When it comes to growing your real estate business, the most important thing you can do as an agent is to have a steady flow of leads coming. In fact, according to a report by Constant Contact, 29% of real estate agents said getting more leads and clients was their greatest challenge.
However, it’s not just about the number of leads you have but also the quality of those leads and how well you can convert them.
In order to generate quality real estate leads that will eventually result in conversions (and closings), you need to have a clear marketing strategy that takes a person from the awareness phase to the decision phase of your sales funnel.
Your marketing strategy should include both online and offline lead generation tactics, as well as a system for nurturing your leads until they’re ready to buy or sell.
Below, you’ll learn the exact steps that I use with my clients to help them generate and convert more of their real estate leads into clients.
Reasons You’re Not Converting Real Estate Leads
Before you learn how to convert real estate leads, you need to have a good understanding of why the real estate leads you are generating aren’t converting.
Just because someone found you online doesn’t mean they’ll remember you when it’s time to buy or sell. This is why having a system in place to follow up with your real estate leads is essential to turn them into clients.
There could be any number of reasons why a lead doesn’t convert, but here are some of the most common ones.
You’re seeing dollar signs instead of a person
It can be easy to see potential customers as nothing more than a listing or transaction. However, it’s important to remember that behind every lead is a real person with their own hopes, dreams, and concerns. If you want to be successful in converting leads, you need to start by viewing them as individual buyers and sellers. Take the time to get to know them and their unique needs and desires. Only then will you be able to craft a message that resonates and leads to a sale.
You don’t have a follow-up system in place
If you want to convert real estate leads, you need to have a follow-up system in place. This means having a plan for how you will stay in touch with online leads after they inquire about your services. Without a follow-up system, it is easy for leads to fall through the cracks and never hear from you again. There are a variety of ways to stay in touch with leads, including email, phone calls, and text messages. The key is to find a method that works for you and your team and to stick to it.
You’re not staying top-of-mind with past clients
As a real estate agent, your success depends on your ability to generate leads and convert them into clients. However, your work doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve helped a client buy or sell a property, it’s important to stay in touch with them in order to build a long-term relationship. This way, when they’re ready to enter the real estate market again, they’ll come to you first.
There are a number of ways to stay in contact with past clients, such as sending them periodic updates on the local real estate market, inviting them to open houses, or simply staying in touch via social media or email. By taking the time to stay in contact with past clients, you’ll be more likely to generate repeat business and referrals.
You’re focused on lead generation instead of lead conversion
While it’s true that a larger marketing budget can give your real estate business a boost, it won’t necessarily solve all of your problems. In fact, what you may need even more than a bigger budget is a process that nurtures your real estate leads.
A good lead nurturing process will help you stay in touch with your leads, build relationships with them, and ultimately convert them into clients. It’s important to remember that real estate is a people business, and the best way to succeed is to focus on developing strong relationships with your leads.
You’re not building a long-term pipeline
If you’re not converting real estate leads, it may be because you’re focused on short-term success instead of building a long-term pipeline.
Realtors who focus on quantity over quality are more likely to end up with a lower conversion rate. By building relationships with your leads and nurturing them over time, you’ll create a pipeline of interested buyers and sellers who are more likely to hire you when the time is right. With a little patience and a lot of dedication, you can turn your real estate business into a thriving enterprise.
Real Estate Lead Conversion Process
For many agents, the conversion process looks something like this…
- Generate the lead.
- Call the lead.
- Put the lead on a drip campaign.
- Add the lead to the monthly newsletter.
- Hope they call you when they’re ready to buy or sell.
The problem with this approach is that you’re not providing enough value at each stage of the process, so you’re less likely to stay top of mind.
The process I use with my clients is designed to do just that – provide value at each stage so that when the lead is ready to buy or sell, you’re the first person they think of.
Once you learn how to shift your focus to staying top of mind with your leads, you’ll start to see a significant increase in conversions.
