Most real estate agents think of an internet lead as a person who is inquiring about a specific property or is actively ready to buy or sell a house. However, the truth is that about 50% of leads won’t buy or sell their house for another 6-12 months. For many realtors, these leads become lost opportunities, they don’t consistently follow up with and end up losing to other agents. Here are strategies for a long lead nurture process that will help you to retain the business:
The 3 Stages of Internet Leads
The first thing to understand about a long lead nurture process is that there are three different stages that internet leads fall in. The first step to properly nurturing leads is to identify what stage they are in.
Stage 1: Inactive Curiosity
The lead is browsing online, but they really have no idea what they are looking for.
Stage 2: Active Curiosity
The lead has a more concrete idea of what they are looking for, however, they are not ready to begin the purchasing process yet.
Stage 3: Active Searching
The lead knows what they want and are ready to purchase soon.
One way to identify what type of lead you may be working with would be to consider the lead source. Most leads that come from Facebook, PPC’s, Google Adwords or the IDX Registration on your website, are most likely leads that will be ready in 6-12 months.
How to Talk to Leads Who Need a Longer Nurture Process
The most important thing to remember when speaking with leads that aren’t ready to buy or sell yet. This is not a sales call, it is a call intended to develop a relationship. Remember that this is a nurturing process while following each of the directions below.
- Make personal connections, if a lead shares personal information with you, share something back to establish a personal connection. If the lead says they are looking for a garage, respond by saying, “I understand, I appreciate having a garage on those snowy days, so I’m not scraping snow off my car.”
- Don’t use standard objection handling. Instead, affirm their objection and move forward.
- Never rush the process. When they tell you they are a year out from buying, respond with empathy. A great reply is, “The process of looking for a house can be overwhelming, and we want to be sure you find a property that meets your needs.
Things to During Calls on a Longer Lead Nurturing Process
1. Most leads that come from Facebook, PPC’s or Google Adwords are not expecting a call from you. Often, their information is captured through their online activity. Remember that they did not request more information, they were simply looking at a home online. Always keep this in mind while handling the calls, it means there is much more trust that needs to be established with the lead.
2. Create a conversation. Don’t do all of the talking, you are not trying to sell them on anything. You are there to speak with them about their wants and needs in the home buying process. You should encourage their curiosity and dreaming, and then follow up with education on the market.
By far the most difficult part of nurturing leads who aren’t ready to act yet is actively and consistently following up. It takes a lot of organization and a large time commitment. This is where an ISA real estate can deliver a great return on investment. We take away the pressure of remembering how often to follow up, and we make the continual calls until the lead enters the third stage- active searching. This can save you hours of time on each lead and assure that no leads slip through the cracks.