Before I get rolling, I would like to give a shot out to Washington DC Real Estate expert Kevin Koitz. Kevin was kind enough to pass on some of the numbers I used in this blog as well as bring to light the notion that I may have been misunderstood as a being a advocate of calling leads later rather than earlier. Thanks again Kev, hopefully this post clears that up as that is definitely not what I meant.
In my last blog post, I talked about effective email communication and made the statement that the focus of every email should be on getting the lead on the phone. This may have been a little confusing as it was understood by a few of you to mean not to call until you have emailed. NOT THE CASE. Email is a measure taken as a means of contact when a number isn’t provided in the lead info or as a follow up after a call or voicemail. Email is also a way to supplement the amount of attempted contacts without inundating your lead with a large amount of phone calls. With that said, an email should never be considered a replacement for a good sales call. Calling web leads is vitally important to the success of the conversion process.
Be the First to Call Your Lead
Over 65% of leads that have been successfully converted are done on the first call. Why is this? Simple, homebuyers visit several websites when searching for a home. On average, a real estate web consumer will submit lead form on 3-5 of your competitor’s websites. The real estate consumer will more than likely respond to the first (sometimes the second) call put into them by agents responding to the inquiry. As for the third, fourth or fifth . . . they are simply out of luck as the consumer is tires of receiving calls relatively quickly and become non-responsive.
Call As Soon as Humanly Possible!
Waiting longer than 5 minutes to call a lead after a lead form/registration has been submitted has a 46% lower rate of qualification than those called in UNDER 5 minutes. In fact, the under 5 minute response vs. the over 30 minute response drops your chances of converting the lead 100 times! In addition to increasing your conversion ratio, it helps build rapport with the customer generating the idea that you will be responsive to their needs.
Weekends and After Hours Calling
The contact rate increases by almost 20% and the qualification rate increases by 30% when calling after hours. No big surprise here as most people that can afford to buy homes usually have jobs and are more often than not working from 9 to 5 Monday through Friday. Even if you were lucky enough to make contact with a lead during business hours there is frequently less focus and less time for a successful sales call as your lead is probably in the middle of something.
Lou,
Over and over I have stressed this to people and I am glad it is shared here. CALL 1st and call fast and you will usually be rewarded.
I’ll give a shout out to Kevin as well.
Another great blog by lou. Keep this great info coming
Some agents make the excuse of, I don’t want to disturb anyone after five or their weekends are their family time.
Just pick up the dang phone already!
Good post Lou. I definitely agree about the after hours calling increasing your conversion. I think it shows dedication too and impresses people that you are still working. I have converted several clients by responding to emails way after hours as well.
Good point Mike. I did mention that the speed of the call definitely begins the rapport building process but so does the after hours calling. Thanks for pointing that out.
I agree. If you aren’t prepared to do a some after hours calling, you won’t reach your full potential in this business.
Great point regarding calling on weekends and off timings. I’m not 100% sure if it won;t bother the customers, but personally I feel they’ll feel good to hear from you during that time!
I work out of my house but not always around the computer.
Do you know of any technology or email carrier that can alert me when an email is received. I looked into I-phone and blackberry but I don’t need that much phone. I’m looking for something that will alert me in off hours so I can increase my response.
SMS or texting is the way to go. Even the most simplest of phones can text. Most good lead management systems have this built-in or available as an upgrade. If not, it is a very easy technology to integrate. Ask your web designer about implementing SMS alerts that will send you a text when a new lead arrives.
Thanks for the comment
Lou, thanks for the clarification of the shout out. I know we tackled this questions on the forums at some point but now in this kind of detail. I appreciate it as I’ve heard many different points of view.
Thoughts on using a good phone answering service with experience in the real estate industry – providing someone who will let the consumer know “one of the group principals will get back to them” (something like that).
I’ve seen the value in instant rapport but without an admin, is consistent “contact” more important if you had to choose (in your opinion). Thanks again Lou…great post…
Great information Lou. I could do a lot better of a job in calling my leads. However, when I did do it the responses were very favorable. People typically appreciated the call and were impressed. However, sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day. This would be a great task if you had an assistant I think.
Sounds like you need a lead coordinator. Check this blog out.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people are in sales that fail to jump on leads the isntant they become available. If you are not attacking leads with everything you have as fast as you can then you probably are not a salesperson. Whether its real estate, cars, or ties, you have got to go after those leads!
Time and again when I call in 5 minutes or less (really up to 10 minutes) after a lead comes in, the potential client is surprised and thrilled to hear from me. I’ve never been badly blown off by a person I’ve called in this time frame. Often it is a person who is just browsing the San Diego MLS, but I let them know that is perfectly OK, and offer to help them with their research. These people do show up again over time.
.-= Geoff@La Jolla Real Estate´s last blog ..San Diego Real Estate Prices Part 2 =-.
Does anyone have any good ideas for how to handle e-leads? I’m finding that they just want information and I can’t get them to set an appointment? I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong.
