7 Smart Strategies for Following Up With Online Leads

Leads360 did a research study that determined successful lead conversion is 57% lead quality, and 43% sales process.

In other words, you might be generating a good number of high quality leads but without a good follow up sales process in place, you’re not going to convert any of them into closings.

In today’s post I’m going to show you 7 expert strategies for successfully converting online leads into customers!

1. Respond quickly

Velocify’s research study found that the simple act of following up with a lead within a minute of lead generation can increase your conversion rate by as much as 400%.

The longer you wait to contact a lead the less likely you are to convert that lead into a customer. In fact, InsideSales.com reports that 50% of sales go to the first salesperson to contact the prospect. Think about that the next time you get an email for a showing request.

So if you want to improve your conversion rate the first thing you need to improve is your lead response time!

2. Pick up the phone and call

If a lead leaves a phone number where they can be reached, always follow up with a quick personal phone call. If it goes to voicemail, leave a brief message and follow up with an email.

Velocify’s research study shows that more than half of all prospects that converted were actually reached sometime after the first call attempt. And yet, 50% of leads still are never called a second time.

What does this mean for you, the agent?

First, call your leads as soon as possible once they have registered on your site – especially if they’ve submitted a showing request.

Second, follow up more than once. Just because they didn’t answer the first time doesn’t mean they’re a dead lead.

3. Quick personal email

Vary your communication. If you didn’t reach your prospect on the phone, follow up with a quick personal email. Something like:

Subject: Just Checking In …

Hi Ricardo,

Just wanted to check in and say thanks again for registering on my website and taking the time to look at homes. If you have any questions about any of the properties that you see, please don’t hesitate to call or text me at _______ any time.

In the meantime, I see that you’ve taken an interest in 123 Main Street. That property is going to auction. Did you have any questions about how the auction/bidding process works?

Best,

John Smith, ABC Realty

Remember, don’t dismiss a lead as a dead lead just because they didn’t answer your phone call. Vary up your contact attempts (phone and email) and always close with a question. Your goal is to elicit a response and engage the consumer in a conversation about buying or selling real estate.

4. Ask for the appointment

The goal of every call should be to schedule an appointment. You’re not going to close a deal every time on the first phone call, so stop leading every call with a close. Instead, ask for the appointment!

Your goal on every follow up call is to schedule an appointment with your prospective buyer or seller. From that moment forward, your job is to get the consumer to know, like, and trust you.

You do this by demonstrating your professionalism and the value you offer. If you:

• Respond to their calls right away
• Answer each and every single one of their questions
• Do what you say you’re going to do
• Show up on time
• Send them additional materials
• Send them listing alerts on new listings that match their specific criteria

… you will find that buyers will like you, they will trust you, and you can get them into our office because you have effectively demonstrated your value – something that every other real estate agent has failed to do.

Just keep following up. Keep sending them relevant information. And be there to help and answer their questions when they are ready!

5. Make follow up a part of your daily routine

You need to make “following up” a part of your daily routine.

Are you following up with new leads, daily? Are you following up weekly? Are you checking in once a month with that buyer that’s still 3 – 6 months out from making a decision?

Follow up is a critical part of the conversion process because it acts both as an appointment-booking process and a disqualification process.

Your goal with every buyer and seller lead is to get that coveted first appointment.

That follow up process is also a critical disqualificaiton process. It will help you eliminate leads that you no longer need to invest your time and energy in.

You’re going to get people who register on your website but that will never convert into a deal. They’ll sign up, search for homes, and keep searching. But they might already be working with another agent, or they were just “browsing.”

Your goal in the follow up process is to get a “no.” A “no” in this case is as a good as a “yes.” You want to hear “no.” You want to confirm that “no.” Then and only then do you know to mark that lead as “Trash” so that you can focus your time and energy on finding better leads.

6. Organize and prioritize

There are only so many hours in the day. The time that you have available to work on your business will undoubtedly be spent on showing appointments, on administrative tasks, managing contracts, writing offers, and prospecting. 

If you want to make the most out of your prospecting time and focus on converting your best opportunities then you need to organize and prioritize your database!

Who is likely to do something in the next 30 days?

Who is likely to take action in the next 60 – 90 days?

Who is still 6 – 12 months out from making a buying decision?

Then, take it a step further. Determine your leads level of commitment.

How committed is this person to working with you? Will they at least “consider” you as their agent when the time comes to buy/sell?

Who will “probably” do business with you? “Probably” meaning they’re chances of working with you is 50/50.

Then, you have your “maybes.” These are prospects who are not very likely to work with you.

After you’ve organized and prioritized your database your best bet is to work on closing your committed leads than waste time on your “probably’s” and “maybes.”

Once you’ve organized and prioritized your database, you know who you need to be reaching out to every day. Your job is to keep working your leads through that pipeline that you’ve created.

Have you contacted all of your new leads? Great, move them to your “Qualify” category until you’ve established contact with them and confirm whether they need your services now or later.

Are you following up with all of your “Qualify” leads at least 2-3 times per week? Great, once you make contact, qualify them and determine their readiness and level of commitment to you as an agent. They’re either “Hot” or you need to “Nurture” them.

Keep working that system and working that pipeline each and every single day and soon enough, you’ll end up with deals under contract!

7. Keep building that database

The last step in successfully converting online leads is to continue growing and building that database!

Just like buyers need inventory, you need a steady flow of new leads each and every month so that you can keep working your numbers.

Are you consistently creating new conversion and connection content to drive visitors to your website every week?

Are you investing in pay-per-click to drive traffic to your IDX search results?

Is your conversion rate improving month-over-month? If not, what can you do to improve your conversion rate?

Always look for opportunities to: a.) drive more traffic to your site, and b.) improve your conversion rate!

What are your “go to” strategies for converting more leads?

Here’s my list of 7 expert strategies for converting online leads into real-world clients. What are your go to strategies for converting buyers and sellers in your market?

What has worked for you?