RISMEDIA, April 15, 2011—With studies showing that buyers begin their search for a home well before they actually buy, you need to have a game plan in place to strategically position yourself to be top of mind when they are ready to buy. In conjunction with the positioning, you need to have a system that can rate each visitor to your site. If your lead is considered “hot,” what are you doing to cultivate it from a lead to a sale?
You may have follow-up action items for your sphere of influence and past clients. But what about the continuous leads that are coming in through various sources from your marketing efforts?
Here are four tips to help you manage those leads and turn them into an actual sale.
1. Set all forms on your website to go into a main database so that you have one location for all your leads. This will allow you to get a snapshot of what forms are getting the most traffic and, at the same time, allow you to see all your activity.
2. Have specific e-mail campaigns with specific e-mail capture forms. If buyers and sellers are visiting your site and filling out a form for more information, you don’t want to place them into an e-mail follow-up campaign that doesn’t relate to their situation. If they are filling out a CMA request form, you should place them into an e-mail campaign that addresses their needs when going through the home selling process. The same applies for the relocation lead, the military move buyer and even the first-time home buyer. Be mindful that the e-mail follow-up will build credibility and rapport with the person so that they will want to work with you.
3. Have the ability in the tracking system to place leads into specific groups such as “hot leads” or “open house buyers.” Imagine getting a new listing and wanting to get the word out to your “hot buyer” prospects. If you have the ability to organize your leads into specific groups, you will be able to send a quick email blast to the necessary groups in just minutes.
4. Organize your groups like you run your traditional real estate business. If you are part of a team, think about how you communicate with one another. Does every team member have their own list of leads? If so, make that a group in your database and email follow-up system. If you like to classify the buyers you are working with as “A, B or C buyers,” match the group name to the communication you naturally use. This will help streamline what you are doing traditionally with the technology you are using to connect with your leads.
Tricia Andreassen is CEO/founder of Pro Step Marketing. She is a leading industry Web strategy expert, a nationally recognized speaker with Broker Agent Speakers Bureau, and one of RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine’s monthly columnists. For more information, please visit www.ProStepMarketing.com or call 1-866-799-9888.
