Internet Leads and Real Estate: Personable, Professional and Not Pushy
Internet Leads and Real Estate: Being Personable, Professional and Not Pushy
The internet is now such a part of our lives that when it comes to making challenging or live-changing decisions, we can all dabble in the choices for a long and uncommitted about of time until we, as consumers, decide to make our move. In the real estate world, where over 93% of buyers start their search online; this can be a maddening process. The instant you login to a lead generation site to look for homes, no matter how serious, ready or real you are, there in an agent out there who becomes invested in you. Here is how it plays out:
From the Agent's Side:
When there is an opening in my schedule, I go and 'poke the bear,' the fond terminology our office has given to the practice of interacting with our online internet lead database. It can be done from anywhere with wifi and it is a great opportunity to go back to some leads that are lingering in the online world that have not yet converted into anything so solid as a 'hot lead.' Many leads are eager for that first point of contact but then they want to chill in the flood of information they have access to online before they are pushed into any type of decision making phase. Because of this, many leads are kept in touch with through a multitude of:
- Market Updates emailed to them
- Listing Updates they have signed up for
- Slowly a Rapport builds up between us without me ever having met them
Ideally, after seven months to a year of this type of contact, our relationship is ready to move to the next level. Familiarity with me becomes a phone conversation. The comfort built in that phase transitions into hopefully being their buying or selling agent when they do make the choice to act upon their real estate venture.
More often than not, that is where all leads end—in the information gathering zone. But sometimes, between a 3-7% conversion rate, they become clients. Then my 'job' starts as I help them to find their dream home or to sell their home to chase a new dream.
READ MORE:
- http://www.inman.com/next/mining-for-internet-leads-create-familiarity-while-not-sounding-pushy/
- http://mitsloan.mit.edu/50th/pdf/consumerpowerpaper.pdf
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