Are you aware of how much money you are potentially wasting with your leads every year?
Within your marketing budget, you are most certainly sure with how much you spend on lead generation down to the very last dollar. However, it might surprise you how much money is being wasted by leads never being followed up with. According to a 2013 Online Performance Study, 45% of all real estate leads aren’t responded to or followed up with has resulted in billions of dollars being wasted every year.
You might chalk a lot of this wasted marketing budget on the rigmarole of this business–that leads are a double-edged sword and their shortcomings are just a part of the hustle.
But what if leads weren’t all that bad? What if your whole approach to leads were wrong and a reexamination of your lead strategy could help rewire the success of your real estate enterprise? You might think we were crazy–I assure you, we’re not.
Let’s take a look at the top mistakes real estate agents make with leads and the associated remedies to help turn those mistakes around…
1. You’re late to the “Lead Party”
Studies indicate that 72% of customers will choose the first agent they speak with. A problem with leads is most of them are not exclusive. You will be competing with the vast pool of agents looking to follow up on the same leads you’re presented with.
In order to correct this mistake, you need to be the first to the scene. That’s always easier said than done when you’re traveling, with current or potential clients, or coaching your team to follow up on other leads (the list goes on and on…).
2. You aren’t contacting the lead quick enough
Aside from the other agents that are contacting the same leads you are contacting, the speed in which you contact said leads plays into your overall strategy as well. According to InsideSales, a lead will convert at a rate 21X higher if they are contacted within the first 5 minutes versus just 30 minutes.
Too many agents either don’t know how imperative it is to respond as humanly possible to the leads or they just don’t have the manpower and/or technology at their disposal to do so.
3. You aren’t working with a customer’s modern schedule
The “old way” of real estate buying and selling was much more simple:
- The agent was in charge.
- Things happened at a slower pace.
- You scheduled meeting with your customers generally between the times of 9am and 5pm.
- Most of the interaction was conducted in-person.
Things have drastically changed with the onset of modern technology. Now:
- Customers are in charge
- The vast majority of the leads come from the web
- Inquiries about real estate can come up randomly 24 hrs/day 7 days/week 365 days/year
- 72% choose the first agent they speak with
At this point, we can all agree that new technology is both a blessing and a curse. Obviously, with the spread of communication and inquiry, agents have a grander exposure to more leads. With that, the scope of the job has widened and the time commitments have expanded.
4. You’re chasing the wrong leads
In most circumstances (regardless of industry) quality outweighs quantity. In real estate, this is by no means an exception. A great mistake being made with leads is spending wasted hours and resources chasing the wrong leads. There are many reasons the lead isn’t advantageous enough to pursue:
- The lead isn’t a real person.
- The customer already has a trusted agent.
- Their loan status is less than ideal
- Their area of interest doesn’t match your expertise
There are a number of variables that result in the lead not being worthy of pursuit. On top of it all, when you look into the opportunity cost of following the wrong lead, what is wasted when you place your sights on the wrong target?
The Solution
If you are experiencing any number of these issues, your head is probably spinning. This business has so many difficulties, adding a few more headaches only makes things worse.
Even with modern-day necessities that have resulted in this web becoming more entangled, there are also technologies that are helping relieve the problems. The adept technology of today’s marketplace helps you consolidate all of the minute tasks and responsibilities that go into scrubbing and qualifying leads that you just don’t have time for.
2 million active real estate agents are spending a combined $10 billion on marketing every year. So much of that money can be better allocated to leads that are actually worth your time.
So how much money are you wasting on leads?
And how much money could you gain if your strategy was better defined?