The real estate industry can be a pretty volatile place. Some agents can successfully close several big-ticket deals a month, while others barely get leads for a viewing. It’s not uncommon for typically performing agents to convert only 1-2% of their online leads — sometimes even less. Why is this rate so low? Here are four major reasons.
Lost in hand-off
It’s rare that a real estate lead is generated, addressed, and converted by the same person or agent. More often than not, there are multiple services or people in the process, which generates opportunities to miss important details when a lead is handed off to the person who will ultimately service them. This is known as a “leaky funnel.” As leads are progressing down the sales funnel toward a transaction, they drop out due to poor communication and unmet expectations.
However, if all the marketing is done by a single agent, it could also lead to other problems such as being…
Slow to respond
We live in an instantaneous customer service environment. Think instant messaging, instant transfers, instant gratification, even instant noodles. When a prospect completes a real estate lead capture form, they expect to get a response within minutes. The reality is, the typical real estate agent is responding to leads within days, not minutes, by which time the potential client is already disinterested, or found another agent with quicker response time. Any delay will immediately lower your potential conversion rates.
Inconsistent follow-up
Many agents make the mistake of thinking that the leads generated online from property listing websites or social media channels will be consistently hot, ready-to-buy-and-sell-tomorrow leads. That simply isn’t the case. In fact, it’s not uncommon for leads who have personally requested a direct follow-up from you to require multiple, varied messaging before you ever make contact. Too many agents will reach out to a lead once and never do so again after they leave a single message.
No lead prioritization
The leads you get aren’t just names and numbers on a spreadsheet. They’re people with their own timelines, priorities, and levels of urgency. Agents who don’t have a system to sort leads by priority based on opportunity, need, and customer-service value will end up missing a chance to convert these leads into successful deal because they’re not striking while the proverbial iron is hot with the right clients at the right time.
But not to worry! Not all is lost; you can find out how to succesfully close a sale even on hard-to-sell properties in Malaysia.
