Takeaways:
- Your website should be your No. 1 source of leads.
- There are 10 reasons why you aren’t generating leads.
- Addressing these 10 reasons will help by creating a system that will steadily increase your leads.
There are all sorts of reasons why you might not be getting leads. But here are 10 reasons you are having bad lead capture and a 10-part system to fix your lead problem:
1. Bad lead capture on website
Your website should be your No. 1 source for fresh new leads. But a lot of agents are truly lacking in this category. When agents have us optimize their websites so they can be found on Google, some of them are confused when they receive an increase in traffic but not an increase in leads.
That tells me that your lead capture on your website is a broken process and desperately needs to be fixed. With all the time and money you spend on acquiring new traffic, you can’t afford to lose a single lead to a competitor.
Make sure your website is easy to browse and optimized for mobile, desktop and tablet. Ensure that it’s extremely easy and not intrusive for people to fill out your contact forms. Try to give your prospective customers something other than a comparative market analysis in exchange for filling out the form.
2. Follow-up
You need to ensure that you’re following up with your past clients on a monthly basis. Whether it’s via email, snail mail or just a phone call, it must be done.
The second you forget about them is the second they forget about you. Additionally, if someone receives great service, then you’re more inclined to refer them to friends and family.
3. Ask for referrals
Yes, I said it. Don’t be too proud to ask past clients for referrals. Heck, even if you’ve been struggling lately, convey that to a past client.
Don’t tell them that you’re behind on your mortgage and your car was repossessed. But do let them know that it’s been tough not getting a guaranteed check, and any business they could send your way would be appreciated.
If they send you someone, then send them a gift card or do something special for them and continue to give them your great service month after month. So many agents spend so much time acquiring new clients only to drop the ball and forget about them after their check has been issued at closing. Don’t be that agent.
4. Social media
Your social media should be updated daily so that your community can consistently know you’re alive and working. I don’t mean posting the same listing every day, though.
You want to post interesting pictures, articles and other content that will get them talking. There are a lot of tools out there that will automate this process for you. Sometimes it’s easier to leverage an inexpensive service to free up more time to focus on selling homes.
5. Updated marketing materials
This isn’t that difficult to comprehend or elaborate on so I will keep it short and sweet. Please make sure all the marketing material that you have out is all displaying the same uniform contact information.
If you changed your phone number, email or website, then you’ve got to update your Google listing, business cards, brochures, etc.
6. Creating relationships and not transactions
Remember to always strive to create relationships and not transactions. People are emotional thinkers and will make decisions based on emotions.
Appeal to everyone’s emotions as much as possible. Meaning dig a little deeper with your clients and figure out who they are. What their dog’s name is, their birth date, their favorite restaurant, their children, etc. Just get to know them more and keep notes.
You can use that information to forge a stronger bond with them so that when they do have a referral it’s going to you because you sent them a gift card to Del Frisco’s (their favorite steakhouse) on their birth date.
7. Networking events
Not everyone likes going to these, because they think, “OK, what kind of business am I going to get out of attending a mixer with a bunch of other agents?” That’s not the case, though, and you should embrace it.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey, then you’ll remember that once his character, Carl Allen, begins living in the affirmative, it leads him to all sorts of amazing and transforming experiences.
This is the same way that consistently putting yourself out there goes, and it’s also not bad for other agents to know who you are either.
8. Colleagues
If you ever have the chance to help out any of your colleagues, then always try to as much as possible. The late Leonard Nimoy said it so perfectly when he said, “Whatever I have given, I have gained.”
Try always to be a connector for people and always help others out, especially those who might be struggling. You might not always get leads out of it, but I promise you that you’ll be such a better soul for doing so.
9. Advertising
If you’re not advertising, then how else are people going to know you even exist? Sure, you could be doing SEO for your website, but chances are if you’re doing SEO then you already have a marketing budget.
Make sure that even if it’s just one publication that you’re out there in some way aside from yard signs or leaving your business cards at your dog groomers.
You can always team up with a local loan officer and split the cost if it’s that difficult to come up with. Maybe if you attended a networking event (see No. 7) you’d meet a loan officer there, and they’d be willing to go in half with you on the expense.
10. Online reputation
Hopefully, you don’t have this problem, but there are some agents who have rubbed quite a few people the wrong way and now have to deal with a bad reputation anytime their name is Googled.
If this is the case with you, then you might need to consult with an online reputation management company to bury those negative items.
But if you don’t have this problem, then you have a perfect chance to solicit some positive reviews from your past clients. If anything, it’s a great reason to send them an email and keep in touch.
This might seem like a lot to take in and implement, but just write it all out on how you’ll implement it, and you should start to be able to put it into action fairly easy.
Do this consistently for at least six to eight months and then watch your leads begin to increase steadily the longer this system is in place. Remember, this is a system and not a trial.
If you’re systematic about increasing your business, your results will begin to reflect your system.
Andrew Molz is an expert strategist when it comes to merging social media with real estate. Currently, Molz is the managing partner at Dallas-based startups The Reputation Shop and 12 Rounds SEO; connect with him on LinkedIn.