine” purchases like a home are made after at least five follow-ups. Another startling statistic is that 63% of people who contact you today won’t buy for at least three months. If you are not following up with your real estate leads more than once, you are missing out on a ton of business.

Here are 10 surefire tips to improve your lead follow-up results:

  1. Create a follow-up schedule: Be specific with how you are going to follow-up on your leads. Create a schedule that clearly outlines when you are following-up and how. Make sure that you also have categories specifying what stage your leads are in (cold, warm, hot, etc.) and what kind of follow-ups they should be receiving. A mapped-out follow-up schedule ensures you get all your touches and that you aren’t overlooking any leads.
  2. Utilize various platforms: Use more than one channel to reach out to your leads. Emails, social media, phone calls, etc. 12% of Facebook posts are read. 29% percent of Tweets are ever read. 98% of text messages are opened, and 20% of emails are opened. Diversifying your channels of communication increase your chances of making contact.
  3. Timing: As they say, timing is everything. A survey of data on email open rates showed that Thursday is 26% better for email open rates than the worst weekday, Monday. While an MIT study revealed that Thursday is 49% better for phone contact rates than the worst weekday, Tuesday. Try to find your sweet spot when using these mediums for follow-up.
  4. Use Email Templates: Using standardized, pre-made email templates can be a great way to ensure you have a clear and consistent message every single time you send an email. Start by figuring out which types of emails you will be sending out the most and create customizable content that contains what you wish to convey. You can use them as-is, or your team can use them as a guideline, but the point is that you will have a solid foundation ready.
  5. Track all contact attempts: To ensure that your processes are being implemented, make sure you are tracking all actual attempts. This way, you can review and make adjustments if needed. This data will also give you a better gauge on the different stages your leads may be in.
  6. Get Agreements on your next steps: Once a lead asks you to stop contacting them, you should absolutely stop. However, this can be avoided if you build enough rapport where you can get agreements for your subsequent contact attempts. For example, if they say they are too busy to speak at the time of your call, you can say, “Is it alright if I call again this time tomorrow?” Their answer will give you an idea of where they stand.
  7. Give value with content: A person can only take a sales pitch so many times. When using platforms such as email or Social Media, use different types of content that either give value (marketing reports, news, etc.) or present you differently. For example, send a video testimonial or a piece about your charity or a cause you champion. Use this as an opportunity to create common ground or pique interest.
  8. Track Email Engagement: Sending out emails to your leads is not enough. You should track how many of them open it and engage (clicking links, etc.). There are many ways to track your email from using an email management system or a setting on your email account. This will help you figure out what kind of content your leads are interested in.
  9. Call down Lists: A call down list is basically batching your leads into specific groups depending on what categories you have set. Assign someone on your team to take one hour a week to go top to bottom and follow up with 20 leads using a call down list. Bonus points for being able to sort and filter the list by things like last contact, # of calls made, etc.
  10. Teamwork makes the dream work: To make sure that you aren’t losing any business by neglecting follow-ups, you have to have systems and processes in place. Once you have those, you will need people to run them. You cannot do it all alone. Having a stellar time behind you gives you the freedom to keep working on growing your Real Estate business.
These simple but effective tips can make a whole world’s difference in boosting your business just by paying closer attention to your lead follow-ups. Do you have any tips that you use? Tell us in the comments!

Don’t forget to schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session and learn how MyOutDesk real estate virtual assistants can help your business grow by delivering the very best virtual assistant services available!

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