The 3-Step Real Estate Lead Generation and Conversion Process
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the conversion process I use with my clients…
Generate Leads by Focusing on Growing Your Email List
An email list is essential for a real estate agent. It allows you to convert real estate leads into clients. It’s a direct line to your audience and allows you to stay in touch with them on a regular basis. If you’re not already building an email list, now is the time to start. You can generate leads online through your website, social media, or even online ads.
In fact, when it comes to social media for your business, your priority should be moving your followers onto your list.
Why? Because you don’t own your social media profile. The platform does. And if the platform changes its rules or claims you violated a rule, you could lose access to your entire audience overnight.
By staying in touch with your email list, you build relationships and foster trust. This type of communication is key to success in the real estate industry.
Email is a powerful tool that should not be ignored by real estate agents. By building and maintaining an email list, you will be able to convert more leads into clients and grow your business.
How to Grow Your Email List using a Free Lead Magnet
One of the best ways to grow your email list is to create a real estate lead magnet to promote.
A lead magnet is a piece of content that you offer to potential customers in exchange for their contact information. It can be anything from a PDF report to a video series, as long as it’s something that your target audience will find valuable. It should offer instant gratification by providing a quick solution to a problem they want solved while also aligning with who you’re trying to attract as a client.
By offering something of value, you can entice prospects to provide their contact information, which you can then use to nurture and follow up with.
If you’re looking for ideas, some common lead magnet topics include home buying tips, seller’s guides, and market reports. The sky’s the limit, so get creative and come up with something that will appeal to your target audience.
Once you know what your lead magnet is going to be, you need a strategy to promote it.
There are a number of ways to promote your lead magnet to generate online leads, such as Facebook or Google ads, social media posts, and blog articles.
Online ads are a great way to reach a large number of people with your lead magnet by creating target campaigns toward your ideal customer. For example, you can target people in your city who are searching for homes in a particular price range.
Social media posts are another great way to reach potential leads. You can share your lead magnet on your personal social media accounts, as well as on business pages and groups.
Finally, you can promote your lead magnet on your website as a pop-up or through blog articles. By writing articles that focus on the benefits of your lead magnet, you can attract the attention of potential leads and encourage them to sign up for your offer. Be sure to include a call-to-action in each article so that readers know what to do next.
By using a combination of these three strategies, you can reach a wider audience of potential leads and increase your chances of generating new business.
Nurture Real Estate Leads
Now that you have a list of people who are interested in what you have to say, it’s time to start nurturing them by emailing them on a regular basis.
These aren’t drip campaigns; these are value-packed real estate emails that focus on building a relationship with your audience and provide them with the information they need to make decisions on the real estate market.
The best way to do this is to focus on problems that your ideal client has and offer your solutions. You’ll want the content to be a mixture of real estate, community information, and lifestyle.
When it comes to lead nurturing, the goal is to provide value and build trust so that when they’re ready to buy or sell, they think of you first.
Here are a few examples of email content that will help you nurture your real estate leads:
Solve a problem: Many of your leads will be in the early stages of their home search. They may not even be sure what they’re looking for yet. Send them helpful articles that focus on solving common problems, like how to know when you’re ready to buy or what to look for in a neighborhood.
Share your expertise: Your leads want to know that they can trust you. Show off your expertise by sharing helpful articles and tips on homeownership, the real estate market, home buying, and selling.
Provide neighborhood information: Most of your leads will be considering a move to a new neighborhood. Share helpful articles that focus on the lifestyle and amenities of the area, as well as any upcoming events or projects.
Get personal: Share stories about your own experiences in the real estate industry or in the community. This will help your leads get to know you on a personal level and build trust.
By providing helpful and valuable information, you’ll be able to nurture your real estate leads and convert them into clients.
Convert Real Estate Leads into Clients
If you want to focus on lead generation and conversions, start by growing your email list. Use a free lead magnet to entice people to sign up, and then use email marketing to nurture those leads until they’re ready to buy.
Need help getting started? Then join us inside Rockstar Agent, where you’ll get your hands on a complete digital marketing strategy.
