Nobody has time to chase leads that don’t convert, so everyone wants to know which lead generation and conversion practices work, which don’t, and where they should spend money on marketing. Stats reveal where you should be focusing your team’s lead gen efforts, and it’s clear that your marketing should focus on your own spheres of influence (SOI) rather than internet leads.
From my calculations, you should be able to convert 60% to 100% of your past clients and SOI. But the national conversion rate average for internet leads is 2.6%, according to the 2021 Conversion Benchmark Report. Staying in contact and maintaining relationships with the people that know, like and trust you is still the best way to build business. Growing your database of close relationships is the second-best way. This is where internet marketing can come into play if you do it correctly.
For the best results from internet marketing, align yourself with an expert. At the same time, don’t outsource it to just anyone and think it’s done. When outsourcing, inspect what you expect and know your return on investment to ensure accountability for the results you want.
Once you’ve outsourced your internet marketing, you can personally do lead gen with your SOI. Continue to work your sphere and develop those relationships even further by creating a follow-up process. Best practices for follow-up include using a system to document each contact with a lead and time-blocking parts of your week specifically for lead gen. My three favorite tools that help me automate the follow-up process are the WSS My Perfect Week Scheduler, the WSS Lead Tracker and the WSS ABCs of Lead Management. If you don’t have an easy-to-follow, trackable process for following up with your leads, it will never get done well.
Once you have a system for follow-up, the next challenge is conversion. How do you improve your conversion percentages? You build relationships by adding value. Instead of harassing potential prospects by asking for their business, share your expertise and offer value. Our prospects need us; they just don’t know they do.
Show them the value of working with a great agent. You can share things like properties that might match their criteria with an offer to show, better searches, a buyer book with tips on the buying process, a vendor list, invitations to events, etc. To increase your engagement, always contact a lead with an item of value and ask questions where you can elicit more responses. With enough value, prospects will soon be chasing you instead of the other way around.
Paul Wheeler started Accent REALTORS® in 1992. As a lifelong entrepreneur, national coach for Workman Success Systems, speaker and trainer, Wheeler continues to share his passion for real estate and business with the world. Reach out to wssm@workmansuccess.com for access to Wheeler’s favorite tools to improve your marketing and lead gen process.