Have you noticed an increase in the number of comments since installed KeywordLuv? I’ve been considering using it on a blog I own and need some honest feedback.
Website conversion improvement resources from Conversion Chronicles. … ing foreclosures and you bid on the keyword ´real estate´ ´ you may receive … One tested strategy is to determine the keyword ´click price´ you are willing to.
Good post. It’s always important to have personal contact with a lead. Phone conversation is the best choice compare to just emails. People want to see a live person behind the website.
I have my leads emailed to my phone. Sometimes I call them when I’m in the car. People are always shocked when I say, “i’m in my car right now but I saw you were on my website…”
people are easily impressed
For the success and lead of any profession or business time is counting as a big factor. If we do not manage time according to priority of our task we can’t lead.
Great article Lou. I can not make my agents realize how important phone calls are!
Lou. We all need to hear that once in a while. Nicely put; Realtors alike can all do a better job of follow up.
Great information. This will definitely help to do a better in job. People typically appreciate the call and impress. Thanks for sharing back links.
.-= Poul Anderson´s last blog ..Property For Sale In Javea =-.
Nice post. I think in services providing jobs phone calls are very important. Thanks for sharing with us.
I knew there was a difference between under 5 minutes and over 30 minutes but I never thought it was a factor of 100x. That is incredibly. That really is motivating to call faster.
Lou where did you go. We need more info.
.-= Mike In Dallas´s last blog ..Santa Fe Enclave Your Premier Gated Community in Keller ISD! =-.
people love the quick response. the sooner you can call the better, unless it’s in the middle of the night or something. otherwise, i would say the percentage of those looking that work with the first person to call them is even higher.
I try to call my leads back as soon as possible and i can tell you first hand that it is the most productive thing you can do to increase your conversion rate. Please don’t write any more articles giving away all my secrets. i would hate for my competition to find out this information!!!! jk
If somebody filled that form at some odd hours and when you see that form he is in office then atleast you can take an appointment from him to call him back. But yes the sooner the response from your side the higher possibility of cracking a sale.
Lou, I agree with your views.It’s always important to have personal contact with a lead. Phone conversation is the best choice compare to just emails. Thanks for the sharing.
Lou, Why did you sell your other site? Are you totally done with Real Estate
Great point regarding calling on weekends and off timings.nice blog keep sharing
I agree that the quicker you call your lead, the more likely you’ll get them before someone else does. Calling first to them means you are responsive to their needs and helps to establish immediate rapport.
Pretty awesome stuff, I love it hah
Very interesting blog. I think one problem though, your real estate website leads are not turning into clients. What are you doing wrong? Or, what are you not doing at all?
Great, you put up’s a very nice topic.I read about the after hours calling I Prefer You increasing your conversion with it.Please share some more updated information.i am waiting for your response.byeee.
.-= basket designer´s last blog ..celebrations with bears baskets =-.
I have noticed that the best time for me to call my leads has been when they are on my site. They are in the mood to talk about homes, and they are usually more friendly to talk with. Not to mention they convert higher! Excellent information you have here!
Really very informative and interesting stuff! It can be good option to make leads in this way. But important thing is that how you turned that leads into client. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Newport Beach Real Estate´s last blog ..Newport Beach Civic Center Project May Spark Debates =-.
Without doubt, the most important thing to do is to call leads as soon as possible. While they remember you from the site they visited, and while home searching is on thier mind.
.-= Alan@Logan Utah Real Estate´s last blog ..ROR Sitemap for http://www.realestatelogan.com/ =-.
Phone calling is good, but for shy people like me is a big no no
.-= Joseph@Vancouver Destination´s last blog ..UBC =-.
The more you work the more you get paid, sure you will upset some people by calling after hours, but you got to make a living now don’t you?
.-= danny@Florida home loan´s last blog ..Florida Home Equity Loans – The Process =-.
So is there any argument that for some people emailing is better than calling? Especially for people who are using a technical medium to do their real estate searching (ie the web)? I know that I personally hate talking on the phone and would much rather communicate by email, and I think that’s just because I have been relying on email for so long. I wonder if perhaps as the years go by and as younger generations start buying homes, we might find that contacting someone by phone might actually be off putting? But it’s just a theory, I don’t know the answer…
.-= Jane@Pittsburgh Real Estate´s last blog ..Pittsburghese: Of Yinzers, Gumbands, Jaggers, N’at =-.
Calling develops a rapport than can not be established with email alone. Rapport wins the client.
I just wanted to point out that if you see someone register on your website late at night and don’t want to disturb the
but want to show them that you’re on your game and responsive, use the free service called Slydial to call their cellphone and leave a message, then follow up with a pre-written template/email saying you tried to call them but it was late and they were unavailable. This also works great for scheduling showings late at night, especially when calling for sale by owners or flat fee MLS sellers! Gets the job done without risking getting into a long conversation late at night!
Great tip, Thanks Jolenta
Really,very informative,inventional and nice post.Nice informative blog and have great tips to follow. Thanks for submitting.