Lead Follow Up

Here are some thoughts on this very important topic.

1. What is the definition of a lead?
a. How do you determine that definition?
b. My definition is someone who is going to buy or sell in the next 30 days.
c. Buyers and Sellers are making decisions slower in this market so our job is to educate them faster.
2. The amount of time you spend with a lead is directly proportionate to the amount of deals you will do each year.
a. The longer you hang on chasing a lead, the less deals you will do.
b. How much lead follow up does a highly motivated, highly qualified lead actually need anyway? None! Why aren’t we looking for more of these instead of messing around with the others?
c. At what point should you let a lead go?
d. You have to determine if this is someone who moves into your COI list or you remove them completely.
3. Studies show that 70% - 80% of your appts should come from lead follow up and not from your first contact.
a. Does this fact make a difference in your lead follow up habits?
b. Do you lose more business by over-calling or under-calling your leads?
c. Do you actually have time scheduled each day to do lead follow up so you can capture these appts?
d. It’s best to schedule it right before or right after your prospecting since you’re in the zone!
4. The hard truth is, a lead has no value as long as it remains a lead. Only when it turns into a contract will it bring you income.
a. Having a lot of dead leads is no different than having Monopoly money. It’s fun to have it but it’s got no value.
b. We have to quickly accept the fact that we cannot turn an unmotivated or unqualified Buyer or Seller into a client that earns you money simply because you kept them for years.
c. Train your mindset to think rather than what if I let this lead go and they buy or sell, to what if I keep this lead on and waste time? What other “qualified” leads will I be missing?
d. If you consistently bring in new leads, you don’t have to keep the bad ones.
5. Remember, doing 75 transactions a year only requires 75 REALLY GOOD leads.
a. Because sales is a numbers game, we have to accept that we will cycle through a large number of leads.
b. Having bad leads diminishes our desire and urgency to do good lead follow up.
c. Don’t over-protect your leads by putting them into the computer and fancy systems – just call them! If they are motivated, they will appreciate it. After all, what is the number one complaint about agents from consumers?
6. Remember the purpose of the call is to SET THE APPOINTMENT!
a. “Managing” your leads gets you nowhere. Set the appointment or move on.
b. What’s the script? Since most of lead follow up is about qualifying and handling the objection so you can close for the appt, that makes each call very different.
c. Hi, this is blank from blank, how are you? Great, I’m calling to find out if you still need to buy or sell a home? Let’s set an appointment this week.
d. If they give you an objection to the appointment – Ideally when would you like to be in your new home or have your home sold? Whatever the answer you say, great, that’s exactly why we need to meet!