Mastering the Art of the Follow Up

A commentary by EXIT Realty Premier Partner, Opcity.

The real estate industry has a -32% ROI on purchased online leads. The funny thing is, lead purchasing is on the rise, even though they are continually not converting to sales. Agents believe the lead quality from online sources is low. However, experts say it’s not the lead quality; success is based on follow-up.

90% of sales are made after the 4th call, yet the average agent calls a prospect just 1.4 times. With just 2% of sales reported to close on the first call, no wonder ROI is so low!

The question becomes, how can real estate agents get better at following up?

Opcity works with 4,800 brokerages and 40,000 agents across the U.S., so we’ve consolidated some tips from agents who are successful with online lead conversion.

Create a repeatable process

• Creating lead nurturing email templates, text messages, and phone scripting for calls and voicemails will pay dividends in the long run.
• It takes an upfront investment of time to create these but putting together a lead conversion toolkit will help you be more successful than building responses from scratch.
• When creating these, ask yourself: What value are you providing to the client? Are you giving them a reason to call you back?
• Learn from each call, and continually update your messaging to reflect your findings. Opcity’s scripting team meets monthly to review and iterate on their messaging. This diligence enables our leads to convert at 3-5x higher than the industry average.
• Create a follow up cadence and stick to it. Follow up multiple times, using a variety of methods, at various times of the day. Consistency of effort over time is crucial.
• The end goal is to get a face-to-face meeting within 12 days of the initial inquiry. Agents who meet with clients in person within that timeframe have a 90% greater chance of converting them into a closed customer.

Have a lightning-quick time to contact

• Responding to internet leads within seconds is key to success. Leads are not exclusive, and with so much competition, if you’re not first, you’re last.
• Agents are busy, and responding immediately is easier said than done. Create a system to notify you when a new lead comes in and prioritize calling them ASAP.
• If you cannot call leads right away, create an automated email to trigger when a lead submits their information. Marketing automation tools are sophisticated and provide custom solutions for this. Tools like Zapier, MailChimp, Opcity, and SMS texting software are available to make speed to contact more attainable.

Don’t give up 

• Opcity makes 1.2 million calls to real estate leads every month. We analyzed the outcomes of those calls and came up with an interesting finding: There is an equal chance of closing a lead after the 20th contact attempt as there is of closing with someone whom we reached on the first attempt.
• The probability of closing a lead does not decrease over time if there is persistent follow up. Creating a call cadence of 6-10 attempts will yield success and help you beat your competition.

Time block 

• Internet leads can get lost in the shuffle of open houses, client meetings, and admin work.
• Dedicating 45 minutes a day will allow you to contact your outstanding leads via email, text, or phone calls.
• Create several email and texting templates that you can send to all of your prospects quickly.  Spend 30 minutes in the morning sending these to your active leads to see how their process is going, and 15 minutes in the evening replying to responses.

Don’t assume loyalty  

• There are approximately 2 million agents in the U.S. Without a referral or existing relationship, it’s hard for agents to immediately differentiate themselves, and client loyalty is hard to come by.
• Contact leads at least once a week. Hold their hand through the process. A client may need nurturing for six months before they make a purchase.
• Focus on providing value. How can you help the buyer achieve their goal? Can you connect them with partners in the industry to help with credit issues or financing?
• When agents focus on outstanding customer service, working on the client’s timeline, and being low pressure, we find they convert a high number of leads over time.

It is tough to stay on top of follow up, especially when so many inquiries don’t pan out. Opcity weeds out the window shoppers and connects only motivated home buyers to agents via a three-way call.

Opcity calls leads within 4 seconds of inquiry and follows up over several months. Our provided CRM prompts lead updates every seven days, keeping the follow up front and center of the process. Visit opcity.com/exit-realty to see how Opcity generates more closed business and creates a better agent experience. Around here, we don’t let leads slip through the cracks…do you?